Striker Harry Lodovica has joined Isthmian Premier Division side Whitehawk on a three-month loan.

Harry joined us over the summer and has since made 13 competitive appearances. We wish him all the best during his spell in Brighton.

Enfield Town 3 Ebbsfleet United 1

Town put the pain of recent defeats firmly behind them with a display full of running and intent. Bayley Brown and Billy Leonard returned to the starting eleven in midfield. It was the visitors who came out of the traps quickest with a couple of early chances that went begging, but then Town settled into their stride and took the lead after five minutes. Tosh Gallimore picked the ball up from a Lamar Reynolds pass in the inside left channel and, with Fleet defenders retreating, hit a piledriver from just outside the box high into the top corner to keeper Gio Bellagambi’s left.

With the tonic of an early goal to settle any nerves, the hosts began to enjoy some spells of possession, with Nino Adom-Malaki prominent down the left. Following a crisp move on the opposite flank, Hayden Bullas’s dangerous low cross was cleared by an increasingly harassed Fleet back line. But the hosts didn’t have it all their own way, and Mustapha Olangunju fired narrowly over on the quarter of an hour mark. A minute later, the visitors were forced to make an early change through injury with Maxx Manktelow replacing Tom Dallison. 

Rhys Forster made a good low stop to deny Toby Edser but, in the 24^th minute, a short corner routine between Adom-Malaki and Leonard paid dividends. Nino’s cross from the right was headed back into the danger zone by Adam Thompson for Reynolds to steer the ball home from close range. 

Stung into action, Ebbsfleet skipper Kwesi Appiah tested Forster with a low drive from a Charlie Seaman pass and, shortly afterwards, Josh Coley somehow missed the target from close range following a cross from the right. Between those moments, Adom-Malaki opted to shoot when a pass to the unmarked Leonard may have been a better option – the Fleet keeper saving with relative ease. 

Sam Youngs was denied by a block by Bellagambi’s legs and Bullas as off target from distance as Town ended the first half fully deserving their two-goal cushion.

Half-time: Enfield Town 2 Ebbsfleet United 0  

To the delight of the home support, Town went further ahead within a minute of the restart. Adom Malaki, who had a fine game, lofted the ball in from the left, it was flicked on by Youngs to Reynolds, who made no mistake to put Town in dreamland.

Forster was called into action again to get down at his near post to deny Appiah again, while substitute Manktelow headed wide from a promising position. Appiah then had the ball in the Enfield net but the flag had been raised for a clear offside.

There followed a remarkable passage of play approaching the hour mark when Town hit the woodwork twice in essentially the same scramble, while Youngs and Henry Hawkins both went close. Town hit the frame of the goal twice more during the second half, albeit one of those occasions coinciding with the raising of the linesman’s offside flag to deny Youngs, making a record equalling 351^st appearance in a Town shirt.

With the clock showing 90 minutes, sub Dom Samuel netted a consolation for Fleet – prompting a Groundhog Day feeling among the Town faithful – but on this occasion there were no further alarms and Enfield were able to enjoy a well-merited victory against full-time opponents, rising to 18^th in the table. 

Team: Forster; Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins, Adom-Malaki; Leonard (Jones), Bullas, Brown, Gallimore; Youngs (Donaldson), Reynolds (Wood). Unused subs: Jones, Knight, Connolly, Bates, Lodovica.

Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2 Enfield Town

As broken records go, this one appears to be heading for the top of the charts. Yet again, in all too familiar fashion, Enfield Town conceded a death blow with virtually the last kick of the game as we fell into the bottom four after a third straight defeat in all competitions.

The fact that even Daggers fans conceded we deserved at least a draw came as scant consolation as once again we threw away vital points and now have to pick ourselves up for this evening’s home encounter with Ebbsfleet.

It had been visitors Town who enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, with chances for both Sam Youngs and Nino Adom-Malaki before Sam opened the scoring with his 92nd goal for the club, on his 350th appearance in Enfield Town colours; one shy of Rudi Hall’s all-time record. A long kick from Rhys Forster was headed into the path of Adom-Malaki, and after twisting and turning near the byline, his cross was clinically headed home by skipper Youngs. Forster had earlier been called into action with a superb save on the stretch to thwart Ashley Hemmings’ looping header, but had otherwise been relatively untroubled as Town’s rear guard marshalled their opponents well.

Billy Leonard and the suspended Mickey Parcell were still missing from the starting eleven, the former on the bench, but Town came close to doubling the lead when another Adom-Malaki cross found Lamar Reynolds, only for the former Daggers man to see his shot come back off the post. A long stoppage followed after Dagenham’s Reggie Young had been stretchered off but Town were well worth their lead at the interval.

