It’s ridiculously early to talk about a six-pointer but Enfield Town go into Saturday’s clash with Chippenham knowing that a first home win of the season would open up a four-point gap above their opponents.

With Town not having won at home and the Bluebirds – one point behind us — yet to be victorious on the road, something has to give in what is the first of three games in a week for us in all competitions.

Last Saturday’s progress in the FA Cup gave everyone a boost but we need to start scoring goals in league games to put more points on the board.

“I realise why some people look at the league table and think this might be one of our easier games but this is National League South,” said Gavin Macpherson. “I would never ever look at a team anywhere in our division and make any kind of judgement. Last season at this early stage there were teams near the top who finished way down. I’m looking at Chippenham in isolation and recognise  what they do really well. They switch their play well so we’ll have to be cute about what we do.”

“Last Saturday in the cup will have done us the power of good but we still need to take more of our ratio of chances. I’ve said many times that we’ve not got as many points as we should have.”

In terms of personnel, Mickey Parcell has just become a proud father and missed training on Thursday, Henry Hawkins and Bailey Brown are both vying to be in contention as they continue trying to shake off injury while Ollie Knight is unavailable. But the rest of the squad seem fit and ready to go. There will be the usual excellent commentary available via the website for those unable to attend.

Next Saturday of course is the small matter of a mouth-watering FA Cup 3^rd qualifying round match against high-flying Step 3  Quorn AFC but before that, on Tuesday, we entertain Cockfosters in the London Senior Cup when it is anticipated that a number of fringe players and academy boys will be bloodied.

“I don’t want to make light of any competition and naturally the supporters want to win every game,” said Gavin. “But truthfully you do have a bit of an ulterior motive in respect of bringing in some really talented academy players for match-day experience.”

“It’s really important because you get to see how they function in a very different environment. Plus how they fare against adult opposition. Cockfosters will be no push-overs and it’s important to see where some of our younger lads are.  But of course we won’t just throw the academy out there. It will include a few of the first-team squad to try to glue it together.”

Could Jack Bates have rejoined the club by then? “It’s no secret Batesy has been training with us but he’s coming back from a couple of injuries,” explained Gav. “He obviously knows most of the lads but he hasn’t had any football whatsoever so we’re treating it one day at a time.”

AW

Wednesday 17th September 

Enfield Town U18s

                 v 

Chelmsford City U18s

Our Youth team take centre stage on Wednesday night when we welcome Chelmsford City’s talented youngsters to Donkey Lane.

Adults £3

Concession and U16s £1

Up The Towners

We have been drawn at home to Quorn in the 3^rd qualifying round of the FA Cup, scheduled for Saturday Sept 27 barring any late change.

Step 3 Quorn, based just outside Loughborough, are currently flying high in the Southern League Premier Central and knocked out famed non-league cup kings Kettering Town on Saturday having trounced Sherwood Colliery 8-0 in the previous round.

They also recently succumbed to a last-minute league defeat away to top of the table Harborough Town – one of only two losses so far on their Step 3 debut.

Whilst there could have been slightly harder ties on paper, there is no doubt  Quorn will provide stiff opposition having been crowned runaway Northern Premier League Midland Division champions last season to earn promotion to Step 3 in their centenary, winning by 18 points and losing only once in the league all season.

“As expected Quorn Fc are a team I know little about but what I do know is they’ve started very well in their respective league,” said Gavin Macpherson. “We’ll clearly become more familiar with who they are in coming days, I have no doubt we have a tough game on our hands so preparation will be key”.

With £5,625 at stake for the winners of the tie and only one more step thereafter to reach the Holy Grail of the first round proper, the fixture has all the makings of a thrilling occasion and your support will prove invaluable to keep our cup run going.

Enfield FC 0 Enfield Town 3

By Andrew Warshaw

Bragging rights went comprehensively to Enfield Town in the first meeting between these two historic rivals for 14 years.

“One team in Enfield” was the chant from the hundreds of visiting Towners fans who turned Hertford Town’s ground shared by Enfield FC into a virtual home fixture.

The talk before the game from the nomadic hosts was all about a possible cup upset. But two divisions separate these sides and the gulf in class was evident from first whistle to last as the E’s barely laid a glove on us, with hardly a shot on target.

Before kickoff we had rain, hail and sun and a rainbow, over which there was a pot of gold in the shape of a place in the next round.

