Cray Wanderers 4 Enfield Town 4

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Where on earth do we start?

Crazy game, both defences at times non-existent but fantastic entertainment – especially for the neutrals.

In the end, we came away with a point on Monday which, on the balance of play, was probably about right.

If you score four goals away from home, you expect to emerge victorious.  Equally, hitting back from 4-2 down could prove crucial come the end of the season and actually pushed us up one place in the table.

Cray have a new manager in Grant Basey, whose tenure began 48 hours earlier with a good away win.

They are a far better side than their lowly league position suggests and they came at us straight from the kickoff when we were caught napping by a well-worked freekick, the ball cleverly switched from right to left and the resulting cross turned in by Chris Dickson.

We had another scare on 19 minutes when Dickson seemed certain to double Cray’s lead, only for his shot to be deflected off Nathan Smith.

Three minutes later, slightly against the run of play, we were level.  Andre Coker, back in the starting line-up and looking sharp against his old club, stooped to convert Lyle Della-Verde’s cross.

This should have settled us down but instead, all our good work was wasted as Cray restored their lead. Dickson’s shot was parried by Adi Connolly, once again standing in for Nathan McDonald, and Jamie Yila supplied the finish.

By now, we were being worryingly stretched with pace though with the ball we looked a constant threat – despite Mo having one of his quieter games.

Sure enough, six minutes before the interval, we were again back on level terms through a superb piece of skill from Della-Verde.

With no other option after receiving the ball, he  swept into the area and finished brilliantly from the tightest of angles, Salah-style!

H-T 2-2

The game continued at a relentless pace with John Muleba replaced by Lewis Taaffe at halftime and Percy Kiangebeni switching to right-back in a tactical move.

It didn’t seem to have the desired effect when dangerman Yila squared the ball across and  Cameron Brodie took advantage of more slack defending to put Cray in front for the third time.

Within moments it should have been 3-3, only for Coker to choose the wrong option by going for glory instead of passing to Mo who was totally unmarked in front of goal.

We were soon made to pay when Cray seemed to have made the game safe, the luckless Ryan Kirwan turning the ball into his own net when trying to clear.

One felt for poor Connolly, who was given precious little protection and could do little about any of Cray’s goals.

It could have been even worse when Cray had a legitimate claim for a penalty waved away after Yila cut inside and looked to have been clipped by Nathan Smith.

Yet for all our defensive deficiencies, without the unavailable Harold Joseph, we showed character in abundance as once again we regrouped.

In what was surely one of his most effective  displays of the season, Taaffe reduced the arrears in the 76^th minute when he burst into the area and converted Mo’s cross.

His desire was there for all to see as he picked the ball out of the net and ran back to the centre circle.

And with three minutes of normal time remaining, he became Town’s saviour, pressuring the Cray keeper into a mistake and placing the ball into an empty net (pictured).

In the end a point didn’t serve us too badly as we moved up to fourth with a massive six-pointer to come against Lewes on Saturday.

“It was another frustrating day where our defending let us down,” said Andy Leese. “Early mistakes set the tone and gave the lively Cray forwards line plenty of hope.”

“That said, we showed great character again to battle back for what looks like a good point  in light of other results.

“We shouldn’t be scoring four goals away from home and not winning. We have more work to do to tighten up our shape as a team.”

Town: Enfield Town:  Connolly;  Muleba (Taaffe, 46), Bray, Smith, Kirwan; Thomas (Cunnington, 64),  Kiangebeni (Chappell, 66), Youngs, Della-Verde; Coker,  Faal

Enfield Town 4 Potters Bar Town 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

The perfect start to 2022. After a wobbly couple of weeks, Town moved back into the playoff positions with a second-half demolition of local rivals Potters Bar in front of a New Year’s Day attendance of 682 — largely courtesy of Mo Faal’s latest hat-trick.

Having taken just a point from our previous three games,  we started hesitantly and teenage reserve keeper Adi Connolly, in for Covid-hit Nathan McDonald, was forced into a superb early save.

Sam Youngs then produced a brilliant clearance off the line from a looping effort by Dwight Pascal as the Scholars, despite having to re-organise because of an enforced change just before kick-off, threatened again.

They were arguably the two best chances of the first half though Percy Kiangenbei  twice went close for the Town and both Mo — needlessly booked for handball — and Lyle Della-Verde also had opportunities.

At the other end, young Connolly was again called into action to save a curling effort by former Towner Bilal Sayoud who also produced a fierce drive  that whistled past the post.

