Billy Bricknell has decided to leave the club and has signed for AFC Hornchurch.

Billy’s experience and renowned goalscoring prowess – especially during the 2019-20 season when he netted 18 times – made him a hugely popular figure at our club and we wish him every success as he moves on.

After taking a break from the game to concentrate on family and business commitments, Billy started training again only a few weeks ago and came off the bench in a couple of our most recent fixtures.

“Billy made it clear he wanted to play matches and I was not able to guarantee him that right now ,” declared manager Andy Leese. “I wanted to keep Billy, and ideally he wanted to stay. We talked about him going out to get games elsewhere, but ultimately Bill made it clear he needed to play every week at 33 and having missed a large part of the season I understand his desire to play every week.”

As Billy departs, so we are delighted to announce that Mo Faal has indicated he would like to extend his stay at the club.

“I am absolutely thrilled that it appears we will have Mo for longer than we anticipated,” said Andy. “I’m sure this will be a fantastic tonic to the fans as well as the management team.”

Meanwhile, we can announce the signing of highly rated 18-year-old Luke Cook. Luke, who can play anywhere across the front line, has been on trial at Brentford B and  chose Enfield over a number of other interested clubs for the first move of his career.

“We had him on trial before the season and liked what we saw,” said Andy. “He’s a great prospect, young and hungry and we are delighted to add him to the squad.”

Andrew Warshaw

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Five home league games, five victories. And this one was especially sweet, sending us to the top of the league for the first time ever at this stage of the season at Step 3 and sparking huge celebrations in the dressing room and among the fans.

This report was published before Worthing’s visit to Kingstonian but whatever the result there in terms of how the table stands, Saturday’s game against the Rebels, the Mackeral Men – call them what you will – promises to be a mouthwatering occasion, not least since our visitors were justifiably most people’s tip for automatic promotion before the start of the season.

Maintaining our 100 percent home league record against Wingate and Finchley in the latest of our local derbies was always going to be a challenge, with former Towners skipper Marc Weatherstone now in charge of the opposition and three of our ex-players in the visitors’ squad.

Andy Leese chose an unchanged team from Leatherhead and we were quickly on the front foot with Lyle Della-Verde, seemingly back to full fitness, probing down the right and bringing a magnificent save from Ben Goode after Andre Coker had started the move on the other flank by whipping in a dangerous cross.

Wingate were forced into an unfortunate early substitution and as we continued to probe, former Towner Sam Hatton was cautioned for a foul on Manny Maja, much to the enjoyment of the home fans. From Della-Verde’s resulting freekick, Jerry Gyebi headed over with the keeper already committed.

Wingate were always in the game, however, and we were fortunate that no-one was on hand to convert familiar face Bilal Sayoud’s dangerous freekick across the face of goal. We were also thankful for a superb tackle on the edge of the box by Ryan KJirwan to thwart another Wingate raid and to Nathan McDonald for pushing out a Sayoud effort.

But as halftime loomed, so we struck first. Nathan Smith’s header from a corner came back off the bar and he was in the right place to bundle it over the line.

It could easily have quickly two as Mo Faal latched on to  a poor clearance, only for Goode to produce another outstanding stop.

H-T 1-0

Sam Youngs replaced Scott Thomas at halftime as a precaution given Scott’s ankle problem but we soon doubled our lead.

There are moments in some games that will long live in the memory and five minutes after the break came the latest.

Percy Kiangebeni (pictured) picked up the ball halfway inside the Wingate and Finchley half, steadied himself and unleashed a ferocious drive that left Goode motionless and will surely be a contender for goal of the season. No wonder Percy was mobbed by his teammates as he wheeled away in delight.

We so nearly put the game to bed when a bullet header by Faal from Kirwan’s pinpoint cross was gratefully held by Goode but on 69 minutes. the visitors were back in it.

A freekick on the edge of our box was whipped in by Biloul and when we failed to clear the danger,  Alphonso Kennedy’s sweet turn and shot beat McDonald in the corner.

Soon after the restart, we had two golden chances to make it three: first when the ball was somehow cleared off the W and F line and the follow-up from Della-Verde struck the post, then when Mo fluffed his shot after a glorious pass from the ever-improving Coker.

It made for a nervous finish (how many times have we said that?) during which W and F chanced their arm and McDonald was ludicrously booked for time wasting during six minutes of added time.

Next up Worthing, a six-pointer that is huge in itself but which we are using to highlight hate crime awareness week.