Half Time, Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Enfield Town

Having been second best in the first half, the Daggers, led by former Premier League striker Andy Carroll, immediately changed shape, upped their game and were presented with their clearest chance of the afternoon but Hemmings spooned over when clean through with Forster. They eventually were rewarded on 54 minutes when Scott Rendell waltzed his way down the flank and teed up Joe Haigh to sweep home. Now Dagenham had their tails up, and on 73 minutes Ashley Hemmings breached the offside trap to slot past Forster and seemingly negate all our good work.

Town, though, were not finished and hit straight back as a threaded pass from substitute Leonard into the box allowed Reynolds to square for Hayden Bullas to fire in from 10 yards. Moments later, Leonard found space down the right channel but fired straight at the keeper, while Haigh and former Towner Harry Sidwell both blasted over but there was little to suggest there would be a late winner for either side.

Yet six minutes into stoppage time, a lofted ball created a melee in the Town area and as Forster came – not once, but twice – he proceeded to drop the ball while tussling with Hemmings, allowing Timothée Dieng to poke home the loose ball, steal all three points and pile more anguish on Town.

Town: Forster; Jones (Leonard 73’), Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins (Donaldson 90+1’), Adom-Malaki; Bullas, Gallimore, Knight (Brown 73’); Youngs, Reynolds

Attendance: 1583

How ever long it takes for the heartbreaking anguish of Enfield Town’s FA Cup elimination to subside, the show must go on – starting with tomorrow’s crunch fixture with Dagenham and Redbridge

A single point separates the two sides and while more pressure might be on the hosts, given their lofty status and expectation levels, Town badly need to avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions as we look to stave off getting bogged down in the lower reaches of the division.

Relegated on the final day of last season following nine at Step One despite a stirring late run, the Daggers’ poor start to the current campaign has perhaps come as even more of a  surprise to many observers but last time out they gained a creditable draw at high-flying Torquay.

The presence of former Premier League striker Andy Carroll among the Daggers’ ranks has sparked nationwide interest and will surely add extra spice to tomorrow if selected.

Town are also likely to come up against Harry Sidwell who played an important part in our survival last season and is now on loan with D and R.

With Town having won twice in the league so far and Dagenham only once, it promises to be a tense and intriguing affair as we bid to bounce straight back from that demoralising FA Cup exit.

“I don’t think there’s a single person connected with the club who didn’t feel absolutely gutted,” said Gavin as he looked back. “I certainly felt it within the players and management but more importantly within the supporters.”

“As a collective group we knew that we should’ve been in the draw on Monday but the only thing that’s important now is to understand how we can improve and quite simply move on.”

“I know for me in football terms it took me a couple of days but the one thing as a manager I have to do is refocus the players and staff on what our task is moving forward and that’s what I’ve done.

“We have two really difficult games to focus on with Dagenham followed by Ebbsfleet on Tuesday. Dagenham are one of the biggest teams in the league and despite their league position I fully them expect to climb the league. We are underdogs which is true of most games we play, that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

AW

Our Middlesex Senior cup 2^nd round tie against Uxbridge has now been confirmed for Tuesday Oct 28

We are at home, kickoff 7.45.

Slough Town 3 Enfield Town 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Heartbreaking, devastating, gut-wrenching. The woodwork hit three times and defeat, in stoppage time, clutched from the jaws of victory. Or at least a draw.

Is there any other way to sum up the cruellest possible outcome, one that will linger for days  — if not weeks and months – after Enfield Town’s quest for a history-making place in the first round proper of the FA Cup, with all its sporting and financial ramifications, was snatched away.

Every Town fan will have woken up this morning to wonder if and how it actually happened. Until Slough equalised for the second time, courtesy of arguably the worst decision of the afternoon, a fourth qualifying round replay looked the minimum Town would get for all their efforts. Even the Slough match reporter  in the Non-League Paper admitted we were unfortunate on the day.

Yet as so often this season, we were unable to see out proceedings as we exited the competition one round before the Holy Grail for the second time in three seasons, and now have to somehow pick ourselves up for several crucial league games and, hopefully, a decent run in the FA Trophy.

Backed a noisy throng of 350-plus segregated away fans, Town got off to a dream start within a minute when Avan Jones crossed for Ollie Knight who stole into the area to plant a rising header high into the net to send the Town fans barmy (player celebrations pictured). Ironically they were the only two enforced changes due to Mickey Parcell’s suspension and Billy Leonard’s injury but were two of our best performers on the day.

Slough responded by Henry Ochieng firing inches over but it was so nearly 2-0 when Lemar Reynolds raced on to a superb through ball from Hayden Bullas but saw his curled effort come back off the post.