For all the ground’s Step 4 status, it has to be said that the artificial pitch was among the best we have played on and there were no excuses for a poor performance by Gavin Macpherson’s men.

Luckily no excuses were needed as we dominated the game and should actually have won by more.

In a cup-tie atmosphere that rewarded the winners with £3,375, Gavin made one change from the West-super-mare game, Ruaridh Donaldson drafted into the back three to replace the injured Henry Hawkins.

Sam Youngs had our first decent chance when his driven volley was pushed away and a Lamar Reynolds effort was deflected for a corner.

“Your not Enfield any more” was the refrain as we pushed Enfield FC back and on 13 minutes, great play by Tosh Gallimore culminated in a vintage Youngs goal, cutting inside and shooting low into the corner.

Four minutes later we doubled our lead in the quest to take the sting out the opposition and get the job done early doors. Adam Thompson’s header came back off the bar and Reynolds managed to control a bouncing ball to volley home.

Lamar’s pace and skill, coupled with his combination play with Sam, troubled the hosts all afternoon and Sam almost made it three when George Edgeworth palmed away his header. Then a gorgeous four-man move through midfield culminated in Lamar chesting the ball down, only to see his shot blocked.

Further chances came and went and right on halftime, Lamar had the ball in the net again, only for the offside flag to be raised – wrongly according to Town players — after a fine delivery from Billy Leonard.

H-T 2-0

The hosts had enjoyed their first spell of possession in the latter stages of the half and 2-0 can be a dangerous scoreline.

They came out with more purpose but again couldn’t trouble Rhys Forster who continued to be a virtual spectator.

There was only one team that looked like continuing the scoring as Gallimore and Hayden Bullas controlled midfield. And so it proved on 68 minutes as Town guaranteed their place in the 3^rd qualifying round draw at lunchtime on Monday.

Reynolds was again the architect in some terrific build-up play that ended with Ollie Knight, who had missed a decent chance moments earlier, making amends with a low side-foot drive (pictured) that killed the game and avoided a possible banana skin.

Enfield’s response was to get over-physical with some meaty challenges that fortunately didn’t result in any injuries and in the end we could have had five or six, the best of the late chances falling to substitute Harry Lodovica who was unable to make clear contact from two yards out and fellow sub Avan Jones who thrashed the ball against the woodwork in stoppage time.

The only downside to a dominant display was the idiot who let off a couple of flares but he is believed to have been escorted from the ground.

The home side’s misery was compounded late on by what looked like a serious ACL injury to substitute Kieran Southgate who went down in the corner screaming with pain after an innocuous coming together with Xavier Benjamin and was stretchered off.

Afterwards Gavin Macpherson gratiously  visited the stricken Southgate in the dressing room before giving his verdict on a disciplined, professional performance and some outstanding individual displays.

“We probably should have scored a few more but the most pleasing thing is that I’m seeing the team doing the types of things we want them to do,” he said.

“Putting the ball in the net has been our nemesis but hopefully we’ve turned the corner. Even though we were the Step 2 side it was tough game for a multitude of well-chronicled reasons but we detached ourselves from the emotion of the occasion and I’m delighted to be in the hat.”

Town: Forster. Benjamin, Thompson, Donaldson; Leonard (Macarthur 60), Gallimore, Bullas (Jones 85), Knight (Parcell, 75), Adom-Malaki; Youngs (Wood 71), Reynolds (Lodovica 70)

Forget the hype surrounding the game and just concentrate on not slipping up on an obvious banana skin.

That’s the message Gavin Macpherson has given to his players as we enter the FA Cup at the 2^nd qualiying round stage  on Saturday (kickoff 3pm) with a clash against Enfield FC that has generated national as well as local interest and promises to be a highly competitive affair.

No-one needs reminding of how Town have sometimes struggled against lower league sides in cup competitions, last season’s FA Trophy defeat at Sittingbourne – like Enfield FC a Step 4 team –being a case in point. As was the London Senior Cup defeat to Step 5 Athletic Newham. But surely not this time and not in the FA Cup.

Enfield FC, who play in Southern League Division One Central and entered the tournament in the extra preliminary round, have already knocked out Wormley Rovers, Biggleswade Town and Ilford to set up a  mouth-watering encounter that is one of the standout fixtures of the day. Their ranks include striker George Sykes who made  a handful of appearances for Town a couple of years ago.