Town:

McDonald; Chappell, Gyebi, Smith, Kirwan; Thomas (Youngs 46), Kiengebeni, Maja, Della-Verde; Faal (Cunnington 81), Coker

Attendance: 334

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Anyone who witnessed last Friday’s official launch of our new youth section shirt sponsorship could not have been more impressed by the level of enthusiasm or by the generosity of Future.

Scores of families attended what can only be described as a hugely successful evening, made even more so by the help of Tottenham Hotspur who kindly agreed to send four of their under-23 side, two of them from the borough of Enfield, to support us on the night.

The evening, split into three different age groups, included a kick Up Challenge, penalty shootout, crossbar challenge and raffle, the proceeds of which went to the Pink Ribbon Foundation for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The sight of so many youngsters on the pitch was a reminder of just how important this part of our club is in terms of building relationships with the local community.

Michael Butcher, Future’s director of business development, made a heartwarming speech in which he highlighted the environmentally friendly nature of the Hoddesdon-based printing company in terms of sustainability.

Any new business generated on the back of the three-year sponsorship deal will result in a further £250 being generously donated to the club.

Asked why his company chose Enfield Town, Michael revealed that rivals Cheshunt were also considered but that ultimately we were a better fit.

“With Cheshunt they were more of a commercial operation with a business mentality whereas the fan-owned aspect of Enfield was something that struck a chord with us,” said Michael. “We’ve always wanted to get involved with a local football team and Enfield Town were the perfect partnership.”

“Having Future involved is a huge deal,” said John Doyle, the head of our youth section. “It gives us the opportunity to grow as well as try to bridge the gap between youth football the senior set-up. I think Future were impressed by our community approach and how we want to give everyone a chance. We’ve never been close to receiving this kind of sponsorship. They want to be more than just a name on the shirt. They want to be part of the club.”

Enfield Town cemented their strong start to the Isthmian League season as they recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Leatherhead at Fetcham Grove on Saturday afternoon.

Seeking to continue the momentum and purpose with which Town had beaten leaders Kingstonian on Tuesday evening, Andy Leese named an unchanged eleven to start the match in Surrey and was rewarded with a highly professional display which arguably ought to have yielded more than three goals.

The visitors enjoyed the lion’s share of the play and came quickest out of the blocks, finding some early joy down the channels as Lyle Della-Verde and Andre Coker latched onto a series of through balls and looked to combine out wide. With 12 minutes gone, they were handed a golden opportunity from the spot as Ryan Kirwan overlapped along the left flank, cut inside and was hauled down in the area. Mo Faal stepped up, but following a lengthy run-up placed his penalty wide of the target.

Not that that much deterred Town – or Faal – as the away side continued to press, winning practically every duel and second ball before a green shirt could. A long-ranger from Manny Maja-Awesu was blocked, before Nathan Smith headed over from a free-kick. Just shy of the half-hour mark, Town were awarded another penalty following a carbon copy incident: Kirwan racing into the area before being tripped. Faal again took responsibility but this time made no mistake, slotting beyond the reach of the diving goalkeeper for his sixth league goal of the campaign.

Ten minutes later and the away side doubled their lead, Percy Kiangebeni well-positioned on the edge of the area to lash an effort into the bottom-left corner; his second in as many games for Town. Leatherhead very rarely troubled Nathan McDonald in the Town goal and a Craig McGee snapshot flew harmlessly wide just before half-time.

HT: Leatherhead 0-2 Enfield Town

The second half was very much as the first had ended, as Town enjoyed the majority of the ball, and carved out far more – and far better – chances than their hosts. In truth, a number of fouls disrupted any flow at the beginning of the second period, with the referee having issued warnings to both sets of players and management staff after a series of flare-ups.

It wasn’t long before the away side found their flow again, Jeremiah Gyebi glancing a header across goal from a corner. Just before the hour, a cleverly-disguised free-kick almost paid dividends as Coker went short to Della-Verde, whose square ball was met by Nathan Smith but blocked on the goal-line before Coker’s follow-up whistled narrowly over the bar. Enfield were seizing upon every moment of Leatherhead hesitation, with every clearance coming back for Town’s attackers to chase; Faal played through on goal but denied a brace by a good low stop from Tanners goalie Myles Bowman.

With a quarter of an hour remaining, Faal was withdrawn for Adam Cunnington; the substitute applying the gloss to a very satisfying afternoon on 83 minutes by notching his first goal for Enfield Town, nodding home Kirwan’s pinpoint left-wing cross and sparking jubilant celebrations from players, fans and management alike.