That was not the only moment of ill-fortune for Town. Twice Lemar saw further efforts blocked before Slough, themselves a constant threat down their right, levelled on the half hour.

Rhys Forster pulled off a fine save with his legs but after Johnny Goddar’s follow-up rebounded off the bar, Ruben Bartlett-Antwi headed into an empty net.

Slough were forced into two substitutions because of injury but maintained their game plan of playing the ball inside our back three to try  and beat us for pace.

Yet it was Town who scored next. Lemar had already scraped the woodwork once again with a cross-shot before Nino Adam-Maloki whipped in a corner for Henry Hawkins to power home on the stroke of halftime.

H-T 1-2

Having had more than enough chances to put the game to bed in a breathtaking opening 45 minutes, it was crucial at this stage for Town to gain a foothold in the game.

Yet it was the hosts who started to press more effectively though without creating very much as we endeavoured to cut off the spaces.

All that changed on 68 minutes. Adam Thompson was clearly fouled near the byline by Wiktor Makowski who, when the ref wasn’t interested, drove forward to thrash the ball into the net for 2-2. To compound Town’s protests, the ball looked to have gone clearly out of play beforehand.

Now all the momentum was with the Rebels whose players, throughout the game, had got off without caution for the same type of fouls that saw a number of Town players booked.

It was a time for cool heads to at least force a replay and we should have retaken the lead when Jones drilled another centre into the box. All it needed was a tap-in from either of two Town players. Instead substitute Harry Ludovica’s effort came back of a post and was cleared.

Boy, were we made to pay. For some reason, well before that miss, we had  sunk ominously deeper and deeper, with Sam Youngs now playing as a lone striker. And in stoppage time we were made to pay when Jaiden Drakes-Thomas was allowed to sneak into the box unmarked to deliver the most calamitous blow of all and win the game for Slough.

There was still time, as we desperately chased the game, to come within a whisker of a replay and our collective anguish at the final whistle was compounded by Slough’s euphoric celebrations.

For the second time in a matter of weeks, we fell short against the same opposition right at the death but this one, with so much at stake, felt far more painful. And now it’s back-to-back defeats after the debacle at Chesham.

“I’m absolutely gutted for the supporters who were magnificent,” said a crestfallen Gavin Macpherson. “I’m astonished Slough’s second goal was allowed to stand but I’m more focussed on the fact that we should have won the game.”

“I have to look at how on earth their winner has gone in. We’ve contrived to let this one slip away.  They were always a threat but in truth in the second half we were well below par and it’s a pattern I’m not liking”

“Of course we are aggrieved with their second goal but it’s a much bigger picture. I wanted this so badly for this football club. I have a kitman (Neil B) who is absolutely distraught. That, for me, hits harder than looking round the dressing room.

“We have two huge hard league games coming up in Dagenham and Ebbsfleet. These boys have to pick themselves up and put this behind us but it will be very difficult to do. I know we are better than this but something is suddenly amiss. I’m bound to be scrutinised myself, that’s part of the job. But it’s my job to scrutinise them.”

Town

Forster; Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins; Adam-Maloki-Gallimore, Bullas, Knight, Jones; Youngs, Reynolds

Special and stressful. That’s Gavin Macpherson’s take in the build-up to Town’s biggest FA Cup fixture for two years when we visit Slough in the fourth qualifying round on Saturday.

Already without the suspended Mickey Parcell, Gavin is sweating on “at least three more” as we attempt to reach the Holy Grail of the first round proper for the first time in our history.

Fresh from our sobering defeat at Chesham, when whatever could go wrong did go wrong, Gavin is fully aware of what’s at stake and the need to bounce back.

“It’s been pretty stressful to be honest in terms of personnel but I also realise how special the game is. We are hanging in the balance with a few but I know full well about the narrative of the game.”

“The people at this club deserve to be in the first round in terms of exposure and its unique status. We are in a position to affect that on the field.”

Gavin achieved the same goal twice when he was manager at Met Police. “I remember the huge flurry of activity in the week leading up to it, national press as well as local. You can’t buy that publicity. Financially too it can be a game changer.”

If there is a replay it will be on Tuesday but the focus is getting the job done first time round. “We know from when we played Slough in the league how difficult it is there, coupled with our own problems within the camp over the last couple of weeks.

“I know how much this means to the people at the this club, especially after what happened two years ago at Cray and the huge disappointment at the same stage. Obviously a replay is better than going out but ideally we’d like to get it done.”

AW

(for those unable to attend, there will be commentary on the game via a link on this website as per).