H-T  0-0

Having already been forced into one change in their starting line-up, Bar were unlucky  to also lose key striker Joseph Boachie at the  interval and were blown away in a 15-minute spell at the start of the second period.

With the first move of the half, Mo capitalised on defensive hesitancy and lobbed Cieran Gordon-Stairn to give Town the lead.

Suddenly our confidence flooded back and Della Verde doubled the lead on 49 minutes picking up the ball in the left channel before drilling it home.

Between the two goals visiting manager Lee O’Leary received two yellow cards in quick succession for what appeared to be some choice words to the officials – and played no further part in the proceedings.

Right on the hour we made the game safe as Mo converted from the spot after a clear trip.

Bar now had arguably their best spell of the game as substitute Luke Joyce-Dwarika and Samson Eson both came close to cutting the deficit.

But they couldn’t stop Mo who saved the best till last, latching on to an 89^th-minute cross from Andre Coker before committing the keeper, steadying himself and burying his shot in the corner to collect the match ball.

With only a 48-hour break before the next outing at Cray Wanderers on Monday, it was a hugely important three points – made sweeter by Folkestone and Cheshunt both losing.

 Special mention has go to young Connolly who once or twice was charged down by the visiting forwards but kept us in the game at vital moments.

“We were a bit laboured in the first half but we played Lyle just behind the front two after the break and it worked an absolute treat,” said Andy Leese.

“We’ve stuttered in the last couple of games and conceded too many goals so we needed to get momentum back. I’m really pleased for young Adi who had to go in at 48 hours’ notice.”

Town

Connolly; Maluba, Joseph, Smith, Kirwan; Thomas, Youngs, Kiangebeni (Taaffe, 74), Della-Verde (Bray, 84); Cunnington (coker, 74), Faal.

What better way to start 2022 than a trip to the QEII Stadium. Tomorrow, Saturday, we start the new year with another local derby, this time against Potters Bar Town, kick off is 3 PM.

Our visitors have had a mixed season and are currently 14th in the table with 24 points. They recently recorded a sensational 5-1 away win at high-flying Lewes but more recently have lost 3-4 at home to Leatherhead and 1-4 at Corinthian Casuals.

For our part we need to get back to winning ways after two defeats and a draw from our last three league games.

Every team has a spell like that during the season, the test is how quickly you can bounce back. There would be no better way to start 2022 than with a home win, but it will not be easy.

Two days later on Jan 3 we make the trip across London to play Cray Wanderers who play their home games at Bromley FC .

The travel information below is from Cray’s website.

Contact

Ryan Kirwan is our latest player to be interviewed by Aficion Deportiva, the Spanish website that has taken such a keen  interest in our club

For those who haven’t seen it, here is the link

https://aficiondeportiva.com/the-fans-the-engine-of-everything-interview-with-ryan-kirwan-enfield-town-fc/

Cheshunt 2 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

The old adage that football is a cruel game was rarely more applicable than on Monday when we dominated our local rivals but somehow came away with nothing apart from frustration and disappointment as we slipped out of the play-off places for the first time in weeks.

A huge Town following boosted the derby attendance to a bumper 966 but we left to rue a spate of near-misses as well as a series of bizarre decisions by the officials.

On another day we would have won comfortably but were undone by two pieces of clinical finishing by Cheshunt after taking an early lead.

After a pitch inspection allowed the game to go ahead, both teams started without key players through illness and injury, in our case Manny Maja and Andre Coker. 

But we were in front after 11 minutes. Adam Cunnington, who tirelessly won challenges all afternoon, saw his header from Lee Chappell’s long throw cleared off the line and when Lee recycled the ball back in, Sam Youngs (pictured) headed home.

Six minutes later, however, Cheshunt were level with, to their credit, a well-worked team goal finished off by Mo Camara.

After a brief respite, it wasn’t long before we wrested back control in terms of chances and possession. Lyle Della-Verde’s shot stung the hands of the Cheshunt keeper, Rian Bray missed a golden opportunity from six yards by heading over and not one but two penalty appeals were turned down, one of them a cast-iron spot-kick for a body check.

Just before the interval, Percy Kiangebeni’s strength took him past three players and he was unlucky to see his resultant shot come back off the post.

H-T 0-0

The second half began as the first ended as Della-Verde was thwarted by a last-ditch block and Percy curled a shot narrowly wide.

It wasn’t long before we had the ball in the net again, only for the referee to blow for an infringement.

