We are delighted to announce the signing of Matty Macarthur, who joins us following a successful period on trial.

Matty is an English-Australian winger who has impressed as a trialist, scoring in our recent victory over Spurs U21 and providing an assist in our win at Wingate & Finchley. He featured on 22 occasions for fellow NLS side Farnborough last season, chipping in with 3 goals and 2 assists. The 20-year-old has also worn the shirts of Gillingham, Tonbridge Angels, and Dartford.

“Matty has been with us for a couple of weeks and he wanted to have a look at us as well as vice-versa,” said Gavin Macpherson. “He’ll be a very welcome addition to the squad. He scored a great goal against Spurs, works hard, is tenacious and has ability. Everything I like in a player.”

Welcome, Matty!

Enfield Town 2 Tottenham Hotspur under-21 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

First Arsenal, then Spurs. As morale boosters go, Enfield Town couldn’t have asked for much more as we ended our pre-season campaign with another impressive showing ahead of the big kick-off at Torquay on Saturday.

A week after beating Arsenal’s under-21 side, another terrific goal from Lamar Reynolds plus a superb strike from the peroxide-haired triallist who has been so eye-catching of late gave us a well-deserved win over our near-neighbours in the annual fixture that has become an integral part of our pre-season campaign.

The management team, who again made wholesale changes in the second half in order to have a final look at a string of hopeful recruits, are bound to have spotted elements that still need tweaking ahead of the daunting trip to Devon but there’s an argument to suggest that we are peaking at the right time which augurs well for the weeks ahead.

Despite their youth, three of the Tottenham side had first-team squad experience on their side but just like against Arsenal, Town were the better side for large periods of the game against full-time opponents.

Tottenham had an early let-off when Reynolds lashed the ball wide after being put clean through but Lamar made no mistake with his second opportunity on 23 minutes, running on to Tommy Wood’s  sublime headed flick to finish with aplomb.

Spurs of course had their moments, Luca Williams-Barnett beating the offside trap and shooting across goal and Xavier Benjamin having to clear his lines  in the nick of time. At the other end, Billy Leonard was a constant threat and only a last-ditch clearance by Malacki Hardy prevented us doubling our lead.

You can’t make mistakes against full-time opponents, however ,and when the otherwise reliable Ruaridh Donaldson was disposssed by Russell-Denny three minutes before the break, the same player ran through to equalise.

Before the halftime whistle, Wood looped a header just over the bar from a corner and within  moments of the restart we should have moved further in front. Halftime sub Harry Ludovica was clipped from behind but smashed his penalty against the top of the bar.

By the end of the game, Town had made a full 11 changes but if anything we were even stronger in the second half as further chances came for Ludovica and Evan Jones though Reiss Elliott-Parris should have scored for Spurs with a bullet header.

The game was won just after the hour mark  when the afore-mentioned blond-haired triallist, put through down the right by Mickey Parcell, checked back on to his left foot and drove the ball expertly into the far corner (pictured).

Ethan Cann, a new name on the Town bench, then conjured up a superb block on the line to keep us in front and Bailey Brown’s header almost extended our advantage late on.

All in all, a highly encouraging evening’s work to get us in the groove.

“The one thing I demand from the players is hard work and energy and I was pleased with that,” said Gavin Macpherson. “We were a bit wasteful but we’ve made huge strides since Wingate and Finchley. You always get a lull in pre-season at some point…but the important thing is to finish pre-season strongly and do the right things. The result tonight was the cherry on the cake.”

“I’ve got to be pleased with where we are but I also have to acknowledge that we’re playing Torquay away in front of a big crowd with everything stacked against us. There’s continuity from the second half of last season which helps going forward and we’ve added some players we’re very happy with. The partnership up front is something we couldn’t produce last season. We are still a couple light but we will plan and prepare for Torquay to try and get the best out of the game we can.”

First-half line-up

Enfield Town: Forster, Benjamin, Thompson, Donaldson, Bullas, Parcell (c), Leonard, Youngs, Wood, Reynolds, Triallist A. Substitutes: Connolly, Jones, Payne, Hawkins, Cann, Brown, Trialist B, Trialist C, Trialist D, Ludovica, Trialist E.

Second half subs:  Connolly; Jones, Payne, Hawkins, Cann, Brown, Triallist b, Triallist c, triallist d, Lodovica, triallist e

We are delighted to confirm the addition of central midfielder Hayden Bullas, who joins us on a season-long work experience loan from Leyton Orient.

