Enfield Town FC

Report

Weston-super-Mare 1-1 Enfield Town

Town Swoop Late at Seagulls

A spirited second half performance and a dramatic late equaliser earned Enfield Town a share of the spoils in Somerset with a 1-1 draw at promotion chasers Weston-super-Mare.

Gavin Macpherson was again forced to shuffle the pack, with central defenders Dan Cox (illness) and Adam Thompson (hamstring) unavailable, as Joe Payne came in at left centre-back in an otherwise unchanged eleven from Tuesday’s win at Tonbridge Angels, while new recruit Anointed Chukwu started on the bench.

Unlike that midweek win, the Towners were sluggish starters here and Weston set upon them in the opening exchanges; the lively Sam Pearson cutting in from the right flank but seeing his long-range effort blocked. Pearson was at it again mere minutes later, however, to craft the opening goal after 13 minutes. After breezing down the right wing, his lofted cross was met by veteran Reuben Reid, who outjumped Xavier Benjamin to power an emphatic header into the left-hand corner.

The Seagulls were playing football befitting their lofty league position, stringing accurate diagonals and neat short passes together at will. It very nearly paid dividends before the half-hour mark as Reid rifled towards goal from the edge of the area, with Rhys Forster grateful to gather at the second attempt after spilling the initial effort. James Dodd would be the next to force the Enfield ‘keeper into action, with a fierce long-ranger well parried by Forster with white shirts aplenty poised to snap up the rebound. Yet having weathered the hosts’ pressure, Town grew into the game as the half wore on. They almost drew level in unlikely circumstances when Billy Leonard found a pocket of space and his deep cross clipped the crossbar, before a more conventional effort from Leonard just shy of half time needed a good low stop from goalie Max Harris to turn wide.

Half Time: Weston-super-Mare 1-0 Enfield Town

After the restart, there was a renewed vigour about Enfield’s play, and the visitors began building an array of promising attacks. An early series of passes found their way to Alfie Tuck, who tried his luck in vain from distance. Anointed Chukwu was brought on for his Town debut just before the hour, and the striker’s introduction almost had an immediate effect as he chested down a Lennon Peake cross for the incoming Bayley Brown, whose half-volley was well blocked. Sam Youngs saw a looping header repelled off the line from the resulting corner, as the Towners enjoyed their most threatening spell of the game but continued to search for a breakthrough in vain.

Despite Town having had the majority of the play until the closing stages, Weston continued to pose a threat on the counter, and almost caught Enfield cold when a long punt released Yeovil loanee Harvey Greenslade, who rounded Rhys Forster but found the angle to goal too tight. Another fleet-footed break from their own penalty area ended in Greenslade thumping an effort against the outside of the post. Yet, with the game heading into the final of four additional minutes, and with Weston having made sure to wind the proverbial clock down, Town’s persistence paid off. Substitute Dylan Adjei-Hersey was cynically tripped on the right touchline and from Lennon Peake’s inswinging free kick, Henry Hawkins headed goalwards; the bounce squirming underneath Seagulls ‘keeper Harris and over the line.

Town: Forster; Benjamin, Hawkins, Payne; Leonard (Adjei-Hersey 89’), Parcell (Smith 76’), Brown (Beckles-Richards 79’), Tuck, Peake; Youngs, Hutchinson (Chukwu 57’)

Attendance: 864