Please note full details of Dave’s funeral service and reception for Thursday, April 11

Just to let you all know that Dave’s funeral has been arranged for 11.30 am at Enfield Crematorium on Thursday, April 11.

More details to follow when we have them

RIP Dave

Unfortunately, tonight’s game at Whitehawk has fallen foul of the weather and, following a pitch inspection, has had to postponed — for a second time.

The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 23. Third time lucky!

Margate 1 Enfield Town 1

Report By Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town extended their unbeaten league run to eight games but left the Kent coast largely frustrated after playing 84 minutes against ten men.

A mixture of wrong options, the woodwork and Margate throwing bodies on the line prevented us leaving with another maximum haul though in truth the home side had their chances as they battled for their lives in  a thoroughly absorbing contest fully worthy of Non-League Day.

Having played just 41 hours earlier, Town rested just two players and needed all the breaks they could get.

They appeared to have a huge one very quickly. As debuts go, Margate’s new signing from Dover Destiny Oladipo had one to forget – sent off for two yellow cards inside six minutes.

First he was cautioned for an over-the-top tackle on Taylor McKenzie, then was handed another yellow for a high studs-up challenge in the face of the same player whether or not it was intentional, giving Town an early one-man advantage.

Unfortunately we couldn’t make the most of it and despite hitting the post twice, on balance a draw was probably fair given 10-man Gate were coming up against a side third in the league.

Early doors, Ollie Knight volleyed over after a neat exchange with Joe Payne and his next contribution on 16 minutes put us in front, finishing coolly (pictured) after being set up by Marcus Wyllie turning his marker and feeding the ball through.

As the hosts tried to rally, the home crowd cheered their every counter-attack and to be fair, for long periods of the first half it didn’t look as if we had numerical advantage.

Indeed the Gate had the two best chances, first when Ben Greenhalgh somehow shot wide, then when Rhys Forster pulled off a fantastic save

Margate’s efforts paid off just before half-time, however, as attacking substitute Steve Cawley sent Forster the wrong way with a penalty, awarded after Sam Youngs caught ex-Towner Lewis Knight with a flailing leg in trying to clear.

In first-half stoppage time, Jonathan Hippolyte so nearly restored our lead as his shot across goal struck the upright and bounced to safety.

H- 1-1

Whatever was said at halftime, we came out with more urgency and the chances came one by one.

Payne lashed wide and over, Knight hit the side netting and on as sub once again, Jake Cass drove past his marker, only to see his shot blocked on the line.  Then, on 68 minutes, the post rescued Margate again as Youngs’ sublime curling effort had Harry Seaden in goal beaten all ends up.

Margate, needing the points just as much for different reasons, still threatened on the break.

 Forster got a strong hand to another Greenhalgh drive and with two minutes of normal remaining the Gate midfielder he had a golden chance to win the game yet again missed the target when we were exposed at the far post.

Cue a final Town foray in seven minutes of stoppage time during which both Teddy Perkins and former Towner Lewis Knight heroically cleared off the line.

 And there was still time for one more chance each, Lewis Knight firing inches wide and Seaden tipping a fierce Wyllie drive over.

“Two dropped points no question but we could also have lost the game,” said Gavin Macpherson.  “We created enough chances and second half got some structure into the game.”

“You have to give Margate credit. They put in a hell of a shift for their manager but when you play against 10 men you have to try and make the pitch big. It’s a collective responsibility and at times we had a bit of a mental block. There were some very tired legs out there after playing Thursday night. Hence some tired final balls but we’re not losing games at the moment. I’m not too down because it’s in our own hands.”

Town

Forster; Payne, Tanner, McKenzie, Parcell; Knight, Youngs, Alves (Turner, 81), Taaffe; Hippolyte (Cass, 60), Wyllie

A quick reminder that our club photographer Phil Davison will be playing a charity gig at 4pm today at the Little Green Dragon pub in Green Lanes, Winchmore Hill.

As well as taking photos, Phil is also a seasoned musician so get yourself down to support him in raising money for the ETFC Community Sports Development charity, a hugely important arm of what we do.

“It’s free entry, just money in the jug to help the charity,” says Phil who has been playing gigs for years and recently performed for the fans during our recent trip to Copenhagen.

“I’ve got two one-hour sets, a mix of covers and my own songs – including at least one singalong song that everyone will know.”