The 18-year-old has featured in our last two pre-season friendly wins against Arsenal and Wingate & Finchley, and last season played 27 times for Dartford, helping them into the Isthmian Premier play-offs.

Welcome, Hayden!

Enfield Town 2 Arsenal under-21 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

What a difference a few days make. Following a lacklustre, disjointed display at Wingate on Saturday, all the commitment and endeavour came flooding back when we secured a well-deserved and highly promising win over a technically gifted Arsenal under-21 side.

Despite being without the unavailable Adam Thompson, Town were solid at the back, competitive in midfield and created chances up front – all ingredients that augur well for when we start the season proper.

The young Arsenal side may have been physically inferior yet they made up for that with skill and technique and, as expected, bags of possession. But Town’s management team will have been delighted by our pressing game and the ability to get into dangerous positions.

As early as the third minute, Lamar Reynolds showed the pace he will bring by racing through on goal, only for Gunners keeper Remy Mitchell to spread himself and keep out Lamar’s shot.

Lamar was again in the thick of the action when he  managed to get a touch to Billy Leonard’s low cross but not enough to steer the effort on target.

Arsenal’s Ceadach O’Neill found the net, only to be ruled offside, and although Louis Zecevic-John forced Rhys Forster into action on a couple of  occasions, Town continued to probe.

 Sam Youngs, skipper for the night with Mickey Parcell on the bench, couldn’t quite connect when Avan Jones lashed the ball across goal. When he did connect, from a corner, Sam planted a powerful header straight at Mitchell with Tommy Wood lurking.

In front of a 950-plus crowd, all Town’s new signings were showing what they could offer and there was a collective sigh of relief when the excellent Jones was soon up on his feet after taking what at first looked like a worrying knock.

H-T 0-0

Town didn’t let up and a trademark Leonard run and cross was again met by Youngs who again headed straight at Mitchell. The young Arsenal keeper followed that up with a wondrous tip-over save to thwart Jones on the volley.

Demaine Agustien should have put the visitors ahead, only to see his curling shot clear the bar. But  on 67 minutes we got what we deserved by opening the score. And what as goal it was.

A seemingly routine route-one clearance by Forster found Reynolds in space and our new striker plucked the ball out of the air with terrific technique before lobbing Mitchell with pinpoint precision.

Youngs, who could have had a hattrick on another day, saw his goalbound effort blocked by Marcell Washington before we doubled our lead with eight minutes left. Substitute Harry Lodovica, who towered above the Arsenal defence when he came on, was not picked up as he leapt to head home Joe Payne’s long throw.

“We were really disappointing on Saturday, we felt we were flat and a long way off it, and let them know that,” said Town assistant manager Jon Underwood. “We asked for a reaction and I think we got it.”

“The Braintree clean sheet and the one Saturday may have been a bit fortunate but we fully deserved it tonight. We’re demanding high standards and this time we got them.”

“When you play Arsenal, whatever the age group, they keep the ball, have lots of movement and ask a lot of questions of you. But we pressed when we could, then at other times had to drop off a bit deeper and be compact. That’s probably the best we’ve been out of possession. That’s important cos there are going to be spells in this league where you don’t have the ball.”

“Lemar complements the other strikers we have here. He missed a couple of weeks of pre-season and has been catching up. Ruaridh Donaldson the same. They’re seasoned players at this level but you can’t fast track these things, they have to get the minutes in their legs.”

Without a game this coming Saturday, Town’s final pre-season outing will be against Tottenham’s under-21 squad next Tuesday. “It’s not easy to get the balance right but we’re doing our best and tonight felt like we’re getting there,” said Unders.

Town

Forster; Benjamin, Hawkins, Donaldson; Leonard, Bullas, Brown, Youngs, Jones; Reynolds, Wood

Subs during part of second half:

Payne; Knight, Triallist A, Lambert, Parcell, Ludovica

Wingate and Finchley 0 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Forget the scoreline. Gavin Macpherson was more than a touch peeved after what he described as our worst pre-season outing so far, calling into question the attitude of the players.

On an excellent playing surface and against Step 3 opposition, Town were second best for large parts of the game and might easily have lost – only to snatch victory four minutes from time through an Avan Jones header.

A performance lacking in cohesion and ideas was somewhat of a surprise given we lined up with a strong side. Harry Lodovica made his debut up front with another new recruit Hayden Bullas, on loan from Orient, in midfield.

