Enfield Town 3 Spurs u21 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

What a way to finish! Enfield Town’s final pre-season outing resulted in an emphatic victory in the annual friendly against a Spurs u21 side, with all the damage done inside 10 blistering first-half minutes.

As preparations go for the start of the season on Saturday, it couldn’t have turned out much better, racheting up the anticipation ahead of Saturday’s eagerly awaited trip to Lewes.

A few hours earlier, 18-year-old Spurs keeper Dylan Thompson committed himself to Town on a loan basis and made a couple of wonderful saves against his parent club which certainly augurs well for the weeks ahead.

By then, Town had virtually wrapped up victory courtesy of Ayo Tanimowo’s opener, followed by two Amrit Bansal-McNulty goals.

Wayne Burnett’s under-21 team haven’t had the best of pre-seasons themselves but when you consider that his team included the likes of Alfie Dorrington – not so long ago a cup winner with Aberdeen – and a couple of England youth internationals and you get some idea of how impressive Town’s performance was.

Before kickoff and with members of his family in attendance, there was a minute’s applause as a tribute to the late Les Gold. When the action got under way, the deadlock was broken as early as the 12^th minute when Tom Avgoustides found Bansal-McNulty  and when the flag stayed down, Amrit’s assist to Ayo Tanimowo was swept home by the fullback via a deflection.

Three minutes later we doubled our lead when Tottenham were again made to pay for slow thinking. Frankie Domi, another of our exciting new signings, played a beautiful ball into the path of Bansal-McNulty who still had plenty to do but lifted a delicious chip over the advancing Sam Archer (pictured celebrating, courtesy of Bob Sharman).

Town fans were already in raptures and had to pinch themselves when the game was put to bed with 22 minutes on the clock. Billy Leonard pounced on  a mistake and Bansal-McNulty provided a close-range finish despite a Spurs defender desperately trying to get to the ball first.

There was a worrying sight when Bansal-McNulty – surely destined to become a Town favourite – limped off but first-team coach Charlie Gregory later confirmed it was precautionary (see his post-match interview on social media).

Town had at least two more decent chances before Thompson brilliantly clawed away Maxwell Adedeji’s snapshot. On the verge of halftime, Thompson was on hand again to foil Ronny Moncur though Avgoustides could have made it 4-0 with virtually the last action  of the half but took the wrong option and allowed Archer to save with his legs.

Understandably the excitement waned after the break as we changed 10 players – including, notably, the newly signed Adam Thompson.

Spurs largely controlled possession, firing wide on three occasions. But Town supporters among the bumper 1,100-plus crowd still saw plenty to enthuse about, especially quick balls through midfield for runners to burst forward and collect.

It augurs well for the big kickoff on Saturday but we all know pre-season success means little unless you can follow it up when points are at stake.

Town

Team D Thompson (Setters), Tanimowo (Trialist B), Trialist A (May-Parrott), Domi (Moses), Mensah (A Thompson), Leonard (Corrigan), Rydings (Kyei), Bansal-McNulty (Parcell), Youngs (c) (Watson), Avgoustides (Ackeson), Deslandes (Remi

Prior to our annual fixture against Tottenham, we were extremely pleased to announce the addition of Spurs goalkeeper Dylan Thompson, on an initial short-term youth loan.

A regular for Spurs’ Under-18s last season, and now a member of the Lilywhites’ U21 squad, shot stopper Dylan featured for us earlier in pre-season during our 1-0 win against Stotfold before embarking on Spurs’ tour of Australia & New Zealand. He returned to face his parent club on Tuesday evening, enjoying a goalless first 45 minutes while making a string of impressive saves to preserve a clean sheet.

Welcome, Dylan!

We are delighted to welcome former Spurs and QPR academy graduate Shiloh Remy to the club, following his departure from Worthing.

A bustling winger who has also represented the likes of Chelmsford City, Eastbourne Borough, and Horsham, Shiloh has featured in our previous two pre-season outings and strengthens our attack ahead of next weekend’s league opener.

Welcome, Shiloh!

Everyone at Enfield Town FC was extremely saddened to hear of the passing of former director Steve Read over the weekend.

Steve was a much-loved member of our club and made a huge contribution to football in Enfield, firstly at the old Enfield FC before joining the Town upon our formation. Steve was a regular at both home and away games throughout our history and joined the board for a number of years as commercial director where he was hugely successful in growing sponsorship and raising significant funds for our club.

Steve will be much missed by his many friends at ETFC and we send our condolences to his family and loved ones.

Paul Reed, Chairman

Bishop’s Stortford 1 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

The diehard Town faithful who made what should have a been a relatively pain-free journey to our final away pre-season fixture but ended up becoming a nightmare due to traffic snarl-ups at least witnessed us snatching a deserved late equaliser.

After kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes, while the performance of the team may have lacked the excitement , penetration and creativity of our previous two outings – both against Step One adversaries – a draw was the least we merited.

As first-team coach Charlie Gregory pointed out afterwards (see his post-match interview on social media), this was in a way just what the doctored ordered given that Step 3 Stortford represented exactly the level of opposition and we can expect to face when the season proper starts, on an artificial surface to boot.