Cheshunt’s defensive bravery often spilled over into ugly fouls, not least on Mo Faal who found himself a marked man most of the afternoon but still posed a worry for the hosts.

We could, maybe should, have done better with a series of wasted freekicks in dangerous positions but it seemed only a matter of time before the pressure told.

Instead on 75 minutes, just as we feared it might be one of those days, the Ambers stole the points. Their main man, Rowan Liburd, had posed little threat beforehand but good strikers only need one chance and when the ball ran loose to him in a swift counter-attack, he burst forward and buried his shot in the corner.

The goal galvanised Cheshunt whilst leaving us shellshocked and unable to create any worthwhile chances to salvage a draw as we tired visibly after such a strong effort.

Having dropped points now against several of our playoff rivals, it leaves us ideally needing a maximum haul over the New Year period against Potters Bar and Cray.

In conclusion, it has to be said that the conduct of a minority of home fans, notably unnecessary foul and abusive language, was disappointing.

“It was a very frustrating afternoon and a game we wouldn’t have lost but for two bits of pace from their forward,” said manager Andy Leese after seeing Cheshunt leapfrog us in the table.

“We controlled the game, had a decent penalty shout in the first half and created plenty but the game is decided in both boxes and they obviously edged that.”

“I was pleased with how we played after the injury and illness issues we have had. We have to look forward now and get back on track if we want to stay in the race at the top. Not many points are covering a host of teams and they will all have to play each other.

“We now have to regroup and reset ourselves for the second half of the season.  If we achieve what we have in the first half, we will be fine but I want us to improve on that.”

Town:

McDonald; Chappell, Bray, Joseph, Kirwan (Cook 83); Kiangebeni, Youngs, Thomas, Della-Verde (Taafe, 83); Faal, Cunnington

We have sent three players – Matt Walsh, Ebrima Sawaneh and Eli Nicholls – out on loan to Step 4 Colney Heath on a dual registration basis in order to get game time.

“All of them are still our players and we can recall them any time,” confirmed Andy Leese.

Whilst Matt and Ebrima will be familiar names, Eli’s favoured position is fullback. His last club was Carshalton and he trained with us for number of weeks.

Graham Dodd, our head of football operations (pictured), further explained: “We felt it would be better for them to go out on loan. Nothing beats game time but they are all boys who we want to keep tabs on.”

With a mammoth January programme, the management team have been quick to strengthen our defensive midfield options by bringing in 25-year-old Michael Dome-Bemwin.

Michael has played in the USA, Spain, Cyprus and, most recently in terms of his overseas sojourns, Sweden.

 Whitehawk held his registration but Town fans will perhaps remember him playing against us for Lewes a couple of years ago on the opening day of the season.

Welcome, Michael

Enfield Town chairman Paul Reed has a special message for all those who followed us at Eastleigh on Saturday

Saturday was a tough day for us on the pitch against a really good Eastleigh side, we were understrength through Covid, illness and suspension but I was extremely proud of how the boys kept going to the end, didn’t allow their heads to drop and kept fighting for every ball.

To be competing at that stage of the competition against full-time teams shows how far we have come in our 20 years. I spent some time after the game talking to their directors and understanding the journey they have been on to get to that level and what has been involved financially and operationally to get them to and sustain themselves in the National League. It definitely gave me some real insight in to the finances and structure needed to compete at the higher echelons of non-league football and offered food for thought for us a board as we plan for the future.

For me, the outstanding memory of Saturday will be the incredible support that the team received, both in numbers and volume you delivered outstanding backing to the boys with constant singing and encouragement throughout the 90 minutes.

 The players and management have all told me how much it meant to them and you also received many compliments for the officials and supporters of Eastleigh that I spoke to.

For so many of you to make a 200-mile round trip on the Saturday before Christmas in these uncertain times is amazing and as a club we would like to offer a small token of our appreciation for you at the Potters Bar game on New Year’s Day.

Anyone presenting proof of purchase of a ticket for the Eastleigh game can claim a complimentary drink from the bar (up to a value of £4.50) and a limited edition ETFC chocolate bar as a thank you from the club. Please show your proof at the bar to claim your items.

I understand all ticket purchases for the game were “cashless” so hopefully you will easily be able to demonstrate your purchase, however if for any reason you cannot, please contact me at chairman@etfc.london and we can make alternative arrangements.

On behalf of the board, players and management, thank you again for your incredible support on Saturday and please do get behind the team for the rest of the season.