AW

We are delighted to announce the loan signing of 20-year-old central midfielder Ollie Turner from Aldershot.

Ollie started his career in the Tottenham under-18 ranks and has latterly been on loan at Step 2 Eastbourne Borough.

With the immediate future of Orient loanee Manny Harvest still uncertain, Ollie fits into an important area of the pitch.

“Ollie is both left-footed and versatile so we are delighted to have him,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“There is going to have to be some rotation over the next couple of weeks and Ollie will be an important part of that.”

Welcome, Ollie

Gavin Macpherson is under no illusions just how tough Saturday’s fixture at Margate could be given that we will take the field just 41 hours after beating Concord Rangers.

Thursday’s 1-0 win pushed us back up to third but although  Margate, who currently sit in 19^th place, have lost five of their last six games, much could depend on how much Thursday’s excursions have taken their toll on Town’s players in a gruelling schedule and how many changes need to be made in the starting line-up.

“Margate have a distinct advantage in that they haven’t played for a week,” said Gavin. “We’ve had less than two days’ recovery and have another journey to make. It’s far from ideal.”

“I’ve heard for years about how players should be able to do this and that but modern-day football has changed unbelievably. The speed is totally different.”

Non-league players also, of course, have jobs to go to and are not mollycoddled like some elite footballers.

“There are so many factors why this is a really difficult one to navigate,” said Gav as we approach  the second of four successive away games.  “Realistically we probably need nine points from the four games. Whether we can get them, we’ll see.”

It’s a tough ask but the mood in the camp is strong and is boosted by the loan signing of central midfielder Ollie Turner from Aldershot who started his career at Spurs and has been on loan at Step 2 Eastbourne Borough.

There are still spaces on the coach and tickets for that are available below

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/event/travel15/coach-travel-to-margate

Saturday is Non-League day, and in celebration of that Margate are offering half price entry for the game.  Tickets already purchased at full price will be half refunded to ensure you can still get the offer!

AW

Concord Rangers 0 Enfield Town 1

Report By Martin Bentley

Enfield Town extended their unbeaten run to an impressive nine games with victory at Concord Rangers that fully merited the description ‘hard-earned’.

The win also took Town back into third place in the League, with their recent form suggesting that a play-off place should now be comfortably within reach.  

The evening did not, however, start well, with players and supporters alike being delayed by some horrendous traffic congestion on the road leading onto the Island.

 The game eventually kicked off slightly late and Town enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first half. Shots on target were at a premium at both ends, with only a Marcus Wyllie header and a Sam Youngs long-ranger troubling home keeper Mason Terry.

The remainder of Town’s efforts, from Lewis Taaffe, Ollie Knight and Wyllie all ended up sailing harmlessly over the bar.

 For the home side, pacy striker Bryan Ifeanyi troubled the right side of Town’s defence all night, although their best chance fell to Montrell Deslandes, who fluffed his shot horribly wide after Town had failed to deal with a high bouncing ball.

  H-T 0-0

Town continued to dominate possession after the break, again without troubling Terry unduly as the home defence, marshalled by the dominant figure of Mert Apat, coped comfortably with most of our efforts.

Wyllie drove a shot inches wide from Knight’s cross and Youngs had a header well saved but clear-cut chances remained at a premium.

A string of corners and Joe Payne’s long throws were putting the home side under increasing pressure though and Town finally cracked it after 69 minutes when Mickey Parcell’s left-wing corner was met by a Youngs header into Terry’s left-hand corner.

Two minutes later Wyllie slalomed into the box and rolled a shot against the post but Town were unable to kill the game off and found themselves under pressure in the closing minutes, when an increasingly desperate home side threw the proverbial kitchen sink at them.

Rhys Forster was twice forced into action to deny Emmanuel Martin from distance and Harrison Day from close range, but Town succeeded in clinging on for an invaluable three points, especially given the nightmare run of games ahead.

“We made desperately hard work of it if I’m honest,” said Gavin Macpherson, who bemoaned the horrendous traffic congestion that left the team precious little time to prepare.

“When it’s only 1-0, the opposition will feel they’ve got a chance.  They went four up top and Reece had to be called into action late on.  We should have put it to bed earlier but it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t won the game.”