Town are getting closer to finalising the group with a nice blend of experience and youth ahead of our opening league game at Lewes. The teamsheet included latest signing Shiloh Remi who produced some neat touches from out on the wing until replaced around the hour mark.

Town had the lion’s share of possession in the first half without finding the breakthrough though Sam Youngs, who scored on this ground eight years ago, had his low drive easily saved. Luke Deslandes saw his volley blocked and Remy’s snapshot missed the target but perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the opening half was the sight of young Jay Lambert, given a start back in the side, limping off injured.

Luckily for the visitors, when former Towner Jack Smith – arguably the Blues’ best player on the night – rolled the ball into an empty net, the linesman’s flag came to our rescue.

Not for long. With the final action of the half, Smith’s pinpoint freekick was met by home captain Jake Thompson’s sidefoot volley and Town were behind.

Stortford could easily have doubled their lead after a calamitous mix-up at the back, only for their trialist centreforward to roll the ball inches wide.

But with 15 minutes left, after a flurry of subs, Town upped the invention. Tommy Avgoustidis, increasingly eye-catching with every outing, twice almost brought us level and with 87 minutes on the clock he scampered down the wing, beat his marker and crossed for Luke May-Parrott, on briefly for the closing passage of play, to supply a close-range finish.

Thankfully, the journey home was more palatable for all concerned and we now turn our attention to the final pre-season fixture – the annual home encounter with Spurs under-21 on Tuesday.

Team: Block Jorge; Parcell, Trialist (wearing 2), Thompson, Lambert; Rydings, Leonard, Akubuine;  Deslandes, Youngs, Remi

Subs: Mensah, Corrigan, Bansul-McNulty, May-Parrott, Kyei, Setters (glk), velasquez, Avgoustidis, trialist (wearing 24)

We are delighted to announce Pindrop Property as our new partners from the 2026/27 season.

Pindrop Property are customer-focused estate agents operating across London, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Essex. In partnering with Enfield Town FC, their logo will appear on the left sleeve of this season’s shirts.

Visit them here: https://pindropproperty.com

Enfield Town 4 Hornchurch 2

Report by Martin Bentley
Image: Bob Sharman

Pre-season continues to supply unexpected and pleasant surprises for the Town faithful. For the second time in a week, Enfield Town went toe-to-toe with National League opposition, and on this occasion, managed four well-taken goals to come out on top.

 The game burst into life in the 13^th minute when Nana Kyei surged down the left wing before playing in Amrit Bansal-McNulty for his first goal in Town colours. An unfortunate injury to Ayo Tanimowo after 21 minutes saw the eagerly awaited introduction of leftback Junior Moses for his first minutes in a Town shirt following his return from a trial at Peterborough United.

 Although Hornchurch’s superior fitness saw them retain possession for long periods, they failed to trouble Town’s trialist goalkeeper until the 44^th minute, and by then, we were two up. Another galloping run from Kyei saw him find another trialist on the right, and he cut inside to beat visiting keeper Rhys Byrne with a low effort to his right.

 The game really woke up after half-time though as Hornchurch used their superior fitness and physicality to push Town back for long periods. Mr Trialist in Town’s goal was forced into three decent saves before the visitors pulled a goal back after 50 minutes. A foul on Jesse Akubuine in midfield went unpunished, and the ball was worked into the box for sub Bobby Kelman to score.

 By now, the visitors’ tactics were treading the fine line between physicality and intimidation, with a series of late tackles and cheap shots going unpunished.

To their credit, Town’s response tended to be to take a quick free kick and crack on, but a horrible late hack by Kelman on a Town trialist provoked a minor bout of handbags and some strong words from the referee, after which the game calmed down a little.

Back to the football. Hornchurch drew level after 67 minutes when a left-wing corner dropped to former Town loanee Joe Kizzi, who netted from close range. Within four minutes, however, Town were back in front when Moses scored from five yards from a Luke Deslandes cross.

 There was time for sub keeper Matt Setters to make an excellent save from a Hornchurch header from a corner before Tom Avgoustidis put the game beyond doubt in the final minute, galloping onto a ball over the top, rounding Byrne and running the ball into an empty net. A lovely end to a satisfying evening. Next up Bishop’s Stortford away on Friday which, don’t forget, is now a 6.45 kickoff.

 Team: Trialist, Tanimowo, Mensah, Trialist, Triallist, Trialist, Akubuine, Corrigan, Kyei, Youngs, Bansal-McNulty

 Subs: Moses, Setters, Parcell, Leonard, Deslandes, Watson, Avgoustidis, Efobi, plus 3 Trialists

Enfield Town 1 Worthing 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw
Image: Keith Drew

It’s still a work in progress but the fact that Town looked the team two divisions higher in our latest pre-season fixture – at least for the most part – augurs extremely well as we continue to prepare for our return to Step 3.

By a remarkable coincidence, the game was played exactly 25 years to the day since the club’s first-ever fixture – also a pre-season friendly against their landlords at the time, Brimsdown Rovers.

Equally remarkable was that the scoreline was identical but enough of the history.