Up The Town

Paul Reed

Eastleigh 5 Enfield Town 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

It’s hard enough being drawn away from home against a fully professional side two divisions higher. But when your squad is suddenly decimated, the task becomes virtually impossible.

So it was on Saturday when Town lost a swathe of  regular starters to Covid on the morning of the FA Trophy third round tie at Eastleigh.

Add to that the one-match suspension of Manny Maja and the fact that we had only two players on the bench eligible to play and you get some idea of the nightmare scenario the management team faced on the trip to Hampshire.

To their credit, despite one or two playing out of position, the team battled hard, kept their shape and were well in the game at 1-0 down. But once the second Eastleigh goal went in on the stroke on halftime, any chance of a recovery flew out the window.

Some of our defending could – perhaps should –  have been cleverer. For much of the game, Mo Faal was having to track back, nullifying his goal threat.

But in the end, we can have no complaints as our run in the competition came to an end against a quicker, stronger, physically superior team who didn’t really give us a sniff of a goal or any worthwhile possession and wore us down.

Former Southampton midfielder Jake Hesketh stole the show with a sublime hat-trick (and hit the woodwork twice) as the Spitfires took charge from the off, unlike the FA Cup meeting with Folkestone earlier in the season when our playoff rivals so nearly caused a huge upset .

Eastleigh were almost ahead within two minutes through Tyrone Barnett and further penalty area scrambles came and went in the opening period.

Just as we showed signs of settling into the game, we fell behind on 37 minutes as Hesketh fired home off the post with fantastic technique.

Being robbed of possession against full-time professionals is a dangerous game and it wasn’t long before Eastleigh doubled their lead, this time through advancing full-back Josh Hare who smashed the ball home with the help of a deflection off Sam Youngs.

H-T 0-2

Three minutes after the break it was game over as Ryan Hill fed Hesketh who carried the ball forward and finished in the corner.

Only now did we look like getting on the scoresheet as both Youngs and Faal fired off shots that either missed the target or were too soft.

The fourth goal, and arguably the best, came on 70 minutes when a well-worked corner was played across our box for Andrew Boyce to unleash a magnificent volley.

In truth, Nathan McDonald couldn’t do anything about any of the goals and the fifth came on 81 minutes as Hesketh finished off some terrific interplay.

It could have ben worse as Hesketh and Harry Pritchard both rattled the woodwork in the final stages.

Whilst we were bruised and battered at the finish there is no doubt that mitigating circumstances played a considerable part.

Special mention has to go to our travelling fans who kept up a relentless noise and outsung the home supporters in the 877 crowd from start to finish. They were a credit to the club and were praised by a number of Eastleigh officials.

 “A challenging day was made more difficult when circumstances conspired against us with a number of positive Covid tests in the camp on Friday and Saturday  morning,” said Andy Leese afterwards.

“It may not have affected the outcome of the game but it certainly affected the preparation as we had to select another team to the one we worked on all week.”

“We conceded goals at poor times especially the second and third. We never really kept hold of the ball long enough to fashion any decent opportunities and didn’t give our fantastic support much to shout about.”

“We can get back to the league campaign provided we have enough fit and healthy players to train this week. Thanks to everyone who travelled to support us. Please stay behind the team as we look to make this a memorable season.”

Whilst it was a disappointing end to the Trophy run, the league comes first and now we prepare – Covid regulations permitting — for the eagerly awaited derby at playoff rivals Cheshunt on Dec 27 before an eye-watering nine scheduled games in January.

Town:

McDonald; Joseph, Gyebi, Bray, Smith; Youngs, Taaffe (Kirwan 83), Kiangebeni, Coker (Cook 67), Faal; Cunnington

Our home match with Bowers & Pitsea has been rearranged to take place on Tuesday 18th January.

Meanwhile, please note that match tickets for our 3rd Round FA Trophy tie at Eastleigh on Saturday are available at https://www.eastleighfc.com/tickets/

Adult tickets are £10 and concessions are £5.

We understand Eastleigh do not intend to segregate away fans. Tickets will be available on matchday and Eastleigh intend to make an announcement closer to match day.

If you wish to travel by coach to Eastleigh, just a reminder to please contact Les Gold on 07979 727563 or lesgold@enfieldtownfootballclub.co.uk. The coach will depart the QE II Stadium at 11 AM. Cost £16.

You will be required to wear face coverings on the coach, and Eastleigh have advised face coverings are required to enter their club shop.

If you are intending to use the coach it is recommended you take a Lateral Flow Test on Saturday morning.