Enfield Town FC isn’t only about matters on the pitch.

Behind the scenes, as many of you know, we have links with a number of local charities and a few days ago, we partnered with Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice to provide a special coaching morning for their so-called Siblings Summer Camp.

The event was run by our community coaches Adisa and Kam plus there was a guest appearance from Lewis Taaffe.

 Some 18 children aged between five and 14 took part in a thoroughly rewarding session and special thanks go to everyone involved.

Noah’s Ark, based in Barnet, helps babies, children and young people with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions, and their families, try to make the most of every day.

Those involved in the coaching sessions were siblings of the Noah’s Ark children.

 “We take a holistic approach and by organising activities like this, we’re letting the siblings know that they are seen and that they matter,” said Aaya Nader, the organisation’s community Engagement Officer.

“It can be very easy for these kids to feel neglected, even if not intentionally perhaps. Sometimes it’s difficult to get them engaged but they absolutely loved the football morning. The coaches learned all of their names and we are so thankful to Enfield Town.”

AW

Torquay United 2 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Loads of positives to build on. That was the over-riding sentiment following our National League South baptism on the Devon coast.

Torquay may have had the upper hand for large parts of the game but the way we competed, so nearly snatching a point at the death, said everything about the  collective effort especially when you consider we were up against a full-time outfit and still have several of our new recruits unavailable.

Indeed, many of the squad had never played together before, some having only just met, so it was a credit to them that they worked so hard for one another.

Having successfully emerged from the dark days of administration, there was an air of expectancy around Plainmoor which made for a wonderful atmosphere.

Only one of Torquay’s starting line-up survived from last season under their new management regime but Town, hoping to become party poopers, stunned the yellow army  after just three minutes with our first goal at Step 2.

Joash Nembhard, one of our most effective players on the day, had already planted a free header over the bar when Lewis Taaffe’s superb glancing header from Ollie Knight’s cross (pictured celebrating) sent the 200-plus travelling fans into ecstasy

Our dream start was short-lived but there was a huge element of good fortune about the Gulls’ equaliser on 15 minutes when Matt Carson’s strike,  which was going wide, took a deflection off Scott Thomas.

Torquay had already gone close to levelling when skipper Oscar Threlkeld’s half-volley  skimmed the bar but now they were in full flow, putting Town under the cosh with winger Omar Mussa pulling the strings.

Bernie Tanner just managed to clear a whipped-in cross to safety before Torquay’s much-touted signing Cody Cooke got his feet in a tangle with the goal gaping.

Town newcomer Ernaldo Krasniqi, perhaps our most accomplished performer on the day, received the softest of bookings for what appeared to be throwing  the ball away after a magnificent recovery tackle but the pressure finally told.

On 28 minutes, a dominant Torquay caught Town out with an overload and Carson’s pinpoint cross was headed home by Brad Ash.

Town were now struggling to get out of our own half and Ash almost increased the lead when shooting across goal and narrowly wide. Mussa then skipped past two defenders before firing down the throat of Rhys Forster.

H-T 2-1

With their 4-2-3-1 formation, Town had been too deep in the first half and the management team quickly responded by tweaking into a more attacking shape.

But Torquay again so nearly made it 3-1, first when Tanner superbly blocked Cooke’s point-blank effort, then when Forster reacted superbly to keep out Ash. Torquay also hit the bar and had a goal ruled out for offside.

But with no change to the scoreline, it was Town, with a flurry of substitutions, who finished the stronger against our fully professional hosts.

Only a last-ditch tackle by Sam Dreyer prevented  our newest signing, Hisham Kasimu, from restoring parity following a powerful run into the box.

Then, deep into injury time, came our chance to leave with a memorable point as Torquay keeper James Hamon pulled off a double stop from Kasimu, who really looks the part, followed by a goal-saving  interception from Jordan Dyer that brought a collective sense of relief around the 3,837-strong crowd.

With Khanya Leshabela’s international clearance still being held up and the likes of Billy Leonard and Jack Smith still not available, there is undoubtedly more to come from Town following a highly creditable opening display.

“They’re a full-time club yet we finished stronger,” said Gavin Macpherson. “We’re missing four of five and we’ve run them to the wire.”

“We were second best in the first half but we went 4-1-3-2 after the break and had a glorious chance at the end. There are obviously things we have to improve on that you can’t away with at Step 2. We had a rotten pre-season all over the shop but there’s a massive amount to build on because we will only get better.” 