At stake is not only a place in the next round but the small matter of £3,375 to the winners of the tie, which takes place at Hertingfordbury Park  where Enfield FC  ground share with Hertford Town on an artificial surface.

Last season, we only managed one FA Cup outing having been edged out by fellow Step 2 opponents  Peterborough Sports. It wasn’t the kindest of draws so early in the competition but this time we have a golden opportunity to progress.

“I understand all the history and the differences between the clubs but for me, it’s a Step 4 side away from home,” said Gavin who has at least one injury issue but most of the squad available.

 “The draw could have been a lot worse but I will give them the due respect they deserve because it’s the FA Cup. I’ve been on the other side of it in terms of giant-killing and that’s what our opponents will have in their minds.”

“It’s all about progression. I want a cup run for this club because I want everyone, including all the volunteers and those who been here for years and years, to have some exposure in terms of who we are because there are people here who deserve it.”

While paying on the door is permitted with either cash or card, numbers are limited and you can now secure your tickets on line by clicking on the following link:

https://tickettailor.com/events/enfieldfc.

 Ticket prices are £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs and £1 for children under six accompanied by an adult. Please also use the designated parking area at: County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8DF

There is also minibus transport leaving the Dave Bryant stadium at 12.30. There are only a few seats left and to book your spot, please text Ram on 07493 425359.

For those unable to attend, there will be the usual excellent live commentary from Michael available via the website. If the game is drawn, there will be a replay on Tuesday.

AW

Enfield Town 0-1 Weston-super-Mare

Report by Charlie Baker 

It was a case of déjà vu for Enfield Town as we conceded another late goal to lose to high-flying Weston-super-Mare.

However, unlike the two previous defeats by a single goal at home, we’re wondering how we haven’t won this one, never mind lose it.

We started the game strongly, clearly buoyed by our first league victory of the season at Tonbridge on Tuesday. We took four points off second-placed Weston last season and took the game to them on this occasion too, with Sam Youngs curling just wide in the opening minutes. 

Our captain had a similar chance moments later, when an acrobatic effort went past the same post. On another day it could’ve been a hat-trick, as he blazed over from six yards out after a whipped cross from the lively Nino Adom-Malaki. 

Nino’s trickery was causing all sorts of problems for the visitors, who were struggling to move up the pitch. They were given some respite when Henry Hawkins went down injured on 25 minutes, having to be replaced by Avan Jones.

But then we were back on the gas. This time Hayden Bullas broke through and fed Ollie Knight in the centre of the box, but his effort was superbly saved by Seagulls keeper Max Harris. 

The visitors started to gain more control without troubling Rhys Forster in the Town goal, but the biggest talking point as half-time approached was Knight seemingly being tripped in the area while weaving through Weston defenders.

The referee, whose view may have been blocked, wasn’t interested and that was that for the first half. 

HT 0-0

After some mild half-time drama involving a strong gust of wind and a gazebo, Weston grew into the game. They put together a string of corners, but the game became more scrappy and chances were at a premium. 

Youngs saw a header caught by Harris, but neither side could find that bit of quality to change the game. Until Weston did. On 84 minutes, substitute Sam Pearson was played the ball in the box, sweeping it into the bottom left corner to silence the previously-noisy Town fans.

Gavin Macpherson saw this as the push to make some substitutions, as Harry Lodovica replaced Lamar Reynolds and Matty MacArthur came on for Knight. However, despite taking the handbrake off in added time, it was too little too late, leaving another punishing defeat when it really could and should’ve been more.

We drop one position to 20th in the table, just above the relegation zone, while Weston keep pace with Hornchurch at the summit. 

Next up, attention turns to the cup. We travel to Enfield FC (in Hertford) in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round this Saturday. Let’s hope for a couple of goals and the start of one of those magical cup runs. 

Town: Forster; Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins (Jones 25), Adom-Malaki; Gallimore, Bullas; Leonard, Youngs, Knight (MacArthur 87); Reynolds (Lodovica 85). Subs not used: Connolly, Lambert, Wood.

Tonbridge Angels 1 Enfield Town 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

This time we hung on. This time we got what we deserved. And this time there were high fives all round.

Enfield Town secured their first maximum points haul of the season on Tuesday as we climbed out of the bottom four with an accomplished team display.

