Enfield Town FC

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 Enfield Town 0-2 Folkestone Invicta

Misfiring Town Fall Short
Report by Andrew Warshaw

Gavin Macpherson warned in midweek that we would have to improve on our performance versus Haringey to bag another three points against Folkestone on Saturday.

We didn’t and we paid the price as our visitors proved on the day that anyone can beat anyone in this division if you are not on your game.

To make matters worse for the 600-plus crowd, everyone around us in the playoff positions picked up a maximum haul as we slipped from third to fifth — certainly not the ideal sendoff for physio John Abbott in his last match after a generation of sterling service to the club.

The first half was pretty much a forgettable affair and by the time Gavin gave his halftime team talk, we already had a mountain to climb

An encouraging start didn’t last long and we fell behind on 13 minutes. Tom Derry’s powerful low shot evaded the challenge of James Richmond and nestled in the far corner under the legs of keeper Rhys Forster.

Folkestone were working harder off the ball and it could have been two as Ade Cole’s rasping effort flashed past the post.

Marcus Wyllie, for whom the goals seem to have dried up recently, had a great chance to level but drilled his shot wide.

It soon proved costly as Scott Heard, who pulled the strings in midfield all afternoon, put the Seasiders in the driving seat, taking advantage of Ollie Knight’s mistimed header that looped into the danger zone.

The deficit was almost halved as James Richmond’s close-range effort was somehow cleared off the line. But Folkestone might well have gone in three up when David Smith sent a bullet header straight at Rhys Forster when of either side of him would have made it three.

H-T 0-2

Town couldn’t get much worse so cue a double halftime change that saw the introduction of Obi Onyeagwara and new signing Herson Alves.

Both had an immediate impact, Obi scaring the life out of Folkestone with his pace and trickery down the right and Alves shooting narrowly over (pictured).

As Town improved, a string of chances came and went though most of them were either rushed, off target or cleared by a tall, resolute Folkestone defence.

In truth, we weren’t smart enough and fair play to the visitors who never lost their shape or positioning and even found the net again late on but were clearly offside.

“I’ll be brutally honest, I don’t like what I’m seeing at the moment,” admitted Gavin after our second defeat in three games that saw Taylor McKenzie pushed up front for the last 15 minutes to try and alter proceedings.

“Our quality was poor and we’ll have to put our finger on it very quickly. The front players are struggling and it seems like confidence has gone.

“Folkestone were very game and worked extremely hard whereas we fell short. We had enough chances to win the game twice over but we’re going through a patch where we’re inconsistent in terms of results and performances.”

Town: Forster; Parcell, McKenzie, Richmond, Payne; Adjei-Hersey (Onyeagwara, 46), Thomas, Youngs, Knight; Beckles-Richards (Alves 46), Wyllie (Hippolyte)