TOWN:  Forster, Tanner,  Payne, Thomas (Kasimu, 73),  Nembhard, Knight, Youngs (Alves, 87), Folivi ( Beckles-Richards, 82), Taafe (Adjey-Hersey, 61), Krasniqi, Oyenuga (Parcell, 87).

The waiting is over and you can almost touch the sense of anticipation despite the daunting stature of the opposition.

After weeks of preparation, not all of it admittedly going according to plan, Enfield Town make their National League South debut with the long trip to Devon to face former league club Torquay United tomorrow, followed a week later by our first home game against Weston Super Mare.

Town’s Step 2 baptism could hardly be much tougher on paper but this is what we strove for and now it’s all systems go in front of what is likely to be a crowd of several thousand.

Whilst we still have one or two significant injuries, the treatment table is showing signs of improvement and we have been boosted by yet another signing, this time experienced former  Sutton United striker Hisham Kasimu.

With the squad bolstered in recent weeks by several timely recruits, the mood around the whole club has been raised considerably though Gavin Macpherson is under no illusions about the task ahead.

“The last thing I will say to the players when they leave the dressing room is to embrace the role of the underdog,” said Gavin.

“The word is focussed. I can’t deny that moving up the ladder poses a challenge and Torquay is the biggest example of that in our very first game.”

“If we put on a good show and we still get beaten there may be positives to draw on but we never go into any game thinking we are just there to make up the numbers.”

“Having said that, although we are in the same division, we don’t live with Torquay in respect of the fact we are wide apart as football clubs. That’s not a criticism of anyone. We have made massive strides but Torquay are a club who understandably feel the level they are at is way beneath where they should be. By rights they should beat us and I don’t feel any pressure whatsoever.”

Gavin concedes, however, that pre-season hasn’t exactly been how he planned it, both in terms of injuries and losing Marcus Wyllie and Taylor McKenzie as well as Jake Cass though the latter’s retirement was always on the cards.

Some of the pre-season results speak for themselves but while many of the new-look squad have never played together, the recruitment process has started to kick into gear.

“We’re still building and I hope the fans understand it may take a few weeks more,” said Gavin. “I’m really pleased get Hisham in, he’s strong, powerful and left-footed. It’s no secret we are trying to bring in another centreback but it’s not easy to identify the right person. Ideally, I’d have liked everything to have come together by now so that the players all knew each other at the start of the season.  But we go to Torquay trying to spring an upset or at the very least give a good account of ourselves.”

Andrew Warshaw

We are delighted to announce the signing of pacy French-born forward Hisham Kasimu from Sutton United.

Hisham, 27, was previously on loan to Farnborough, scoring nine goals in 20 appearances. Before that he found the net 31 times in two seasons in all competitions at AFC Totton.

Hisham will be available for selection at Torquay tomorrow.

Welcome Hisham!

A quick reminder for anyone wishing to purchase seats on the supporters’ coach  for our mouth-watering opening National League South fixture at Torquay on Saturday.

The coach will leave the Dave Bryant stadium at 8am and tickets can be bought on the following link

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets

Ware 0 Enfield Town 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Bolstered by four new signings, Enfield Town completed their pre-season campaign with a relatively straightforward win over Step 4 Ware yesterday but Gavin Macpherson concedes there is still an awful lot of work to do.

Following those two heavy defeats against Hendon and Billericay, Town couldn’t afford another morale-sapping setback in our final outing before the small matter of Torquay next Saturday and the players duly obliged with a far more cohesive performance and a goal from new striker Michael Folivi.

Whilst we are nowhere near where Gavin wants us to be, there were some eye-catching displays – not least from South African midfielder Khanya Leshabela whose vision and composure shone through and who looks destined to become a fans’ favourite.

Leshebela and fellow new recruit, 6-foot-4  Ernaldo Krasniqi, formed an encouraging partnership in front of what, for this encounter, was a back four.

With just three minutes on the clock, debutant Folivi forced a tip-over save from the Ware keeper before a Ware corner at the other end was shovelled to safety.

Ware’s lively right-winger wearing number seven  posed a serious threat but on 37 minutes we opened the score with a well-worked goal, the ball played through midfield before being fed out to Ollie Knight whose cross looped over the keeper and was tucked home by Folivi (pictured)

After an eye-catching 45 minutes from Leshabela that told us plenty about his potential, it was good to see Scott Thomas given a run-out to test his fitness but we started far too sluggishly and allowed our hosts to go close three times.

