Two goals either side of half time saw Enfield Town bag a hard-earned victory over a hard-working Carshalton side who looked the better side for much of the first half. The win saw Town hang on to second place in the league on a night where Worthing, Lewes and Bishops Stortford all recorded wins to leave the top of the table looking largely unchanged.

The Town fielded an unchanged line-up from Saturday’s spectacular win over Kingstonian, but this was to turn out to be a vastly different sort of game. In fact, the opening half hour was a case of dustcart following Lord Mayor’s show, as Town struggled to put together any constructive moves, with a Sam Youngs header that was well saved by Brad House in the visitors’ goal being their only effort of note. Carshalton were buzzing purposefully around Nathan McDonald’s penalty area, and got their noses in front after 22 minutes, when a fortuitous rebound landed at the feet of winger Lewis White, who beat McDonald with a low shot to his right.

Slowly but surely, Town clawed their way back into the game. Both Jake Cass and Sam Youngs fired decent efforts over the bar before the equaliser arrived three minutes before half time, Nathan Smith bringing a bout of penalty area pinball to a satisfactory conclusion by striking a crisp half-volley into the net via House’s left-hand post.

After just two minutes of the second half, however, Town found themselves in front courtesy of the ever-reliable Mo Faal. His effort from the edge of the box was hardly hit with anything resembling venom, yet the ball somehow sneaked into the bottom corner, with House appearing to misjudge the direction of the shot. Five minutes later Faal beat House to a long through ball, only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Bradley Williams. Lyle Della-Verde picked up the loose ball and pinged a low cross back across the goal just out of the reach of Cass’ despairing lunge. Della-Verde and Cass both saw shots fly over as Town maintained the pressure, but the decisive third goal wouldn’t come.

The visitors’ late rally came to very little as Town defended well, and Faal even managed three further efforts in stoppage time, one just wide of the post, one well saved by House and one over the bar. This was a game in stark contrast to the win over Kingstonian, but Andy Leese’s side showed a pleasing resilience to bank three points in tougher circumstances.

“We could’ve taken the pressure off and made life a little bit easier for ourselves, but I thought we were the better side in the second half”, the manager noted.

“I think we’re showing that consistency. I’m absolutely delighted with us, nearly at the end of a really long month, to dig that out tonight was absolutely tremendous.”

______

Town line-up: McDonald; Chappell, Kirwan, Smith, Bray; Thomas, Kiangebeni (Taaffe 83), Youngs; Della-Verde (Cunnington 71), Faal, Cass

Unused subs: Gyebi, Coker, Connolly

A healthy 80-plus members attended last Thursday’s AGM on zoom at which a number of pressing issues were discussed, writes Andrew Warshaw

The Board reported to members how we had to run a mothball budget during the curtailed seasons whilst at the same time having to deal with losing players to National League clubs. Conversely we were protected by a number of grants that arrived from the Football Foundation and other sources.

Turning to this season, chairman Paul Reed admitted that pre-season results didn’t augur well but said there were mitigating circumstances, not least considerable uncertainty in trying to get players signed up.

The mood has rapidly improved during what has been our best ever start to a league campaign, with home attendances up by an average of 70 and the club rarely out the playoff places. The addition of Ian Hart and Tommy Fester to the management team has proved a huge benefit while the gesture of free tickets to NHS workers has been extremely well received.

Decent Cup runs in the FA Cup and FA Trophy allowed some prize money to be re-invested in the playing staff while shirt sales, both nationally and globally, have contributed to a healthy financial situation. In fact we have recorded probably our strongest operation profit to date.

Tribute was paid by Paul to Future’s sponsorship of the youth section while the publicity generated by the NXT UK sponsorship deal now stretches to over 250 news outlets in 40 countries, all great exposure for the club.

Other positives include the growth of the academy, notably Adi Connolly breaking into the first team, our floodlights being upgraded and increased engagement on social media.