_____________

Enfield Town: McDonald; Chappell, Gyebi, Smith, Kirwan; Thomas (Youngs 69’), Maja-Awesu, Kiangebeni; Della-Verde, Faal (Cunnington 75’), Coker (Taaffe 69’)

Unused Subs: Joseph, Muleba

Attendance: 366

Enfield Town surged to third in the Isthmian Premier Division, and bounced back from the setbacks of their last two games, with a gutsy and richly deserved 2-0 victory over league leaders Kingstonian on Tuesday evening.

Despite Saturday’s cup exit, home well and truly is where the heart is for the Towners and they extended an already formidable record at Donkey Lane, playing some excellent football to record their ninth home league win on the bounce – a feat never before achieved by an Enfield Town team.

They certainly started the brighter as the visitors were very nearly caught napping inside two minutes, with Muhammadu Faal seizing on an underhit backpass and working the ball to Percy Kiangebeni, who forced ‘keeper Rob Tolfrey into action. Five minutes later, former Ks man Andre Coker saw his effort charged down on the edge of the area as Town took the game to their opponents and sustained the early pressure.

Another former Kingstonian forward, Lyle Della-Verde, looked lively all half and produced some delightful interplay down the right flank with Faal before bending a shot wide of the mark. On 20 minutes, however, the hosts were rewarded as a Lee Chappell long throw was only cleared as far as Ryan Kirwan, who nodded on towards Kiangebeni for the midfielder to slot a finish into the bottom-right corner; his second goal of the campaign duly greeted by the home fans positioned behind the goal.

Ks certainly had their chances and were by no means quiet, with the lively Daniel Ajakaiye twice producing efforts which needed saving by Nathan McDonald. On the half-hour mark Ajakaiye controlled smoothly and rolled his defender but once more the resulting shot was well kept by McDonald. Town supporters held their collective breath as a delicious cross from the right was met by Kershaney Samuels, but saved at point-blank range.

With 33 gone, however, it was Town who struck once more. Faal chased down an overhit pass and, bringing the ball under control on the touchline, skipped beyond his defender with finesse before squaring for the incoming Coker to tap in and double the advantage.

Half Time, 2-0.

After the restart, it was the away side who started on the front foot, full-back Bryant Akono-Bilongo unmarked at the back post to side-foot a volley into a crowd of players from a corner. The best chance of the half came seven minutes later through an Enfield counter attack, as Kiangebeni was released with a slide-rule through ball. His powerful effort beat Tolfrey, but incredibly cannoned off both the underside of the crossbar as well as the post before bouncing out.

Town didn’t let up, and Kirwan – handed a start at left-back for the first time in over a month – produced several swashbuckling forward runs to skip away from some no-nonsense challenges. He combined with Coker who nutmegged his man to set Faal clear, but an archetypal finish was denied by the offside flag.

Kingstonian thought that they had found a way back into the match on 62 minutes when Kenny Beaney’s flighted corner was glanced into the net by Jerry Puemo, but the linesman was well-positioned to spot that the Ks defender had in fact punched the ball in with his hand.

A series of late substitutions arguably didn’t help the visitors’ cause as they continued to press, but Town defended resolutely to see out the match and maintain another home clean sheet. Town visit Leatherhead on Saturday afternoon, and will look to continue the momentum provided by an impressive home win over the league’s early pace-setters.

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town’s interest in this season’s FA Cup came to a disappointing end with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Conference South Chelmsford in the third qualifying round, played in atrocious weather that even the proverbial ducks would have struggled with.

Town’s travelling faithful braved the driving rain and lashing winds and outsung the home crowd as we arguably deserved a draw against Step 2 opponents who we fought hard to match but who ultimately coped with the conditions ever so slightly better.

Setting up in a 3-5-2 formation, things started badly for Town as Mo Faal needed lengthy treatment after going down in the very first minute with what, at the time, looked like a potential game-ending injury. Luckily Mo was eventually up on his feet but, for once, had a tough day as for the most part he found it hard to get much change out of a well-marshalled home defence. That could largely be said for all our attacking players though the rain-soaked pitch negated any chance of consistent ball control while the officials did us few favours over the 90 minutes.

Chelmsford, who have had an inconsistent start to the season, hardly troubled us for the opening 20 minutes and had Adam Cunnington’s header from Lewis Taaffe’s freekick hit the target, we would have surely taken the lead. Within seconds of Adam’s miss, Chelmsford so nearly made him pay as skipper Tom Wraight rattled the crossbar at the other end after the at times unplayable Tom Blackwell skinned Lee Chappell to cross from the right.

