Enfield Town 1 Bedfont Sports 1 (Bedfont won 4-2 on penalties)

Enfield Town’s penalty curse struck again on Tuesday night as were knocked out of the Middlesex County Cup at the first time of asking by Step 4 Bedfont Sports, losing 4-2 on spotkicks after the game finished 1-1 over 90 minutes, writes Andrew Warshaw

The competition may not have been a priority but it was a disappointing end to a fixture we controlled for all but the last 20 minutes and should have won comfortably.

As expected, we fielded a number of fringe players so that the management team could have a look at those who don’t normally make the first-team squad.

But Bedfont’s team was also a far cry from their regular line-up. In fact it was virtually a youth team and included no fewer than six kids who had to get up for school the following morning, one of whom was their 16-year-old goalkeeper.

After the game, some Towners fans expressed their frustration on social media that it was too great a risk to have taken off our senior players at a time when we only winning 1-0 — and that we should first have made the game safe.

But the counter-argument is that we could  not have afforded any injuries to key members of the squad with so many crucial upcoming fixtures, starting with Saturday’s all-important trip to Biggleswade Town in the FA Trophy.

As for the game itself, we started with very much a mixture of youth and inexperience and bossed the first half in which the increasingly fit Ebramah Sawaneh looked particularly lively.

 Matt Walsh, who has been out on loan, led the line whilst the recently signed Luke Cook showed glimpses of what he can do and  Adi Connolly was solid in goal.

Apart from the occasional Bedfont raid, we dominated first-half proceedings, enjoying large swathes of possession and carving out a string of  corners and half-chances.

Cook arguably had the best of them, an overhead kick saved at the second attempt, but Bedfont somehow went in the level at the break

H-T 0-0

Only our final ball was lacking but it seemed a matter of time before we took the lead.  It duly came on the hour as Bedfont failed to clear a freekick and Nathan Smith lashed the ball home.

After a flurry of substitutions, Bedfont began to look threatening as they  grabbed hold of midfield.  It seemed as if it was too late for the Eagles but with five minutes to go, they equalised courtesy of the unmarked Lewis Pegg’s bullet header from a corner.  

And so to the dreaded penalties with Bedfont netting their first four but Cook and Andre Coker, the latter otherwise among our best players on the night, both squandering their kicks to hand our lower-league opponents a place in the next round.

Town: Connolly; Maluba, Smith, Bray, Chappell (Mohamed, 80); Sawaneh, Kiangebeni (kanbanba, 67), Taafe, Cook; Coker, Walsh (Desa, 65)

Following lengthy fruitful negotiations, we are delighted to announce that fans’ favourite Mo Faal has signed a contract, tying him to the club until the end of the season – a huge boost in helping us achieve our goal of reaching the playoffs and hopefully promotion, writes Andrew Warshaw

Despite being taken on by two higher-level clubs since his first spell with Town, Mo has always kept in touch and has forged an excellent relationship with the management and board as well as the fans.

Although at the start of the season Mo was unsure of his plans beyond Christmas, he has now decided to commit himself to us for the whole campaign.

“It’s been in the offing but I’m glad to have signed a new deal till end of the season,” said Mo. “The support and confidence shown from the Chairman, Gaffer, Mario, Ian and the staff as a whole has been amazing.

“They give me the love and confidence to do what I do best. It’s been a good start for us and myself personally but I’m excited to win more football games with this group and maximise our potential. We’ve got great togetherness, the club is on the up  and i couldn’t thank our amazing fans enough who’ve supported the team from the start. I’m sure with these group of lads we’ll reach those targets.”

Both manager Andy Leese and chairman Paul Reed summed up what retaining Mo’s services means for the club.

“We’ve had a very encouraging start to the campaign and Mo’s goals have been integral to this,” said Paul. “The deal gives both Mo and the club security for the rest of the season and hope demonstrates the boards commitment to support Andy and the management team build and retain the best possible squad”

Andy commented: “l am equally delighted to secure Mo. He’s been fantastic since he came back to us and loves being part of this club. We have a great working relationship and I’m delighted we have been able to agree a new deal. It has been a few weeks in the making but Mo has kept his head down and continued to deliver on the pitch. Huge credit goes to the chairman and the Board as well for making this happen.”

Corinthian Casuals 1 Enfield Town 2

Report by Martin Bentley

Another hard-fought win, this time over a spirited Corinthian Casuals side, kept Town in second place in the league as we came up with two late goals after the home side had taken a surprise lead.

We may not have been at our best but who knows how significant this victory might be come the end of the season.

Town replaced the holidaying Lee Chappell and Sam Youngs with Jon Muleba and Lewis Taaffe while Andre Coker started up front with Mo Faal.

The only charitable description of a goalless first half would be ‘shapeless’ as both teams struggled to string any coherent moves together, largely due to a stiff end-to-end breeze.

A string of injury breaks also disrupted the flow of the game, and resulted in almost four minutes of added time.

Town at least started on the front foot, forcing three early corners, the last of which was volleyed over the bar by Harold Joseph.

The game then settled into a lengthy period of disjointed skirmishing with too many passes blown off course by the wind and not a single shot on target from either side.

Only a couple of dangerous crosses from Keiron Cadogan threatened Nathan McDonald’s goal, while Town’s best chance came from a typical Mo Faal surge from the halfway line, but Enfield’s top scorer delayed his pass too long and was dispossessed.

H-T 0-0

Improvement at the start of the second half? Well, not really. More misplaced passes and overhit through balls, and, to be honest, the game had the words ‘goalless draw’ running through it like a stick of Blackpool Rock.