Yet Wingate looked the sharper, more energetic side against a strangely lacklustre Town who didn’t seem to come to grips with the 3-5-2 formation.

Having said that, we got off to a decent start when Wingate keeper Charlie Granger clawed a Sam Youngs header on to the bar. Sam hit the woodwork again with a close-range header from a corner but either side of those efforts, it was  the hosts who posed the greater threat.

The second half saw the management team ring the changes as per, only for Wingate to create the majority of the chances from open play

The fact that none of them found the back of Enfield’s net was down to a mixture of finishing being narrowly off target, our own woodwork hit twice, sharp stops from Adi Connolly and a healthy dose of good fortune.  On one almost comical occasion, a hospital backpass from the normally reliable Adam Thompson saw the ball bounce over Adi’s head and roll inches wide of an unguarded net.

On 86 minutes, however, Town got over the line when a freekick from a triallist saw Jones steal a yard on his marker and power home a header. Another set-piece goal, another clean sheet but Gavin was not a happy bunny.

“It’s by far the worst we’ve played in pre-season,” he bemoaned. “I felt we were lacking commitment. They ran harder than us and outworked us. It was really poor and something we’ll need to have a look at. Yes another clean sheet and set-piece but I’m not going to dress it up into something it’s not. We could easily have conceded today.”

“Too many of the players are still not up to speed. Too many have missed chunks of pre-season. I can’t accept performances like that whether it’s the league or pre-season.”

Better to have such a below-par performance now, perhaps, rather than when the season starts and we have two more friendlies, against the Arsenal and Spurs under-21 sides, to put things right.

“That’s true but I expect standards to be as high as they can but there was an attitude problem and that’s something we simply cannot guilty of because we are in a league where we are a small minnow,” said Gavin.

“The one thing we have to have on our side – and did have for large chunks of last season – is the fact that we battle and work hard. If those two things are not there as a fundamental, we’re going to have a very difficult season because, without any disrepect to Wingate, we’re going to face a whole lot better than the team we faced today.”

First half team:

Forster; Benjamin, Thompson, Donaldson; Payne, Parcell, Bullas, Youngs, Leonard; Lodovica, Reynolds

Second half subs:

Jones, Hawkins, Knight, Wood, Brown, Connolly, two triallist

We’re thrilled to welcome forward Harry Lodovica to the club after a highly encouraging pre-season.

Harry, 26, joins us from Maidstone United in the National League South, with previous experience at Hendon, Braintree Town, Chelmsford City, Aveley, and Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Championship.

A versatile striker who scored the penalty in our 2-0 win over Braintree on Tuesday and almost netted again, Harry can play as a complete forward, advanced playmaker, or target man, bringing dynamism to our attack.

“Really pleased to get Harry over the line,” said Gavin Macpherson. “Harry came in pre-season and I thought he was a real handful, there’s only better things to come from him. He’s been professional and has worked really hard since coming in.”

“We’ve had a good look at him and feel we have a chance to get him back to the level he was after an injury-hit season. I feel that if we can get that right, we could have a good player on our hands. He’s humble, works hard and wants to find a home again after a difficult season with injury at Maidstone.”

Welcome, Harry!

Enfield Town 2 Braintree Town  0

 In their latest pre-season run-out, Enfield Town recorded a morale-boosting win over full-time National League opposition with Lamar Reynolds notching his first goal for the club.

If the win was a touch fortunate as Braintree Town dominated possession for long periods and created plenty of chances, a combination of solid defending, good goalkeeping and a couple of visits from Lady Luck edged us closer to where we want to be come the start of the season.

Indeed the first-half side, minus the unavailable Sam Youngs, was as close as we’ve seen so far to how we might set up against Torquay.

Although Bayley Brown had the first chance of the game with a shot comfortably saved by Braintree’s triallist goalkeeper, the visitors were quickly into their stride.

Soon after a Braintree effort was disallowed for offside, however, Town drew first blood in the 12^th minute, Ruaridh Donaldson’s right-wing corner nodded powerfully home by Reynolds. Another set-piece goal – huge promise for the season to come.

Now Braintree flicked the ‘on’ switch and pinned Town back for long periods. Rhys Forster was a busy man, keeping out well-struck efforts from Tom Blackwell and Jacob Pinnington, while centre-forward Lewis Walker blasted over an open goal.

