Report

Enfield Town 2-3 Chesham United

Generals Topple Town Late On
Report by Andrew Warshaw

The frustration and disappointment persist after a fourth straight defeat but this was an altogether different set of circumstances.

Not only were both Gavin Macpherson and Sam Youngs sent off highly controversially but the officiating throughout left a lot to be desired, a view shared by the management teams of both sides, as Town were sent plummeting into the bottom three.

In the end it mattered little to our fate but this was a far more encouraging display than our defeats to Aveley and Welling. Sure we conceded another three  goals but it looks like we might at last have signed a much-needed defensive organiser in Adam Thompson, our best player on the pitch

Town have never beaten the Generals in a competitive fixture but on another day might easily have reversed that trend – or at least earn a point.

It didn’t help our cause when we lost Xavier Benjamin – who lined up alongside Thompson in the  back three —  after just 20 minutes. Xavier was injured when a sliding tackle by Mickey Parcell accidentally took out his own team-mate as well as clearing a dangerous Chesham attack.

Parcell, who had reverted to his regular role on the right in the starting line-up, duly moved across to replace the luckless Benjamin, with John Oyenuga coming off the bench.

Before too long we were behind in infuriating circumstances. Oyenuga had not been allowed back on the pitch after adjusting a boot when Youngs, in the position John would have occupied, was deemed to have brought down Connor Stevens with an over-zealous  shoulder barge and Jack Cawley slammed home the penalty.

To be fair to our visitors, they had already seen a hooked volley blocked on the line but we had showed bags of spirit and energy, only for Gavin to be dismissed at halftime for the first time in his career for what he insisted was the most innocuous of incidents (of which more later).

H-T 0-1

Far from feeling sorry for ourselves, we re-emerged with vigour and purpose and within six minutes of the restart had not only equalised but gone in front.

First, Jake Hutchinson scored his first goal for the club off the underside of the bar as he headed home Thompson’s flick-on (pictured celebrating).

Chesham captain Steve Brown immediately had a great chance to restore the Generals’ lead when left unmarked at a freekick but headed over.

It was very much to Town’s advantage. In the next move of the game, Avan Jones was deemed (again harshly) to have used his arm to divert a Harley Mills flick and up stepped Youngs to bury the penalty against his old club.

That should have given us the incentive to get at least something from the game. But Chesham don’t score late goals for nothing (an incredible 14 after the 80th minute) and they came at us again courtesy of a triple substitution.

Bradley Clayton almost punished us for failing to clear our lines, then Mitchell Weiss missed his kick in front of goal before the pressure finally told. A  cross from the right wasn’t cut out and Stevens swept the ball home.

As the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark, a point apiece looked on the cards but with Gavin now watching from stands, Youngs was deemed to have handled in the box when he couldn’t get out of the way of a fierce goalbound effort.

Double jeopardy, always a contentious issue, ensued with a second Crawley penalty, dispatched again by Cawley, and Sam shown a straight red despite vehement protests.

And there was still more drama to come as a Chesham handball at the other end from Harry Ottaway’s strike somehow wasn’t punished, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of most of the 802-strong crowd as we failed to get the rub of the green.

Explaining what happened at halftime, Gavin said: “I went across calmly to speak to the referee and apparently, though I never heard this, he told me I’d be sent off if I came within another 10 yards of him. I took one pace and was red-carded. I was totally astonished.”

“Their first penalty happens all over the pitch and is never penalised, it’s part of football. But by that stage in my opinion he’d already lost the plot and that continued in the second half to the nth degree. He has to hold his hands up and have a look at himself.  To send Sam off as well as give the second penalty late on is a disgrace.”

Whilst we still lack cutting edge in the final third, Gavin’s frustration was palpable given he saw a marked improvement. “For long periods we made them look ordinary. I’m sick of losing football matches but there were loads of positives to take this time. I didn’t say much to the boys because we gave a good account of ourselves and deserved better. We now have two-week break from league action which may be a good thing because we can put in more work on the training pitch.”

Enfield: Forster; Benjamin (Oyenuga), Thompson, Cox; Mills, Youngs, Tuck, Leonard, Parcell (Knight 90+1); Hutchinson (Ottaway 87), Peake

Video

Details

Date Time League Season
26/10/2024 3:00 pm Vanarama National League South 2024-25

Ground

Dave Bryant Stadium
Dave Bryant Stadium, Donkey Lane, Enfield EN1 3PL

Results

Club1st Half2nd HalfGoals
Enfield Town022
Chesham United123