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.

We are delighted to announce that we have signed striker Jake Cass in what the management and board believe is terrific piece of business.

Jake has parted company with play-off rivals Bishop’s Stortford after scoring 15 goals this season and is an exciting addition to our forward line.

“We are really pleased to get Jake on board,” said manager Andy Leese. “We feel we need to strengthen the squad right now with the schedule we have, and Jake coming available was too good an opportunity to miss.”

Jake, 28,  was Stortford’s leading scorer this season in his second spell at the club, having joined from Chelmsford last July.

“He’s an experienced player, he knows his way around this level,  wants to win things and as soon as we spoke he wanted to come here,” Andy added.

“I’m sure the fans will love his style and welcome him to the club. We will continue to review the squad this month as we know where we have to improve if we want to maintain and improve our current position.”

Welcome Jake

The games come thick and fast and tomorrow (Tuesday) we travel to Horsham hoping to get back to winning ways.

Horsham are currently 12th in the table with 28 points from 22 games but have playoff aspirations of their own and it promises to be a highly entertaining encounter.

In the FA Cup they reached the First round proper before going out 0-2 at Carlisle United having beaten National League Woking 1-0 at home in the Fourth Qualifying Round.

The ground address is: The Camping World Community Stadium, Worthing Road, Horsham RH13 0AX.

Admission Prices are Adults £11, Over 60s, Under 18s and Students £6, Under 16s £2. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.horshamfc.co.uk or by card or cash at the gate on the day (subject to availability.)

There is very limited parking at the stadium as this is reserved for match and club officials, official guests and the teams. Supporters travelling by road must use (free of charge) Horsham Park & Ride RH13 0AR, which is an easy 300m walk from the ground.

The attached link is from the Horsham FC website

Find us

If you wish to travel by club coach, leaving the QEII Stadium at 4PM please contact Les Gold on 07979 727563.

COYT!

Enfield Town 1 Lewes 4

Match report by Andrew Warshaw

It was a sad case of déjà vu for the Town on Saturday as we slumped to a heavy defeat against opponents who inflicted the same scoreline on us back in September.

Once again our defence, which for some reason has forgotten the basics in recent matches after doing so well earlier in the season, let us down but the centre of midfield was also at times cruelly exposed as our inconsistency continued.

With so many leading contenders having their games called off because of waterlogged pitches or Covid, this was a chance to put down an early 2022 marker  but it was our playoff rivals who rose to the challenge with a stirring performance of composure and clinical finishing.

With the pitch passed fit after two inspections, Lewes seemed to cope better with the conditions, tiring us down and running way with the game in the second half.

Lewes showed their enterprise from the off and in the best of the early chances, Nathan McDonald somehow kept out Joe Taylor’s close-range effort with a superb one-handed stop.

But after a relatively even first half-hour when we gave as good as we got, we fell behind. Lewes were awarded a freekick and when the ball was played back in after being half-cleared, a seemingly unsighted McDonald could only fumble and Michael Klass was left with a simple tap-in.

Six minutes later, however, we were back on level terms as Adam Cunnington rose majestically above his marker to deliver a towering pinpoint header and celebrate accordingly (pictured).

That should have been the signal for us to move through the gears and on the stroke of halftime, Lyle Della-Verde had the ball in the net again, only for it to be ruled out for handball.

If Lewes were marginally the better team as the first half ended, they took control after the break as the rain returned. But not before Mo Faal, who had another quiet game by his own high standards, was denied by a last-ditch tackle.

Right on the hour, Razz Coleman-De-Graft cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable past a despairing McDonald. A real team goal then put Lewes 3-1 in front as the ball was played down the line before being finished off by Klass for his second of the game.

Between the Rooks’ second and third, Percy Kiangebeni – whose right-back role on the day after John Muleba was a late withdrawal arguably weakened our midfield  — went into the referee’s book to go with Rian Bray’s first-half yellow.

Many watching thought Percy had already been cautioned and was fortunate to remain on the pitch. However, the referee clarified afterwards that it was Scott Thomas who had actually had his name taken earlier.

Much as we tried to get back in the game, we were second best to a well-drilled and side and Joe Taylor completed the scoring on 73 minutes as he dinked  the ball over an advancing McDonald.

Cue our first glimpse of the newly registered Michael Dome-Bemwin but in truth the scoreline would have been even more painful had we not thrown a series of bodies on the line in the final stages.

The absence of the injured Manny Maja is certainly not helping our cause but one win in six is hardly playoff form and the fact that we have dropped points against so many rival contenders is a real worry, as Andy Leese acknowledged.

“It was another difficult day for us where we were beaten by the better side,” said Andy with Horsham to come on Tuesday. “Certainly in the second half we lost all our discipline and understanding of the game plan.”

“Lewes took control after their second goal and we didn’t compete after that. It was again a very disappointing defensive performance and showed we have a huge amount of work to do.”

  Town: McDonald, Kiangebeni, Joseph, Bray, Kirwan, Taaffe (Coker 62), Thomas (Gyebi 70) Youngs, Cunnington, Faal, Della-Verde (Dome-Bemwin 73 mins)