We now have a revised date for our home league game against Leatherhead which had to be postponed last Saturday.

The match will take place on Tuesday, March 22 at 7.45 pm

Today’s game with Leatherhead has been called off because of the weather.

The pitch was playable in the morning but the match had to be postponed following severe rain when conditions worsened badly. A new date will be announced as soon as possible.

Wingate and Finchley 4 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Not even a temporary floodlight failure could save Enfield Town’s blushes as we slumped to a 4-1 defeat at local rivals Wingate and Finchley on Tuesday, marking our first back-to-back reversal of the season.

There were few positives to take from a night where we made a couple of defensive changes from Saturday’s loss to Bishop’s Stortford but were still very much second best against opponents who were clearly fired up for the occasion managed by former Town skipper Marc Weatherstone.

It was a game in which everything Wingate tried came off whilst our efforts were either well saved or narrowly off target.

But that doesn’t excuse a performance that will have infuriated the management team and only adds to the desperate need to get back to winning ways against Leatherhead on Saturday to rekindle our playoff hopes, with most of the other contenders now heaping on the pressure.

Almost before we could settle we were a goal down as Theo Ofori’s half-hit shot appeared to have either been deflected in off Lee Chappell or deceived Nathan McDonald.

On 20 minutes it got worse as Chappell was dispossessed near the corner and Dylan Kearney’s cross was turned in by man of the match Antonis Vasiliou – on loan from Barnet just to add salt the wounds.

Sam Youngs and Mo Faal both went close to halving the deficit  while Jack Cass was thwarted when one on one with Ben Goode in the Wingate goal. Then  Mo ran half the length of the pitch and set up Cass who narrowly failed to hit the target.

But W and F always posed a threat and just before the break, we fell further behind to a wonder strike as Vasiliou gave McDonald no chance from 30 yards.

There was still time for the hosts to come close to a fourth as McDonald saved superbly, again from Vasiliou, before a floodlight failure brought a temporary halt to proceedings.

H-T 0-3

When the lights came back on, Town needed to brighten up their ideas and they did so as Rian Bray moved up from the back to rifle the ball home from close range (pictured).

Bray put another snapshot just wide in a sustained period of Town pressure as we were finally in the ascendancy.

But the pivotal moment came on 66 minutes.  Mo won a penalty, only to see his spotkick saved by Goode and watch the follow-up go wide. Perhaps, bemoaned many Towners fans afterwards, it is time that penalty honours were switched to Cass who, after all, used to take them for Bishop’s Stortford.

A double substitution following a halftime change of formation briefly looked promising but on 78 minutes it was game over. McDonald parried but couldn’t hold a rasping freekick and as our defence hesitated, Kearney was first to the rebound.

Worryingly we looked poor throughout when we didn’t have the ball whilst some of the players appeared leggy and Andy Leese didn’t mince his words.

“It was the most shambolic performance of the season…we got what we deserved,” fumed Andy.

“I think we turned up with a misplaced confidence as a team thinking we can win and somehow we need to find a fighting spirit and resilience that has gone missing.”

Town: McDonald; Chappell (Taafe, 69), Gyebi, Bray, Smith; Youngs, Thomas (Della-Verde 68), Kiangebeni, Sayoud (Muleba, 46); Cass, Faal

Enfield Town 0 Bishop’s Stortford 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town’s seven-match unbeaten run was halted in its tracks as equally in-form Bishop’s Stortford completed a rare league double over us on Saturday.

For once we failed to live up to our reputation as the division’s great entertainers but we are still in a fantastic position in the runners-up spot as the race for playoff places intensifies.

Rian Bray and Lee Chappell were both unavailable for different reasons while Manny Maja has only just resumed training after a lengthy injury absence.

No team can win every game and this was simply an off-day, something that all our play-off rivals have suffered over the last few weeks as we claimed victory after victory.

If our visitors were slightly fortunate to win the corresponding game with that last-ditch goal back in November, on this occasion they on balance deserved the three points.

Stortford were quicker to the ball and more composed than Town and managed to keep our strike force quiet for most of the game.

After a scrappy first 20 minutes  in front of a bumper 754 crowd, the Blues took the lead on 23 minutes as Ryan Charles ran on to Frankie Merrifield’s defence-splitting pass to beat Nathan McDonald who got a hand to the shot but couldn’t keep it out.

Town have been scoring goals for fun but on this occasion hardly troubled a defence marshalled superbly by skipper Ryan Henshaw.

H-T 0-1

 Three minutes after the break, our visitors doubled their lead as Merrifield converted from the penalty spot, sending McDonald the wrong way after Charles was barged over by John Muleba.

Lyle Della-Verde and Sam Youngs both had chances to reduce the deficit but it wasn’t until Adam Cunnington and Bilal Sayoud came off the bench that we posed any real threat.

Whilst no-one can take anything away from  Stortford, who closed us down at every opportunity, the fact remains that the players and management team have a superb job getting us to where we are now, something all of us would have taken at the start of the season.