Krasniqi’s debut lasted until the hour mark when he, too, was substituted though he was already struggling having received lengthy treatment behind the Ware goal.

Cue a flurry of further substitutions before we doubled the lead on 72 minutes. Hernon Alves’ corner was hacked up in the air and when the ball fell to a trialist wearing 19, he smacked it home impressively on the volley.

And it was the same player who got the last touch to another Alves corner seven minutes from time after Joash Nembhard’s brave diving header was cleared off the line.

“We looked comfortable until that period 10 minutes after the restart when we dropped off for some reason,” said Gavin who was still missing a number of key players including Billy Leonard and Jack Smith. “I brought Khanya and Ernaldo in for a reason and both keep the ball really well. There were a lot of plusses because I asked the boys to take a step in the right direction.”

“Having said that, a lot of them are trying to get up to speed and there’s lots of work to do during the week because this was more like a mid-pre season performance. To be honest, nothing is where I want it to be at the moment. I’ve got some tough decisions to make, some of which I may not like doing, but I have to get it right.”

Town:

Forster; Parcell, Nembhard, Tanner, Payne; Krasniqi, Leshabela; Oneyuga, Youngs, Knight; Folivi

Subs: Thomas, Alves, Taaffe, Beckles-Richards, Trialist, trialist, Cavedachi (gk), Herson-Alves

John Oyenuga

Eagle-eyed observers at our last few pre-season outings would have noticed John’s name among the Towners named on the team sheet, and we are pleased to announce his signing, subject to international clearance. Adept at full-back or wing-back, the 29-year-old has previously worn the shirts of Eastleigh, Farnborough, and Dover Athletic, where he won their Player of the Season award last term.

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Ernaldo Krasniqi

A towering holding midfielder at 6ft 4, Ernaldo joins the Towners having last featured for Oxford City. Formerly of Huddersfield Town, where he spent three years in the Terriers’ academy, he also counts Falkirk and Chelmsford City among his former sides. The 21-year-old also has experience on the international stage, having been capped at U17 and U19 level by Albania. Ernaldo’s signing is subject to international clearance.

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Khanya Leshabela

Khanya, 24, is a South African centre-midfield player who was a silver lining in our midweek defeat to Billericay, impressing wearing number 12 with his agility and dynamism in the middle of the park. Previously with Leicester City, where he was a regular in the Under-23s and even earned senior Premier League minutes in 2021, he also has Crewe Alexandra, Shrewsbury Town, and Cape Town City on his footballing CV. He joins subject to international clearance.

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Michael Folivi

Centre-forward Michael joins the Towners having been a regular presence at Step 2 and above in the last few seasons. Formerly of Watford, where he was a prolific goalscorer at youth level, the 26-year-old has since represented the likes of AFC Wimbledon, Boreham Wood, Chelmsford City, Farnborough and Hemel Hempstead Town.

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A very warm welcome to all four. Up The Town!

Enfield Town 0 Billericay Town 4

Report by Andrew Warshaw

No-one is sugar coating the fact that the build-up to Step 2 has been far from ideal with just one pre-season friendly  left before the momentous challenge of visiting Torquay United

But Tuesday’s latest heavy defeat was somewhat harsh in terms of the scoreline given that we arguably created as many chances as Billericay yet couldn’t take any whilst the back we were at times badly exposed.

Some of our play was more encouraging than last Saturday’s 3-0 reverse against Hendon yet the management team is under no illusions that we are behind schedule and how much work needs to be done before the players board the coach to Devon.

The fact is Town’s preparations have been rocked by illness and injury at the worst possible time with Gavin unable to field anywhere near a competitive starting eleven. Jack Smith, an integral part of our midfield this season, is the latest enforced absentee.

However many times the club is rebuffed by potential key signings, no stone is  being left unturned to bring in further recruits across all areas of the pitch, not least up top and at the back following the departures of Marcus Wyllie and Taylor McKenzie.

On Tuesday, we had to deal with a settled Billericay side but had the better of the early stages with a triallist wearing No. 12 particularly eye-catching with his composure and close control.

Sam Youngs sent a volley straight down the throat of Sam Donkin while Joash Nembhard had a goalbound shot blocked after a Joe Payne long throw caused confusion in the Ricay box.