In one sense it was a similar scenario to the Slough game as we controlled the first half, invited pressure at times in the second and had the visiting Towners fans biting their nails as the game moved into its final throes.

But the fact we restricted a very pacey Tonbridge forward line to few clearcut chances was another indication of the progress we are making – double the points tally of this time last year.

Despite a three-day turnaround Gavin Macpherson kept faith with the Slough team as we started unchanged against a side who were also chasing their first victory.

Nino Adom-Malaki’s driving shot over the bar was an early indication of the man-of-match role he was to play. On 12 minutes a sublime diagonal pass from Sam Youngs found Nino and from his left-wing cross, Bailey Brown – who made his debut in our 3-1 win at Tonbridge last season – swivelled his way between two defenders to give us the lead.

Youngs, who arguably had his best game of the season in that advanced forward role, spooned another Nino cross over but for all our early interplay, parity was soon restored against the run of play.

On 25 minutes, a moment of carelessness allowed Marcus Sablier to run through the centre of midfield  and from his well-executed pass the dangerous Eddie Simon kept his composure, shook off the attention of Henry Hawkins and finished off the post.

Town weren’t deterred and back they came with Adom-Malaki again involved, his freekick headed into the path of Youngs who, initially with his back to goal, twisted and hooked a superb strike beyond Jacob Adams (celebrations pictured).

H-T 1-2

Invariably Tonbridge had fallen foul of the offside trap but second half substitute Scott Wagstaff livened things up for the hosts and now it was question of starving their willing runners of openings rather than feeding them chances.

Just like at Slough, the home team upped the tempo but for all their pressure, we stood strong as all defensively solid teams do though the bearded Wagstaff came dangerously close to a second equaliser as did Bunmi Babajide who struck the inside of the post following a surging advance.

At the other end we had further chances too, the best falling to Lamar Reynolds who was just unable to get the better of his marker inside the six-yard box to convert Billy Leonard’s low centre.

This time, the five minutes added on were precisely  that and all in all a highly satisfying evening from what looks like becoming a settled side, the clapping in the away dressing room speaking volumes.

“There’s a belief here that we’ve deserved more from a lot of the games we’ve actually played so far and hopefully this has turned a corner,” said Gavin. “The boys had to work extremely hard against a team who move the ball around and were absolutely fantastic. We’ve given the supporters some tough moments in and around the 90-minute mark so it was good to see that not happening again. When you put a plan into action and get a result, there’s massive satisfaction about seeing it unfold.”

Forster; Benjamin, Thompson, Hawkins; Leonard, Bullas, Gallimore, Brown (Knight 94), Adom-Malaki; Youngs, Reynolds (Lodovica 73)

You really couldn’t make it up! Enfield Town have been drawn away at Step 4 Enfield FC in the 2^nd qualifying round of the FA Cup when we enter the tournament.

Enfield FC, members of Southern League Division One Central, play at Hertford and beat Ilford 3-1 on Saturday to reach this stage of the competition.

We have played each other twice before, once in the Middlesex Charity Cup and once in the FA Vase, honours being split.

The game will be played over the weekend of September 12,13,14 and 15 and all details will be released as soon as a firm date is arranged.

Slough Town 1 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

 Heartbreaking, agonising.  Football, as the old cliché goes, is a cruel game.

With 97 minutes on the clock (even though there were officially supposed to be only five minutes of stoppage time), Enfield Town had their first victory of the season brutally snatched away on Saturday and had to be content with another draw.

Of course if we had taken our chances (how many times have we heard this before?), Slough’s last-gasp salvaged equaliser  wouldn’t have made any difference but the manner of the defeat was nevertheless desperately hard to stomach.

 All we can do is take the positives – of which there were several – into Tuesday’s fixture at Tonbridge which now becomes even more of a must-win game.

It is of course far too early for any sense of doom to set in. Look at the likes of Eastbourne and Dagenham and Redbridge – full-time teams who are also struggling badly:  one of them now rock bottom, the other one of the biggest financial  fish in the division.

In other words, it’s far too soon to  make any concrete judgements. But having said, the trend of conceding late, late goals and losing crucial points isn’t lost on the players, the management team or the supporters and there’s an argument to suggest we should do better at being able to play out time.