It’s just a shame Jake Cass didn’t get a chance to shine against his old team and that we again dropped points against one of our play-off rivals who look certain to be in the mix with us come the run-in.

On the plus side, which cannot be emphasized enough, we have two highly winnable games – against Wingate and Finchley on Tuesday and Leatherhead on Saturday – before the eagerly awaited clash at Worthing.

Andy Leese summed up our performance as “bitterly disappointing. We never really got going and seemed a bit too anxious.”

“We didn’t start well. The things we’d asked to do  we weren’t doing. I thought at halftime we were in it. I thought we could go with two strikers and then we concede a penalty at a poor time. More disappointingly after that, we didn’t really create a lot. But credit to Stortford, they are good at what they do.”

Town:

McDonald; Muleba, Smith, Gyebi, Kirwan (Sayoud, 69); Thomas, youngs, Kiangebeni (Taafe, 77), Della-Verde; Cass (Cunnington 66), Faal

Tomorrow, Saturday, we entertain third-placed Bishop’s Stortford in another proverbial six-pointer given even greater spice by Jake Cass, if selected, playing against his former club.

After four straight league wins, we are anticipating a bumper attendance as we try and gain revenge for Stortford’s last-gasp victory in the corresponding fixture in November when Jake, ironically, gave them the lead from the penalty spot.

Town have taken an impressive 16 points from our last six games (five wins and a draw) while Stortford have lost only one of their last 25 and most recently won convincingly 3-0 at Potters Bar on Tuesday, making Saturday’s eagerly awaited clash all the more mouth-watering.

Andre Coker remains suspended pending the referee’s report after his sending off against Kingstonian.

Since we are expecting one our biggest crowds of the season we suggest you arrive a little earlier than usual to ensure everyone is in the ground by kick off.

COYT

Bowers & Pitsea 1-4 Enfield Town

Report by Martin Bentley

Another thoroughly professional performance saw Enfield Town bank another three points with a comfortable 4-1 win over Bowers & Pitsea at the Len Salmon Stadium. With Bishop’s Stortford, Folkestone and Hornchurch all dropping points, this was another very good day to be a Town supporter.

An unchanged Town line-up got off to the perfect start when they were awarded a free kick 20 yards from goal after 6 minutes. Lyle Della-Verde stepped up to curl a delicious free kick past home keeper Mitchell Beeney and into the bottom corner, and Town were up and running. Jake Cass narrowly cleared Beeney’s crossbar a minute later as Town threatened to overrun their hosts.

Bowers came into the game more as the half wore on, with wingers Quentin Monville and Norman Wabo causing a few uncomfortable moments, although their only clear sight of goal came on 28 minutes when Wabo’s shot was well saved by Nathan McDonald.

Town were always looking dangerous though, and doubled their lead on 36 minutes. Mo Faal gathered up a loose ball on the left wing, and proceeded to tie home full-back Alex Bentley in knots before crossing low onto the boot of the grateful Jerry Gyebi.

Seven minutes later it was 3-0 and game over, Sam Youngs unleashing a proverbial tank shell from 25 yards into Beeney’s top right corner. Wonderful stuff.

For a long time, the second half was routine. Home substitute Mitch Gilbey tested McDonald a couple of times, and Wabo succeeded in pulling a goal back after 58 minutes with a neat glancing header from a James White free kick out on the left. Town were always going to have the last word in this one though and, after Youngs had headed against the post, and Cass had an effort deflected narrowly over, it was Town’s hard-working centre forward who added a fourth goal in stoppage time after being set up by Percy Kiangebeni.

__________

Town line-up: McDonald; Chappell (Muleba 86), Smith, Gyebi, Bray; Thomas, Kiangebeni, Youngs; Della Verde (Sayoud 78), Faal (Taaffe 88), Cass.

Unused subs: McLeod, Kirwan

Enfield Town 3-3 Barking (Barking won 4-3 on penalties)

Report by Martin Bentley

Enfield Town’s defence of the Velocity Trophy lasted just 90 minutes, as they were edged out in a penalty shoot-out after yet another lively encounter at the QEII.

As expected, Andy Leese rang the changes, with only Sam Youngs, Jerry Gyebi, Percy Kiangebeni, Jake Cass and Lyle Della-Verde retaining their places from Saturday’s win over Margate. There were debuts for Kraig McLeod, Alex Solomon and youngster Emmanual Adebiyi, as well as a second debut for the returning Bilal Sayoud.

Any thoughts of a comfortable win for the Town were dispelled in the 10th minute, when the visitors’ Freddie Parker slammed a shot against the foot of Adi Connolly’s post. Throughout the first half, Barking played swift, incisive football, aided, it must be said, by some very poor Town passing and decidedly benevolent defending. By the end of the half, the visitors had opened up a 3-1 lead, courtesy of two goals from the dangerous Parker and one from his strike partner Charlie Heatley. Town’s sole reply came from the lively Sayoud, who accelerated on to Della-Verde’s pass to beat Barking keeper James Shaw with a thumping finish on 39 minutes.