Town: Forster, Parcell, Payne, Thomas, Tanner, McKenzie, Adjei-Hersey (Cass 67), Youngs, Taaffe (Beckles-Richards 88), Wyllie (Alves 90+2), Knight. Unused: Hippolyte, Okotcha

Our postponed fixture at Concord Rangers takes place tonight (koff 7.45) at the start of  gruelling period of five games in 11 days.

Having fielded a second-string side in the Fenix Trophy on Tuesday, Gavin Macpherson can once again call on his leading players for the visit to the Beach Boys but with one eye very much on Margate on Saturday as we bid to negotiate two games in 48 hours.

We are on a decent run, unbeaten in six, and tucked nicely in fourth place ready for the run-in.

But Kingstonian’s win over Dulwich Hamlet yesterday shows just how tight this league is and with Concord fighting for their lives, nothing is a given despite them having lost their last five – including two days ago when beaten by Potters Bar.

“Llantwit Major was somewhat of a no-brainer in terms of personnel but the difficult bit was always going to be how to manage today and Saturday,” said Gavin.

“When you look at this league top to bottom as a collective of teams, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you have to be on your game.”

“We’ve got four successive away games which is a hell of a schedule. It could make our season if we can come through it with the points required.”

AW

Enfield Town 3 Llantwit Major 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Don’t pack your bags or make your bookings quite yet. But barring an unexpected turn of events, we look almost certain to be heading to Italy in May for the Fenix Trophy Final Four.

Tuesday’s 3-2 win over a Llantwit Major side that played their part in a highly enjoyable spectacle put us on nine points from three games, with the return in Wales to come.

Only if Llanwit win their final two games and overhaul our vastly superior goal difference can they pip us to the post. So while it’s not mathematically done and dusted, no surprise that there was an air of optimism following our latest Fenix outing.

Before proceedings got under way, there was a poignantly observed minute’s applause in memory of Dave Bryant (pictured). The presentation of a bunch of flowers in David’s memory from our visitors was a extremely thoughtful touch.

With league games to come both Thursday and Saturday, the management team had some difficult calls to make and went with a mixture of first-team squad experience, triallists and academy boys.

On 16 minutes, Hernon Alves struck the underside of the bar and it was little surprise when we went in front a couple of minutes later, the highly promising Osa Otote capitalising on a mistake at the back with a gorgeous finish.

Llantwit, lacking both physicality and composure on the ball, worked hard to keep us out for the rest of the half yet so nearly levelled on the stroke of halftime when Chris Bell burst into the box unchallenged and was clearly furious with himself for firing wide.

H-T 1-0

Town lost Obi Onyeagwara shortly after the break with what looked like an ominous hamstring injury. He was replaced by Ebraima Davies before a huge roar greeted the appearance of Jake Cass for the last 35 minutes.

Cassy’s first action was to drive 30 yards upfield and set up a chance for Davies before Jonathan Hipployte missed a glorious chance to double the lead by shooting wide. Davies then got even closer when he fluffed his lines with the goal at his mercy.

 Suddenly our visitors began to threaten after making a flurry of substitutions and duly equalised on 70 minutes, Josh Morgan heading in at the far post.

Briefly, the momentum was with the Welshmen but on 83 minutes we were back in front courtesy of a somewhat harshly awarded freekick. Ryley Allen in goal could only parry and Alves was first on hand to smash the rebound into the net.

Two minutes later and what a moment as Cass, with his back to goal, made it 3-1 with a sublime scissor kick but to their credit Llantwit never gave up, reducing the arrears in stoppage time through Sean Williams.

With live music in the bar afterwards, there was a noisy celebratory atmosphere enjoyed, among others, by four young Finland fans who had flown in to watch Thursday’s Wales-Finland Euro 24 play-off but came to watch our game first because of Enfield Town’s “cult” status, as they put it.

Gavin Macpherson was delighted with both the result and performance. “We had people who had never played with each other, young academy lads and trialists. For me it’s a fantastic result and as much as I could have hoped for,” said Gav. “If we judge a possible trip to Italy on Copenhagen, it’s going to be immense.”

Gavin reserved particular warm-hearted comments for Dave Bryant.

“Without Dave, there’s an argument to suggest we wouldn’t be playing in this competition. The round of applause was so fitting. I’ve had to understand in a short space of time just what that guy has done for this football club.”

Town starting line-up

Connolly; Filho, Okotcha, Adeoye, Tanner; Onyeagwara, Soulya-Osekanongo, Beckles-Richards, Otote; Hippolyte, Alves