After Slough had edged the first few minutes on their artificial pitch without looking especially dangerous, we took the lead with a peach of a goal, a sumptuous finish by Lamar Reynolds rounding off a neat move down the right (pictured, celebrating).

Although Slough went straight up the other end and forced a smart save from Rhys Forster, Lamar’s strike was just the boost we needed after four games without a goal.

While the defence did their job at foiling Slough’s tactics at trying to get in behind, we started to move the ball around confidently and should have doubled our lead – three times.

 Lamar, who might well have had a hat-trick on another day, finished a beautifully constructed move by volleying just wide, then beat the offside trap but lobbed over.  And on 40 minutes Hayden Bullas – arguably Town’s best player with a lung-lusting box-to-box display – had an effort cleared off the line.

Just before the break, Forster was again called into action to thwart Tarik Gigaree but we were well worth our lead at the interval.

H-T 1-0

Slough may argue that their keeper hadn’t had to make a worthwhile save and after introducing winger Jared Myers at the break the Rebels grabbed the initiative.

Suddenly we were pinned back and Rhys pulled off a superb double save to maintain the lead, then fisted away another home effort while Tosh Gallimore came to Town’s rescue with a well-timed tackle. Slough also went close when Ruben Bartlett-Antwi poked the ball through the legs of Forster but thankfully wide of the post.

Having soaked up 20 minutes of pressure, Town came again though by now without Sam Youngs – skipper for the day but victim of a first-half clash of heads and replaced on the hour by Matty MacArthur.

Another Town sub, Harry Lodovica, fluffed two golden chances to make the game safe after seemingly doing all the hard work. If only one of them, or any before, had counted.

Instead, two points were dropped with the final action of the game. Town had dealt comfortably with all the hosts’ previous set-pieces but this time forgot about second phase. When Slough kept a corner alive,  Peter Ojemen rose highest to flash a header in off the back post to leave the Enfield fans behind Forster’s goal in utter dejection.

There was only just time to kick off before the final whistle and Slough celebrated like they had won the league, leaving a crestfallen Gavin Macpherson to comment: “We can talk about how many minutes were added on all day long but the fact is we should have finished the game off and you could see that by Slough’s euphoria at the end.”

“They changed their shape at halftime but we still had a couple of one-on-ones which we didn’t take. You always then run the risk.”

Forster; Adom-Malaki, Hawkins, Thompson,  Benjamin, Leonard (Jones 90), Brown, Gallimore, Bullas, Youngs (MacArthur 61), Reynolds (Lodovica 84).

After the worst league sequence without a goal for as long as anyone can remember, Enfield Town step out for their sixth game of the season on Saturday hoping to end their drought as well as a put a first maximum points haul on the board.

Gavin Macpherson cut a disconsolate figure after the Bank Holiday programme and stressed the need for more detailed and intensive training in order to get the team firing and move off the bottom of the table.

“At the moment I’m hugely disappointed for the supporters that we are not serving up better results,” said Gav after one goal, two draws and three defeats. “The boys feel we are not far off. But for me, not far off has got to come tomorrow. I want to go through a season where we are testing teams.”

Having understandably rotated the squad for two games in as many days, the management team must now decide which starting eleven to select against the side where Jon Underwood spent nine years. One player who is definitely out is skipper Mickey Parcell who serves the first of a three-game ban.

In contrast to Town, Slough’s Bank Holiday programme yielded four points with a 1-1 draw at Eastbourne Borough that followed an excellent win over Ebbsfleet United, the Rebels’ first victory of the campaign.

Town could certainly use the same points return from our next two games – perhaps the minimum requirement from Slough and then Tonbridge on Tuesday. Someone who seems certain to play a part is Xavier Benjamin whose two extraordinary interventions against Totton on Monday capped a terrific start to the season.

“Xav has really kicked on from where he left off last season,” said Gav. “He’s a player who is trying hard to get himself back up the ladder and gives you 100 percent every single game.”

“You can totally rely on him to put his heart and body on the line. He’s holding up the best traditions of me and the club.”

A reminder for Town fans making the trip to Slough that the game is being segregated with Town fans requested to enter Arbour Park through turnstile 3 to access the segregated area.

For those unable to attend, Michael Lacquire will be providing his usual excellent commentary, available via the website, and will have a special co-commentator alongside him in the shape of Mickey Parcell.

AW