What happens next depends largely on where we are at the end of the season but Paul Millington made a detailed presentation on a number of possible options for ground development should we gain promotion, with further talks planned on the most efficient way forward in terms of how to add 100 extra seats in one stand that can  accommodate 250 fans, as well as turnstile additions.

In terms of community shares, the board intend to pay its first interest payment at 2 percent over base rate.

Inevitably several questions related to the future of Mo Faal and Paul Reed conceded that Mo would almost certainly review his options at the end of the season since understandably he still has ambitions to play at a higher level.

Paul revealed that despite pushing and pushing in terms of trying to tie Mo down for longer, he perfectly reasonably only wanted to commit for this season even though he was offered a longer-term contract.

Andy Leese took a break from training to answer members’ questions and revealed how a number of other clubs in our division and even higher had tried to sign Jake Cass. Their loss is our gain!

Andy said preparations for matches was the best he had ever known his time at the club and made a point of thanking supporters for the noise generated both home and away.

A full video recording of the AGM will be available shortly.

Kingstonian 3 Enfield Town 5

Report by Martin Bentley

Another end-to-end thriller, eight more goals, and, most importantly, three more points. It’s certainly never dull for Towners fans.

With Worthing and Lewes both dropping points unexpectedly, Saturday’s latest win against dangerous opponents saw the Town consolidate their position in second place, now just four points behind leaders Worthing.

Having rested several players in the 3-1 midweek win over Bowers, Andy Leese reverted to something close to his first-choice side and formation for this crucial six-pointer, with Ryan Kirwan, Percy Kiangebeni and Lyle Della Verde recalled to the starting line-up. Lee Chappell also returned at right back after a three-game absence.

Kingstonian were the first to settle, spreading the play across the midfield and putting in several dangerous crosses.

Town, however, opened the scoring after 18 minutes.  Mo Faal won the ball on the left and played in Percy Kiangebeni, whose low cross was smashed gleefully into the roof of keeper Rob Tolfrey’s net by Jake Cass.

The Ks hit back rapidly, and Daniel Ajakaiye had already lobbed narrowly over Nathan McDonald’s crossbar before they found an equaliser on 22 minutes, Fabio Saraiva netting from the edge of the box after a well-worked move.

There was no time to breathe however. Four minutes later, Mo found himself in behind the Ks’ backline, and, with appeals for offside going unheard, beat Tolfrey with ease.

 The next goal was always going to be crucial and Mo was once again on hand to provide it. The outstanding Cass (what a signing!), who had already drawn a decent save from the Ks’ keeper, again burst through the home defence before presenting Mo with another chance, which our top scorer gobbled up gratefully.

Things then calmed down a little for the remainder of the half, with only a speculative long-ranger from Rian Bray to inconvenience Tolfrey.

H-T 1-3

Any thoughts of consolidating the lead in the second half, however, disappeared rapidly out of the window.

 A mere 22 seconds had passed when Lyle Della Verde shot over from the edge of the box, and within another minute it was 4-1. Sam Youngs’ neat through ball sent Cass (pictured) galloping into the box for another emphatic finish.

Cass almost completed a hat-trick on 54 minutes, but Faal’s low cross from the left was diverted out of his reach by a desperate lunge from Simon Cooper.

But the scoring didn’t end there, far from it, as Della Verde netted with a glorious left-footer from 20 yards as we romped into a scarcely believable 5-1 lead.

Although the home side continued to play neat football on both flanks, Town’s defence was not unduly stretched – until Kingstonian suddenly reduced the arrears. Not once but twice.

The hard-working Ajakaiye pulled one goal back on 77 minutes, and Saraiva made it 3-5 with one minute of the 90 remaining.

The result was never in doubt however, although Andre Coker managed to get himself sent off for two yellow cards in four minutes, an annoying conclusion to a massively enjoyable away day for Town’s vociferous travelling support.

“What a performance, nothing short of fantastic. To put that score on the board against a top-five team is scarcely believable,” said a jubilant Andy Leese after we reached the landmark target of 50 points.

“In every department we were superb, from one to 11. It’s given us a huge confidence boost and will live long in the memory.”