Town still threatened on the counter, a delicious piece of twinkle toes skill from Bayley Brown setting up Reynolds who this time got his feet in a tangle.

The siege continued into the second half, with Blackwell replaced by an equally speedy triallist. Both Adam Thompson and Henry Hawkins had to deal with dangerous low crosses in the first two minutes, followed quickly by another disallowed Braintree effort.

 The best of Forster’s saves came after 63 minutes, a point-blank block from Freddie Hockey. At the other end, Billy Leonard had a header well saved, with the rebound falling to a triallist, resulting in another excellent block, this time from the visiting defence.

 With the arrival of the Triallist Army later in the half, Town started to enjoy more possession, and doubled their lead on 71 minutes. Thompson was fouled 12 yards from goal following a corner and a triallist thumped the penalty home with a refreshing lack of ceremony. The same triallist headed narrowly wide from Knight’s cross as Town finished the game on a high. Whilestill not the finished article, there were plenty of encouraging signs.

“It was a really good test for us and it could have been a bizarre scoreline,” admitted Gavin Macpherson who dispensed for the first time in pre-season  with 4-4-2 in order to try out two other formations and put an extra player in defensive midfield where Ruaridh Donaldson partnered Micky Parcell in the first half.

“Last Saturday we had 11 chances and scored one so to come out with a couple of goals from fewer chances is a real plus,” said Gavin. “I’m really pleased for Lamar. Last season we didn’t manage to stretch teams enough.”

With three friendlies left, however, there is still much to think about. “ We have work to do in terms of our movement and how we function out of possession,” said Gavin. “Physically we’re in good shape but there is clearly work to do tactically.”

First-half team:

 Forster, Benjamin, Hawkins, Thompson, Leonard, Parcell, Donaldson, Brown, Jones, Wood, Leonard

Subs in second half: Lambert, Payne, Knight plus 7 triallists

Martin Bentley

Potters Bar Town 2-1 Enfield Town

Enfield Town’s fourth pre-season runout will have left Gavin Macpherson with plenty to ponder after failing to take advantage of their chances in a 2-1 defeat at neighbours Potters Bar Town.

The hosts, opening a new 3G pitch at their Lantern Stadium, were set upon early on as Towners debutant Lamar Reynolds glanced a header narrowly off target, while Henry Hawkins and Billy Leonard also both went close. Trialist A wearing 7 for Town was the next to threaten, taking Billy Leonard’s cross and shimmying round a defender before forcing a smart stop from the legs of goalie Jack Berman.

However, it was Potters Bar who eventually broke the deadlock inside 20 minutes when a lofted cross evaded the Town defence and fell to teenager Harry Brant, whose back-post header beat Adi Connolly and nestled into the roof of the net. The Scholars were unfortunate not to double their lead shortly afterwards as again Town’s backline switched off, but Brant blazed over when presented with another cross.

Bayley Brown thought he had levelled after sweeping home from a free kick, only to be denied by the linesman’s flag, but Town did ultimately find an equaliser just shy of the break when Tommy Wood powered home Leonard’s inswinging ball for his third pre-season goal in as many games.

Four new faces were introduced at the break but they were powerless to stop Town from falling behind again just minutes after the restart. A cheap free kick on the edge of the box was ruthlessly punished, flying inside the near post and providing an unwelcome sense of déjà vu from Tuesday evening.

The rest of the match was a story of Town providing plenty of effort, but not enough cutting edge. Some fine interplay between Trialist C (wearing 16) and Sam Youngs allowed Town’s midfielder space for a clean half-volley which was excellently saved, before the same Trialist himself twice had efforts from close range but found Berman in inspired form to deny him.

“It’s a game we should win, but don’t win because we concede two really poor goals and contrive to miss quite a few chances, though we have to pay tribute to their keeper”, said boss Gavin Macpherson.

“I think we’re where we want to be with the conditioning side of things, but probably not with our tactical side – albeit we should probably win the game quite comfortably. There’s work to do, and that’s what pre-season is for … we’ve got three weeks and a few games left to get us up to speed.”

First half: Connolly; Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins, Payne; Leonard, Parcell, Youngs, Trialist A; Wood, Reynolds

Second half: Connolly (Trialist G, 60′); Jones, Benjamin, Hawkins, Payne (Lambert, 60′); Leonard (Trialist E, 60′), Brown (Trialist D, 60′), Youngs, Trialist C; Wood (Trialist F, 60′), Trialist B

As we approach the halfway stage in our pre-season programme, Town make the short visit to Potters Bar tomorrow with the added incentive of free entry to all supporters.