This was by far our most watchable pre-season outing as the players sparkled in the evening sun, made all the more entertaining and enjoyable by over 50 German fans who had flown to London to watch their beloved Hansa Rostock face Watford but decided to take in a non-league game 24 hours beforehand, making their presence felt and apparently drinking Butler’s Bar dry!

Billy Holland has made it clear how he wants to play when the real business starts and this was arguably the most refreshing illustration so far, a mixture of short, crisp passing to feet and playing it long when necessary.

Building from the back, pressing the opposition high up the pitch and pace on both flanks made for a highly encouraging all-round display with several eye-catching individual performances from the likes of winger Thomas Avgoustidis, the trialist at leftback, midfielder Amrit Bansal-McNulty and Nana Kyei, who scored our 67^th minute equaliser (pictured) when he smashed home a Billy Leonard cross, cancelling out Worthing’s early opener. Bansal-McNulty also produced an audacious 40-yard chip when he spotted the keeper off his line, only to see his effort clawed away.

A word on Billy Leonard who is clearly enjoying his new responsibities and occupied not one, not two but three different positions during the evening while Sam Youngs led the line.

After Worthing controlled the opening 20 minutes, during which they took the lead, any concerns they might press home their Step 1 status were soon dispelled. By the end, believe it or not, the woodwork had come to their rescue no fewer than three times with plenty of further chances for the hosts.

Let’s not get carried away just yet, however. We are not the complete package, striker and goalkeeper being the most obvious missing pieces of the jigsaw. Of the former, George Nunn has already been released  while Luke May-Parrott is nursing an injury. On the keeper front, teenager Dylan Thompson was a late call up to Tottenham’s tour of Australia and New Zealand will have therefore have to be replaced for the remainder of the friendlies, as he was last night by a giant of a trialist.

 Meanwhile, the highly promising Junior Moses, chased by a handful of clubs and who we managed to acquire from Cockfosters down the road, has been quickly plucked away for a trial by no lesser light than Peterborough United.

While we await developments on Junior, none of that should detract from an evening of free-flowing promise, with Hornchurch next up on Tuesday.

Town: Trialist A; Tanimowo, Trialist c, trialist d, trialist b;  Rydings, Leonard, Bansul-McNulty; Deslandes, Youngs, Avgoustidis

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Stotfold 0 Enfield Town 1

Report by Martin Bentley

The scoreline suggests a narrow win for Enfield Town in their latest pre-season outing, but in truth only some excellent goalkeeping and wayward finishing prevented Town from running up the proverbial cricket score. The crisp, positive attacking football played by the Town must have pleased manager Billy Holland, although the failure to convert more than one of the chances created would not.

On a pleasant summer’s evening, Town roared out of the blocks, and had already seen an Amrit Bansal-McNulty shot fly over the bar before they took the lead in the 4^th minute; an incisive move released an impressive trialist on the left, and he cut in to score via the visiting keeper’s left hand post. The remainder of the half was played almost exclusively in one half of the field, with further Town efforts coming in from George Nunn, Finlay Corrigan and two trialists.

The second half began with the home side surprisingly on the front foot, winning a corner and having a shot blocked in the first minute. Stotfold had visibly raised their game, and the second half was considerably more evenly matched, particularly after the customary procession of substitutions disrupted Town’s game. Adam Thompson was in imperious form at the back for Town though, restricing opportunities to an absolute minimum.

Still the chances kept coming for Town though, with new signing Tom Avgoustidis impressing on the right flank. He had a couple of efforts well saved, Billy Leonard had an effort deflected wide, while one of the second half triallists blazed over an empty net after being set up by Nana Kyei. At the other end, despite having a goal ruled out for offside on the hour, Stotfold had failed to trouble Dylan Thompson in the Town goal until the final minute, when an effort from the edge of the box clanged against his crossbar.

Team: D.Thompson, Tanimowo, Mensah, A.Thompson, Trialist, Akubuine, Corrigan, Bansal-McNulty, Trialist, Nunn, Trialist

Subs: Rydings, Leonard, Avgoustidis, Kyei, Deslandes, plus 3 trialists

Billy Holland admits Enfield Town have been “thrown in the deep end” after we were handed a tough opening start to the new league campaign on our return to Step 3.

Town begin their campaign with trip to the wonderfully named Dripping Pan to play divisional big-hitters Lewes on Aug 8 (watch this space for details of possible coach travel)  followed by a pair of home fixtures against heavily resourced St Albans – now home to Ollie Knight – and Ramsgate and then a visit to promotion contenders Brentwood, who lost in last season’s playoff — both hugely ambitious clubs.

“Those first four games are very, very difficult,” said Billy who continues to develop his squad for the long campaign ahead.

“We certainly haven’t had it easy as far as August is concerned. They are all big boys, along with Chatham. Brentwood almost got promoted and with the players they’ve signed, and their budget, they’ll be right up there.”

“Lewes may have had a bad season by their own high standards last season but I can’t see them replicating that. All four August opponents will be at the top end of the table. Ramsgate sacked their last manager because he didn’t spend enough! We’ve certainly been chucked in the deep end so it will be sink or swim. But we’ll take the first five games or so and see where we are.”

AW