“The front three were different class and Jake led the line really well. I don’t remember him losing a header. The back four were superb especially during spells of their pressure in the first 15 minutes and a 10-minute spell in the second half. And in midfield, Sam Youngs has been playing well for weeks.”

“My only disappointment is the two late goals we let in because goal difference could prove so important. But overall, fantastic. What finishing and we could even have scored more.”

“These pitches can sap your strength, especially the way we press. Some of them were puffing at the end  so it will good to get a small breather at the end of January.”

Town line-up: McDonald, Chappell, Kirwan, Thomas (Taaffe 74), Smith, Bray, Kiangebeni, Youngs, Cass, Faal, Coker 75), Della Verde (Gyebi 85). Unused subs: Cunnington, Connolly

One of the UK’s most electrifying and dynamic blues bands, who wowed the audience at last year’s Livestock festival at Forty Hall farm, are back in Enfield – at our own club, would you believe.

The Cinelli Brothers, who recently sold out the legendary 100 Club in central London with their unique infectious style of blues and rhythm and blues, have agreed to play at Butlers Bar on Friday, March 4, with all proceeds going to the club.

This is a veritable coup as well as an extraordinary gesture by the four-piece band formed by Italian brothers Marco and Alessandro Cinelli who have already performed once at our club but have since developed a fanatical nationwide fan base.

The band have released several albums – tasty originals as well as finely crafted covers — and have been nominated for a number of awards.

The show begins at 8pm and tickets, priced £10, can be purchased in advance by contacting Christine Hamilton on ianchrisham@hotmail.com. Please state how many you would like. Tickets will also be available on the door pending availability.

We have today released Luke Cook from the club. Luke was seeking more game time and having recently strengthened our attacking options with the addition of Jake Cass, it was not something we could guarantee and we are happy to let him progress his career elsewhere, which we will monitor.

Michael Dome-Bemwin has also made the decision to play higher up the pyramid and we wish him well for the future.

We will continue to invite triallists into training with a view to strengthening our squad, but with Manny Maja now back to full fitness and Lee Chappell returning from honeymoon, we have greater options. John Muleba is nearing fitness, whilst Harold Joseph continues to improve.

Enfield Town 3 Bowers and Pitsea 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

We may have now caught up and even overtaken some of our rivals in terms of numbers of games but it’s all about points on the board in this gruelling month of fixtures which continues on Saturday with a top-five showdown at Kingstonian.

Hence the importance of Tuesday’s win over a Bowers and Pitsea side who matched us for long periods but fortunately didn’t have our finishing skills.

With such a relentless programme, the management team rung a couple of changes but went with a strong attacking line-up and two wide players and it paid off as we moved up into second spot.

We were almost in front straight from the kick-off when Alexander Bentley was forced to head over his bar under pressure.

The lead came on 16 minutes courtesy of a quick one-two between Mo Faal and Adam Cunnington which Mo finished off with a neat toe-poke.

Shortly afterwards Cunnington squared for  Jake Cass but the ball was just out of reach of our new forward.

Bowers, who reached the first round of this season’s FA Cup before narrowly losing to Lincoln City, missed a glorious chance to equalise when Lewis Manor put a free header wide – and they were soon made to pay.

On 25 minutes, Andre Coker, who started wide on the left, produced a sumptuous freekick from 25 yards into the top corner (pictured) to double our lead to the delight of the 365 crowd.

Bowers, whose pacey winger Quentin Monville gave our defence plenty to think about, had a strong penalty claim turned down before Nathan McDonald was forced into a superb stop after the visitors got in behind us.

Yet how our opponents still had 11 men on the pitch by halftime is a mystery. Jamie Dicks, who had already been booked for an ugly challenge on Sam Youngs, was lucky to survive a second yellow after another bad foul, this time on Mo.

H-T 2-0

It was no surprise when Dicks was taken off at the interval to save him from further punishment but within five minutes of the restart Bowers cut the deficit.