Chesham United 4 Enfield Town 1

All teams are entitled to the odd bad day at the office, and Enfield Town certainly had one at The Meadow, home of Chesham United. True, there were a number of mitigating factors; the absence of two key players, the injured Adam Thompson and Lamar Reynolds and the forced retirement from the game of Billy Leonard in the first half, but the Town’s performance, particularly in the second half, fell way short of expectations.

With Town having the advantage of the high wind blowing almost end-to-end, they got off to a flying start; Reynolds’ replacement Tommy Wood, got on the end of Leonard’s low cross in the 12^th minute. After that excellent start, the game degenerated into an untidy mishmash of overhit passes Town) and inaccurate crosses (Chesham). Decent shots on goal were at a premium, and the half-time whistle arrived with the nagging feeling that Town had not taken sufficient advantage of the wind.

They hadn’t. Within two minutes of the restart Chesham were level, Alfie Williams drew the home side level when his cross from the right was deflected past Rhys Forster by an unlucky Wood. It soon became clear that the home side were taking much better advantage of the wind, with every cross and every long throw by winger Josh Addae causing chaos in the Town goalmouth. Although Wood and Nino Adom-Malaki both had chances for Town, the majority of action was taking place at the other end.

The game tipped irrevocably in the home side’s favour after 62 minutes. Town’s attempts to clear a corner resulted in a high tackle by Mickey Parcell, a bout of handbags on the edge of the box, and a red card for Town’s skipper. The double whammy was delivered moments later when Alex Babos’ free kick found its way past Forster aided by a deflection off the end of the wall. Further home goals were added by Matt McClure (72) and Nathan Minhas (81) and the game concluded with the travelling support relieved to hear the final whistle.

Of course, one bad day does not define a season, but Town now have to pick themselves up for next week’s FA Cup tie at Slough. And hope that all the injuries clear up in time.

Team: Forster, Benjamin, Hawkins, Donaldson, Leonard, Parcell, Gallimore, Bullas, Adom-Malaki, Youngs, Wood

Subs: Jones (for Leonard 42), Brown (for Wood 64), Knight (for Bullas 75), Bates (for Youngs 75), Lodovica (for Donaldson 75). Not used: Lambert, Connolly

With only one point separating us from Chesham United, the importance of our visit to The Meadow on Saturday cannot be over-estimated.

Like us, the Generals have two league wins to their name this season and were knocked out of the FA Cup last Saturday by King’s Lynn.

Our own progression to the fourth qualifying round has certainly boosted morale, coupled with our home league win over Chippenham.

Like last Saturday when most of them luckily managed to make themselves available on the day without being fully fit, a number of players have persistent knocks and again it looks touch and go for one or two.

Chesham have traditionally been one of our bogey teams but we broke that jinx with a 3-1 away win last February, including a couple of goals from Sam Youngs, and a similar result would do very nicely.

“Every single point counts and Chesham are going to be a very well-organised side,” said Gavin Macpherson. “They have very good players working to a system. If you can start accumulating points early on, it’s far easier on the heart and mind than have to claw back in March and April.”

The improving fitness of the returning of Jack Bates, who came on as a sub against Quorn, is a major plus. “It gives us a different option in the middle of the park,” said Gavin. “Technically he’s excellent and gives me another tool in the box. Jack has been training with us for several weeks following a couple of injuries and it was a case of getting him into the squad at the right time. He’s not quite up to full match fitness but not far off.”

AW

We have been drawn away to Slough Town in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Oct 11  — minutes after being awarded our 5-1 victory over Quorn on Saturday.

During a frantic morning of nail-biting anticipation, Quorn conceded the tie, abandoned eight minutes from time following a serious injury to their goalkeeper Tom Allsopp who we all wish well and thankfully has no lasting damage

As a result of Saturday’s result standing, we were quickly moved by the FA to the southern section of the draw having initially being placed in the northern section which might have necessitated  a marathon round trip in arguably the toughest of the two regions.

In the third qualifying round on Saturday, Slough won 2-1 away at Bedfont Sports and whilst we could on paper have got a far easier tie against one of the remaining Step 3 teams or even lower, we could also have ended up facing National League opposition since Step 1 sides now enter the competition.

Earlier this season, we conceded a 97^th minute equaliser at Slough to draw 1-1 in the league and both clubs will fancy their chances of progression to the Holy Grail of the first round proper – something we have never achieved.

“In FA Cup terms, it’s been a rollercoaster since Saturday’s game and Step 2 opposition is tough at this stage,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“As we found out recently, it’s very tough to go to Slough and pick up a result. It’s obviously a team we know fairly well and I’ve got the greatest admiration for Scott and his management team. We must prepare properly but it’s a game that I think we have a fighting chance in. We’ll do everything in our power to be in the first round.”

AW