The game celebrates the Scholars’65th anniversary and is being played for the Potters Bar Charity Cup.

Just as importantly for the hosts, it is being treated as the official opening of their new-look ground following the completion of 3G works.

No tickets are being sold online and instead of an entry fee, supporters are encouraged to donate money for the Potters Bar Charity Cup Benevolent Fund, which will be distributed to a number of local charities.

With our opening fixture at Torquay three weeks away, the management staff are stepping up their scrutiny of the playing staff in terms of recruitment and fitness.

“I’ve talked already about the pitch at Walthamstow. The game had very little quality but you have to recognise it for what it was,” said Gavin Macpherson. “Did we get out of it what we wanted? Not really but hopefully we’ll get more out of Saturday.”

“The strategy going forward now is to improve on the things we need to. That’s what pre-season is about. I’ve seen teams lose every pre-season game and get off to an absolute flier, and vice-versa. I’m comfortable where we are and where we have to improve. Not having any injuries is key.”

One huge boost for the club is that Lamar Reynolds’ international registration has now come through after weeks of bureaucratic snafus.

“Lamar for us is expected to be a big player,” said Gavin.  “He’s pacey and will hurt defences with what he does. When you have a player like that who you can’t use, it’s really frustrating. It’s really difficult to plan. If we think what Lemar is going to be for us, then he’s pivotal.

“We’ve had to go along with triallists at the top end of the pitch until such time as Lamar is available. Now we can start to plan ahead. I can’t say at the moment whether he will play at Potters Bar because I need to see where he’s at. I don’t want to push him too hard too quickly. And that goes actually for the rest of the boys.”

With Tommy Wood showing signs of good form already, things appear to be shaping up in an area of the pitch that is notoriously difficult to fill.

“I said when Tommy came in, there’s a hell of a player there who will rattle defences,” said Gavin. “So far the signs are good but he has to keep that up and can’t allow himself a lull and get too comfortable.”

With five more friendlies, the intention is to strengthen squad still further to make sure we have enough on board to be competitive.  

“I think we probably need at least another three before the season starts including one in the middle of the park,” said Gav.

AW

Walthamstow FC 1 Enfield Town 0

Despite a performance lacking cohesion and fluidity, this was — let’s face it — another building block on the road to the start of the season with a number of first-team players again missing for various reasons.

On the plus side, Ruaridh Donaldson made his Town debut at left-back and looked assured on the ball if a little rusty.

And once again Tommy Wood, clearly growing in confidence, looked like he will prove a more than useful asset up front.

The game was officially for the Kaylen Dennis Memorial trophy in honour of  the 17-year-old who was a member of Walthamstow’s under-23 team and tragically collapsed and died during a game last December.

Understandably perhaps, therefore, the hosts were somewhat more motivated but for Town, it was mainly all about trying to get another 90 minutes under their collective belts and coming away injury-free.

In the first half, Town’s best chances were a bullet header from Wood who connected with a Donaldson freekick and was narrowly off target; and a close-range Sam Youngs effort that brought a magnificent reflex stop by the Stow keeper.

But the hosts certainly gave as good as they got, producing a couple of decent chances and showing commendable pace.

Rather than change the entire team at halftime, Gavin Macpherson this time gave the starting eleven until the hour mark before making nine switches.

But it was the hosts who ended up victors, winning  the game on 55 minutes with a spectacular curling freekick from Te Wihongi after what in truth looked a somewhat innocuous foul.

Whilst it was hard to pick out any particular Town individuals for praise, that wasn’t really the point of the exercise though defender Jay Lambert, as he did on a couple of appearances last term, looked a promising prospect in the second half.

Conspicuous by his absence again was Lamar Reynolds as we await his international clearance to come through. Whilst he is eligible to play friendlies, it makes total sense not to risk him getting injured but it’s also hugely frustrating for the management team in terms of their inability to plan properly.

One might imagine Gavin may have been a trifle miffed given the opposition were Step 4 but far from it.

“I asked them to go out on an unbelievably difficult pitch and to look after themselves and go and get a workout,” said Gav. “I don’t mean that with any disrespect to Walthamstow. But it was always going to be devoid of quality. Potters Bar on Saturday will hopefully produce more on the pitch.”

AW