Yet by halftime, we were three down.  On 25 minutes, the visitors were awarded a penalty dispatched low and hard by Decarrey Sheriff.

Ten minutes later, Rhys Forster saved brilliantly from Harrison Day but when the ball was recycled out to Cain Keller, he thumped it home.

The third goal was a catalogue of errors as the entire back line failed to clear a right-wing cross and Ibrahim Jalloh converted at the back post.

Day almost made it four before the interval before Sheriff pounced on Obi Onyeagwara’s mistake early in the second half and ran through to add to add insult to injury.

At the attacking end of the pitch, where he is most effective, Obi delved into his box of tricks and from his excellent pass, Rhys Beckles Richards rounded the keeper but saw his shot rebound off the post –the nearest we came to getting on the scoresheet.

“There were some good moments between the two ends of the pitch but that’s not going to win you football matches,” said Gavin.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be in our planning and that’s an honest assessment. The standard of football we need won’t wait for us if we are not sharp enough. You get away with it at Step 3 but not Step 2.”

On to Saturday and our final pre-season outing at Ware. “It’s a very strange place to be as a manager right now, to have so many players missing,” said Gavin. “But I’m doing everything I can to strengthen us.”

Town:

Forster; Nembhard, triallist, Parcell; Triallist, Taaffe, Youngs, Knight,; Triallist, Oyenuga

Subs: Triallist, Alves, Onyeagwara,  triallist, Tanner, Solomon, triallist, Owusu, Beckles-Richards.

A quick reminder that tonight represents the last chance to see the team in a home pre-season friendly before the season starts as Billericay Town are our visitors, kickoff 7:45.

We are delighted to announce a new commentator in Michael Lacquiere who will be covering Town home matches for those who can’t get to games.

The link for Michael’s first live commentary tonight is here: https://mjl99.mixlr.com/. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 7:40.

Enfield Town 0 Hendon 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town’s latest pre-season outing hardly went according to plan as we were undone by Step 3 Hendon who picked up the FSA Brian Lomax trophy.

Town were poor throughout but there were mitigating circumstances with a spate of absentees through unavailability or injury.

Add to that the loss of Marcus Wyllie and the sudden retirement of Taylor McKenzie and it was perhaps inevitable that the wheels would come off as the management team try desperately to apply some stability.

At times we were run ragged by Hendon’s front pair of Joe White and Niko Muir, the latter taking just four minutes to force Rhys Forster into an excellent stop.

Town debutant Josh Oyenuga knocked in an effort shortly thereafter that was narrowly deemed offside (pictured) but the visitors for the most part looked the more dangerous side. Muir put a lob-volley just wide before Rhys was called into action again to keep out a close-range hook.

There was an element of good fortune, however, about Hendon’s opener on 31 minutes as Joash Nembhard stuck out a leg to divert a cross that was creeping wide into his own net.

Mickey Parcell’s block prevented an almost certain second from White but in the blink of eye Hendon went two up when the experienced Muir spun quickly and finished powerfully.

Ten minutes into the second half it was game over as a trialist headed home after his initial shot was parried by Forster who couldn’t get off the ground in time to keep the rebound out.

Cue a flurry of Enfield subs which failed to affect the course of the game but included a first appearance of the season for Lewis Taaffe and a final one for McKenzie who is retiring from the game due to work commitments at the age of 30.

One ray of sunshine was a debut for new recruit Oyenuga, formerly of Dover who can play in a variety of defensive and wide positions but all in all it was a troubling display.

“It’s a very frustrating time,” admitted Gavin Macpherson. “What happened out there was really no surprise to me as we had square pins in round holes and were missing almost the complete spine of the team.”

“Taylor’s decision so close to the start of the season has obviously made things harder having already lost Marcus. It’s not a position as a manager I wanted to be in as I’m now having to re-programme and restructure.

“It’s no secret to anyone how much of a problem losing Marcus has caused but I am leaving no stone unturned, almost  24/7, to try and bring in the necessary and affordable replacements. I’m constantly throwing the net out there. It’s extremely difficult two weeks before the season to have to be experimenting but I have to make this work.”

Town

Forster; Parcell, Nembhard, Tanner; Trialist, Smith, Youngs, Oyenuga; Owusu

Subs: Trialist, Solomon, McKenzie, Taaffe, Onyeagwara, Trialist, trialist, trialist