Youngs was dispossessed halfway inside our own half and the dangerous Monville drilled the ball home via a deflection.

The next goal was always going to be crucial and within just two minutes we restored our advantage. Mo shot straight at keeper Michael Beenley who somehow spilled the ball and the quick-thinking Cunnington was first on hand to finish it off.

Beenley then redeemed himself with a fine save from Coker as we went for a fourth and Mo headed wide after Cass stood the ball up at the back post.

But Bowers weren’t finished and three times came within a whisker of again getting back into a highly watchable encounter, only to be thwarted by lack of finishers in the box.

“Another hard-working performance against a well-drilled resilient Bowers team” was how Andy Leese summed it up.

“An even game which we shaded with our finishing. We had to defend deep at times especially in the second half where I felt we got opened up a bit too easily at times.”

“We needed the third goal when it came. Some players earned a rest and it shows how the squad will be needed in the coming weeks. We are back in a great league position which I’m sure we would all have taken at the start of the season.”

Town:

McDonald; Gyebi, Smith, Bray; Taafe (Kirwan 71), Youngs, Thomas (Maja 66), Coker; Cass, Faal (Kiangebeni), Cunnington

The Annual General Meeting of Enfield Town FC Supporters’ Society Limited will be held via Zoom this Thursday 20 January at 7:00 pm.

This is your chance to pose any questions to the board and management and raise any issues you wish so don’t miss out.

The AGM will receive an update from the board on work carried out since the last meeting and plans for the coming year ahead. There will be an opportunity to raise any Enfield Town-related matters.

There will also be a Q & A session with Andy Leese and Mario Noto.

Members will be sent a link to the meeting using the email address they have previously provided.

You must be a member to participate but you can still join via

https://membermojo.co.uk/etfcs/membership

Just a reminder too that we are home to Bowers and Pitsea this evening (Tuesday)  in the latest game of a gruelling January and hope to see as many of you there as possible.

The Club will be running a coach for our next away league fixture at Kingstonian on Saturday 22nd January – 3.00 Kick Off.

Departure Point: QE Stadium, Donkey Lane, Enfield, Middx

Departure Time: Leave 11.30.p.m. PROMPT

Cost: £16.00.

Please Note: We understand that trains on 22/1/22 going to Tolworth are likely to be affected by staffing shortages .

For Bookings please contact Les Gold on 07979 727563

– lesgold@enfieldtownfooballclub.co.uk or Leave your details at The Club Shop at the Bowers match on Tuesday.

It is essential that bookings are made through either of these contacts only.

Early reservations are essential to avoid disappointment. Face coverings to be worn on the coach.

Haringey Borough 0 Enfield Town 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

You’d have got pretty good odds, given our recent goal sprees, if you’d correctly predicted that our latest fixture would finish goalless.

But a mixture of solid defending by both sides and a lack of quality in the final third made for an underwhelming if satisfactory afternoon in front of a bumper 796 derby crowd.

Another point on the road and a welcome clean sheet were undoubted positives, plus the fact we actually moved up a place in the league to third despite most of our playoff rivals winning.

Rian Bray cleared off the line early doors for the Town but for the rest of the opening period most of the half-chances came our way with Lyle Della-Verde missing the target by a whisker and both Percy Kiangebeni and Jake Cass having shots saved.

The pace of Mehki Leacock-McCleod was a constant threat for Haringey but this was a day when our defending was arguably the most encouraging part of our game, with young rightback Eli Nichols growing in stature and putting in an assured display.

Right on half-time, Mo Faal shot narrowly across goal as we ended the half in the ascendency.

H-T 0-0

The game’s pivotal moment came 12 minutes after the break. Cass pounced on a bad defensive mistake and was brought down by goalkeeper Lamar Johnson, only for the Boro custodian to turn from villain to hero by palming away Mo’s penalty (pictured).

Cue Haringey’s best spell and we nearly paid the price when Nathan McDonald punched away Ade Cole’s goalbound effort.

Our response was to go with three strikers to try and win the game but for once we left our collective shooting boots at home despite a period of late pressure.