In truth there was little to choose between the sides as we gave as good as we got. Mo in fact could easily have us the lead on the stroke of half-time as he latched on to Rian Bray’s through-ball, only to misdirect his shot.

Half Time, 0-0.

Whatever the Chelmsford manager said at halftime, they came out for the second period with more urgency and fluidity, finding it easier to play into the wind having over-hit too many first-half passes in the final third. Only a magnificent stop by Nathan McDonald prevented Wraight putting The Clarets in front and as they started to take control, we were forced into conceding a flurry of freekicks and corners, some of them unnecessary.

It looked for all like we had gone behind when Simeon Jackson appeared to convert from a tight angle. Somehow the ball was deemed to have been cleared off the line despite plenty of protests from the home side.

Moments later, however, the pressure told as a corner was flicked on by Winfield and Jackson netted with an acrobatic overhead kick. City went close to adding another as a flowing move led to a one-on-one chance for Dara Dada, only for Nathan to pull off a world-class save.

With the clock ticking, we came far more into the game and might easily have snatched a draw as we gave it a right go in the last 20 minutes. Cunnington somehow missed his kick from five yards while substitute Andre Coker, whose cameo appearance had Chelmsford worried, would have equalised but for a timely last-ditch block with keeper Jacob Marsden beaten.

There were some dejected players at the final whistle but no-one can fault us for desire, spirit and teamwork in appalling conditions. In the end it wasn’t quite enough and we now return to league action against Kingstonian on Tuesday.

_____________

Enfield Town: McDonald; Smith, Bray, Gyebi; Chappell (Coker 78’), Taaffe (Youngs 66’), Thomas (Bricknell 83’), Maja, Kiangebeni; Faal, Cunnington.

Unused subs: Della-Verde, Connolly, Joseph, Kirwan.

Attendance: 545

Along with several other Isthmian League clubs involved in tomorrow’s midweek programme, we requested a postponement of our fixture and can now announce the Bishop’s Stortford game is officially off.

The league advised clubs they could call off games this week because of problems related to the supply of fuel.

As many of our players, staff and supporters have to travel considerable distances and are experiencing difficulties in obtaining fuel we were among those to ask for a postponement and this has been approved, with a rescheduled date yet to be agreed.

The knock-on effect, of course, is that we can prepare fully for Saturday’s eagerly anticipated FA Cup third qualifying round fixture at Conference South side Chelmsford City.

Margate 2 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

The mood on the team bus back from Margate on Saturday was unsurprisingly sombre after a stoppage-time defeat that left the management team fuming.

Arguably the better side for the best part of an hour and having taken the lead, Town looked like at least ending up with a point, only to succumb to a 92^nd-minute Gate winner with virtually the last kick of the game to send us down to sixth in the table.

With Lee Chappell missing through injury, the versatile Percy Kianenbeni was pushed into a more defensive role and quickly imposed himself with a driving run, only to scuff his finish.

In an entertaining first half of few clear-cut chances, Manny Maja flashed a 25-yard just wide and Mo Faal’s snapshot was saved by the legs of Pat Ohman.

But Margate played their part too, with good movement off the ball and several dangerous crosses, none of which were thankfully converted.

Margate haven’t lost at home this season and were keen to bounce back from their FA Cup defeat last Saturday. But  without regular striker Daniel Thompson they failed to turn their neat approach into too many scoring opportunities and there was little indication in a goalless first half that they would end up with all three points.

H-T 0-0

A home victory became even more unlikely when we took the lead on 55 minutes.  Shortly after a Sam Youngs turn and shot had brought a smart save from Ohman, Adam Cunnington’s flick-on found Faal whose goalbound effort deflected off a Gate defender and looped over the keeper.

That should have been the cue to go on and win the game. Instead three minutes later we were pegged back. Nathan McDonald did well to keep out Montel Agyemang’s shot but Ben Greenhalgh followed up to score with what looked like another deflection.

Suddenly Margate looked the more likely side, winning most of the second balls and spurred on by an eye-catching performance from the superb Agyemang, who joined the club in the summer from Welling United after bursting on to scene at Leyton Orient.

Agyemang’s strength and power through the centre of midfield constantly had us back-pedalling as he set up a series of Margate chances. From one of them, Vance Bola blasted just over, from another Greenhalgh saw his shot clip the crossbar and from a third Greenhalgh missed an open goal by skewing his shot inches wide.

We also continued to threaten at the other end and Sam Youngs could easily have restored our lead if he had better controlled a weakly struck chip.