The second half saw a spirited Town rally. Barking, rather strangely, substituted both centre halves at half time, and the game turned in Town’s favour. Jake Cass galloped onto Kiangebeni’s through ball to reduce the deficit on 56 minutes, and, 11 minutes later they were level; a corner was cleared to Sayoud on the edge of the box, and he belted a powerful shot through a crowd of players into the bottom corner. The winning goal just wouldn’t come however, despite a fusillade of Lee Chappell long throws, which were dealt with by the visitors’ second string defence comfortably. With Barking also creating a couple of hairy moments for Town at the other end, the game reached a thoroughly entertaining conclusion.

Apart from the penalty shoot-out that is. Town did not have many proven penalty takers on the field by then, but the loss was still disappointing. For the record, Cass, Sayoud and Solomon all scored their kicks, with Chappell and Matt Walsh having theirs saved. Connolly produced one excellent save from Louis Dillon’s kick, while keeper Shaw’s kick flew over the bar to take the shoot-out to sudden death. Unfortunately, Adebiyi, who had been excellent as a second half substitute, skied his kick to give the victory to Barking.

Nothing to get too concerned about here though. Back to the more important matter of league points on Saturday.

______________

Town line-up: Connolly, Muleba (Chappell 66), Kirwan, Youngs (Solomon 79), Gyebi, McLeod, Kiangebeni (Adebiyi 55), Taaffe (Walsh 79), Cass, Sayoud, Della Verde (Nichols 66)

We are very pleased to announce the signing of Bilal Sayoud, who has returned for a second spell in a Town shirt.

Forward Bilal began his career through the Nike Academy before moving on to Coventry City. Since then, he spent time with us at Enfield Town, as well as Hendon and Met Police before joining Wingate & Finchley in December 2019. He swapped Wingate for Potters Bar in December 2021, and has now re-joined Town for the final push to the end of the season.

Manager Andy Leese added: “We have moved to bring Bilal back to the club. We have one or two issues in the squad looming next month and signing Bilal again will help us.

He’s matured since he was here last, both his physicality and his all round game. He’s added goals to his game as well and is more versatile as he showed when he played against us this season.

I’m sure you’ll welcome him back as he’s goes in to the squad tomorrow night.”

Enfield Town 4-0 Margate

Report by Martin Bentley

Enfield Town moved to within two points of leaders Worthing after an almost complete performance saw them beat play-off contenders Margate by four clear goals. With Worthing, Lewes and Bishops Stortford all dropping points, this was almost a perfect afternoon for the Town, with the majority of the 625 crowd thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Town recalled Jerry Gyebi to the back line with Nathan Smith moving to left back. New signings Kraig Noel-McLeod and Alex Solomon were both on the subs’ bench.

The game was played in a stiff end-to-end breeze, with both teams attempting to make use of it with a plentiful supply of crosses. Lyle Della-Verde’s dead ball kicks and Lee Chappell’s long throw-ins were causing visiting keeper Billy Johnson no end of problems, while the visitors’ Ben Greenhalgh was firing the ball in from all angles at the other end, but with limited end product. It was from a Chappell throw that Town struck the first blow on 37 minutes, Mo Faal smashing in a loose ball from a flick-on.

After the break, Town doubled their lead after Margate goalie Billy Johnson missed his kick on the edge of the box, leaving Jake Cass to finish into the empty net. After that, the home side took over completely. Sam Youngs’ long-range header ended up on the roof of the net, and Johnson somehow juggled a corner against his own post, before saving Youngs’ follow-up. After 65 minutes, Town made the game safe when Cass flicked on Nathan McDonald’s long kick into the path of Faal, who finished expertly to Johnson’s left.

Faal then hit the crossbar after 79 minutes, Adam Cunnington’s follow-up effort being cleared off the line. Town’s top scorer then completed his hat-trick in injury time with a well-taken penalty following a trip on Della Verde. The celebrations were long and raucous at the final whistle. Just how far can this Town team go?

___________

Town line-up: McDonald; Chappell, Smith, Gyebi, Bray; Thomas, Kiangebeni (Taaffe 80), Youngs; (Cunnington 74), Della-Verde, Faal, Cass

Unused subs: Noel-McLeod, Solomon, Muleba

Before Saturday’s Pitching In Isthmian Premier Division match with Margate, we are happy to confirm the signings of two new players. Defenders Kraig Noel-McLeod and Alex Solomon have joined and are available for selection.

Grenada international Kraig has played with Brightlingsea Regent and Clacton so far this season, and spent time with QPR and Norwich City in his early career. Alex has been called up by Cyprus Under-17s, and was on the books at Leyton Orient for the past two years.

Manager Andy Leese said: “Both lads have been training with us for a while. Alex has been released at Leyton Orient and can play a number of positions but primarily is a defender. Kraig is a centre-half or left-back and has a good pedigree. We need some depth to the squad at moment and both lads give us quality options.”