“They defended well especially late in the game and have shown they can hold their own with anyone in the league this season,” said Andy Leese afterwards.

“We dealt with their counter-attacking game really well. Very disappointing obviously with the penalty but it was a decent save. A good week on the road with four points from the six available.”

Next up Bowers and Pitsea on Tuesday when we can go second and put pressure on the others, followed by a mouth-watering clash at Kingstonian next Saturday in what is a gruelling month.

“We have another challenging week ahead when hopefully we can get one or two bodies back,” said Andy. “We just have to keep picking up points and staying in touch.”

Town: McDonald; Nichols, Bray, Smith, Kirwan; Thomas, Youngs, Kiangebeni, Della Verde (Cunnington 70); Faal, Cass

Horsham 3 Enfield Town 4

By Andrew Warshaw

Another top-turvy goal fest but this time Town emerged victorious, cementing our role as the division’s great entertainers and pushing us up to fourth in the table.

On a drizzly night in West Sussex, we once again wobbled at the back but such is our offensive strength that we ran out deserved winners, helped by some canny tactical moves by the management team.

Ali Nichols, on loan at Colney Heath under dual registration, was handed his first league start of the season at rightback and, after an understandably nervy first few minutes, performed extremely promisingly whilst our new striker Jake Cass (pictured) was thrown straight in alongside Mo Faal – and even got on the scoresheet.

In front of a crowd of 502 – including a vociferous throng of Towners fans who kept up a constant din – it could have started disastrously for us.

But having given away a third-minute penalty, Nathan McDonald redeemed himself with a superb save from Eddie Dsane’s spotkick.

It wasn’t long before the goal spree started. Sam Youngs, who put in an assured and tireless box-to-box shift all evening, opened the scoring after being put through by Mo having already been denied by a reflex save.

But within 60 seconds before we  could celebrate, the lead was wiped out when Lee Harding took advantage of hesitancy on our left side.

McDonald’s finger-tip save from Shamir Fenelon kept us in it, only for Fenelon to put the hosts in front. Back we came through Lyle Della-Verde before the goal of the game seven minutes later.

Mo received the ball near the touch line and carried it 20 yards before unleashing a wonder strike beyond Sam Howes for his 22^nd league goal of the season and one of his best.

The only downside of the first half was a nasty looking injury to Harold Joseph who came off worse in a 50-50 challenge and after lengthy treatment had to be substituted.

 Another stoppage saw Nathan Smith, Harold’s replacement, luckily get to his feet after going for the same ball as Charlie Hester-Cook who had to be carried off.

H-T 2-3

Horsham thought they had levelled when the dangerous Fenelon fired into the side netting but parity was restored on 64 minutes when, slightly against the run of play, Dsane wasn’t picked up at the far post from a corner and atoned for his spot-kick failure.

Horsham then had arguably their best spell but as we switched formation, so we went for the winner and duly got it courtesy of Jake’s close-range finish following fantastic link-up play with Mo which can only augur well.

The pair of them were mobbed by the travelling faithful such was the importance of the goal that proved pivotal despite a mighty scare at the other end in the final action of the game.

Andy Leese was naturally delighted with the result, which came after one win in six but somehow seemed especially sweet with no-one else playing on the night.

“We opted to bring Eli back from his spell at Colney Heath and of course Jake making his debut. Both did very well and Jake got his reward for a very hard-working performance,” said Andy.

“Horsham are a well-drilled side and we had to adapt our shape a couple times to counter them.  We do that well and the final change brought about the winning goal. It;s all about picking up points this month however they come.”

“The only downside on the night was the injury to Harold. He’s damaged his ribs and we wait to see the extent. A quick note on the support. A good number of you made the long journey and you lifted the team,  especially in the last part of the game which was appreciated as always.”

Town:

McDonald; Nichols, Gyebi, Joseph (Smith 39), Kirwan; Thomas, Youngs, Kiangebeni (Bray, 74), Della-Verde (Cunnington 75); Faal, Cass.