But by now we were starting to tire, no doubt partly as a result of Tuesday night’s cup exertions.

Not even the introduction of a couple of subs helped out cause but just as it looked as if we would come away with a draw, Margate were disappointingly allowed to get behind our left flank and substitute Martial Godo stabbed home Ryan Palmer’s cross to spark wild celebrations among the home fans in the 451 crowd.

The games come thick and fast of course and we have an immediate chance to bounce back at Bishops Stortford on Tuesday – no easy task after their 7-0 demolition of Leatherhead on Saturday.

This report cannot be completed without referring to the disgraceful scenes behind one of the goals that greeted Margate’s winner. Police had to be called following the unsavoury disturbance and it is understood two Margate fans have now been banned by the club.

 Town

McDonald; Kiangenbeni, Bray, Gyebi, Smith; Youngs, Maja, Thomas, Taafe (Della Verde 73) ; Cunnington (Bricknell, 73), Faal

Report by Andrew Warshaw

It may not have been pretty but it’s all about the result and there is no doubting the excitement at Town progressing to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup after a hard-fought 2-1 win over plucky opponents Hadley in our 2^nd round replay on Tuesday night.

Just as in the first game on Saturday, Hadley played way above their Step 5 status but a mixture of commitment, experience and canny tactics by the management team ensured an eagerly anticipated clash at Conference South Chelmsford on Oct 2.

Whilst we rode our luck at times, especially in a nail-biting last few minutes, every member of the team put in a shift to make sure we were not victims of a giantkilling by the Bricks who were unbeaten in all competitions prior to the game.

With Adam Cunnington injured, Matt Walsh was given the nod up front while Scott Thomas and Lewis Taafe returned to the starting line-up. Key, perhaps, to our victory was switching to three at back in order to nullify Hadley’s strengths and for a large part of the game it worked as we kept our shape and limited them to few clear-cut chances.

With a lucrative tie at Chelmsford at stake, nerves were always going to play a part but we got off to the best possible start. With virtually our first attack of the game, Mo Faal ran on to Taafe’s defence-splitting pass and finished in trademark style, going for placement rather than power.

The goal should have settled us down but after we failed to add to the score – a Taafe effort being blocked on the line — Hadley recovered from the early blow by coming more into the game,  the pacey Solomon Ofori again looking the part though not with same effectiveness as on Saturday.

The hosts finished the first half on the front foot but it was all about clearing our lines at first sign of danger.

Halftime 1-0

With their skipper Paul Wright marshalling things at the back, allied to slick passing in midfield, Hadley continued to pose a threat without creating too much in the final third. That was largely down to us keeping our concentration with such an important prize at stake.

 Ten minutes into the second half, the luckless injury-prone Taafe had to be replaced by Sam Youngs but on 74 minutes – ironically the same moment we equalised on Saturday – we doubled our lead. Rian Bray’s long freekick was met by the head of Jerry Gyebi (pictured) though Hadley will feel their keeper should have done more to keep it out.

That should have been that but Hadley were having none of it. Four minutes later, substitute Peter Rosemin took advantage of hesitancy in our box by halving the deficit.

It made for nerve-jangling finale as the hosts missed two golden chances to take the game to extra time. First both Ofori and Luke Alfano, four yards out, agonisingly failed to convert a right-wing cross with the goal at their mercy. Then Alfano somehow missed the target with Nathan McDonald wrong-footed.

Thankfully Town survived and no-one can fault us for determination, aggression and desire – much needed qualities especially in knockout fixtures.

 There was also the welcome sight of Billy Bricknell putting on a Towners shirt again for the last 15 minutes after having trained for just half an hour in the past 11 months.

Once fully fit, Billy will surely again be a huge asset to the squad. Conversely, it looks like Josh Urquhart could be out for months rather than weeks with his cruciate ligament injury and all the staff and fans wish him a speedy recovery.

Town:

McDonald; Smith, Gyebi, Bray; Chappell, Thomas, Maja, Kiangebeni, Taafe (youngs 55); Faal, Walsh (bricknell 75)

We will be away to Chelmsford City of National League South in the FA Cup 3rd qualifying round should we win our replay at Hadley on Tuesday.

The date for the 3rd qualifying round is Oct 2 meaning that win or lose against Hadley, our scheduled home league fixture on that date against Bowers and Pitsea has had to be postponed since they are still in the cup having knocked out Bishops Stortford last Saturday.

The league game has thus been re-arranged for Nov 2.