Casuals, however, weren’t reading that particular script. After 56 minutes, Emmanual Mensah found himself in far too much space on the right wing and the  home winger scooted into the box and buried a low shot into the far corner.

Things did not look good for the Town at that point though Taaffe managed our second on-target shot of the game that was well held by home keeper Danny Bracken.

Incisive football from either side was at a premium before we suddenly turned the game on its head.

With 16 minutes remaining, Mo tiptoed his way into a shooting position and his effort flew out of the keeper’s grasp, over his head and into the net for the equaliser.

Now Town pressed forward in search of a winner. The home side conceded a stream of free kicks as Ryan Kirwan and Lyle Della-Verde attacked down the left.

The winner came courtesy of a scorcher from Della-Verde whose freekick was played back into his path, his subsequent low drive finding the bottom left corner of Bracken’s net.

 Town saw out the remaining six minutes, and seemingly a week of added time, without undue difficulty, and a hard-won three points were secured, made even sweeter by the fact that of the other contenders in and around the top, only Worthing were victorious.

Town line-up: McDonald, Muleba, Kirwan, Maja, Gyebi, Joseph, Kiangebeni, Taaffe (Cunnington 62), Della-Verde, Faal, Coker (Bray 79) Unused subs: Sawaneh, Smith, Cook

Enfield Town 2 Met Police 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Everyone knew that our FA Trophy third qualifying round fixture would be a tough encounter and so it proved as we squeezed into the first round proper in the proverbial game of two halves – and two penalties!

Our visitors, also from Step 3, hadn’t been beaten on the road this season while we hadn’t lost at home.

Something had to give and thankfully it was us who maintained our unbeaten record as we moved through to Monday’s eagerly awaited draw.

With both Rian Bray and Nathan Smith unavailable through illness, the centre of our defence had an unfamiliar look with Harold Joseph getting a rare start alongside Jeremiah Gyebi.

This was never going to be another goal fest like at East Thurrock but we got off to an encouraging start, Lee Chappell’s header clipping the post and a snap shot by Mo Faal being cleared off the line.

After weathering the early storm, Met Police gradually came into the game and Nathan McDonald was forced into a timely stop from Luke Robertson.

But on 36 minutes, we deservedly went in front, Lyle Della-Verde’s floated freekick finding Mo via the head of Adam Cunnington.

Just before halftime it was so nearly 1-1 as Ollie Knight, Police’s most dangerous player, saw his shot come back off a post with McDonald beaten and Jonathan Hippolyte was flagged offside as he netted the rebound.

Half-time 1-0

Second best for most of the opening 45 minutes, Met Police re-emerged a different team, bolstering their midfield, using the flanks to good effect and pushing us back. And right on the hour they levelled.

Rudy Allen’s accurate low drive was superbly palmed  away by McDonald but the resulting short corner took a looped deflection for Luke Robertson to head home.

The goal galvanised the visitors and as they stretched our back line, Ollie Robinson headed over. Yet just when Met Police were in the ascendancy, we were awarded a timely penalty on 81 minutes as Mo was adjudged to have been barged over.

Rather than take the kick himself he generously left it to substitute Andre Coker who confidently sent Liam Beach the wrong way.

The Met Police players, led by skipper Robinson, protested in numbers but soon afterwards and with the clock ticking towards full time, they were awarded a penalty of their own.

Percy Kiangebeni pulled down dangerman Knight on the edge of the box and up stepped Liam Ferdinand, only for McDonald to save brilliantly with his knees to the delight of the supporters behind the opposite goal.

Met Police will doubtless claim they deserved at least to take the game to spotkicks but not for the first time this season, we were rewarded for our hard work, togetherness and faultless spirit to take our place in Monday’s draw.

Town

McDonald; Chappell, Joseph, Gyebi, Kirwan; Youngs, Kiangebeni (Muleba, 91), Maja, Della-Verde (Taaffe, 85); Cunnington (Coke, 73), Faal

Attendance: 303

East Thurrock United 0, Enfield Town 8 (EIGHT!)

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Memorable, unforgettable, one of those “I was there” occasions.

History was made on Saturday when we recorded our biggest ever league win by annihilating East Thurrock – a team we had never previously beaten home or away. Talk about ending the jinx in style!

Despite skipper Scott Thomas missing out through injury and Andre Coker only well enough to make the bench, we had heroes all over the pitch as our teamwork and togetherness blew away our shell-shocked opponents with a whirlwind of a first half that saw us lead 7-0 at the break, courtesy of lethal finishing.

Mo Faal was at his scintillating best, carrying off the match ball at the end having netted four times but it was hard to pick a man of the match as everyone played their part in a game that will live long in the memory.

Andy Leese and the management team will doubtless impress upon the team not to get carried away with a hugely challenging FA Trophy fixture against fellow Step 3 side Met Police – unbeaten on the road – next Saturday. But both players and staff deserve enormous credit as we maintained our position at the top of the league.

The game was six minutes old when Adam Cunnington, who arguably had his best game in a Towners shirt, winning virtually everything in the air and tracking back when necessary, netted a rebound after Mo’s overhead kick from Lee Chappell’s long throw came back off the bar.

Four minutes later Lyle Della-Verde, whose skill on the ball troubled the hosts all afternoon, scored in the corner direct from a freekick with the Rocks defence asleep.

On an afternoon when the quick thinking and understanding between our players was almost telepathic, Mo ran on to Cunnington’s flick for number three and was soon in the right place at the right time to convert Della-Verde’s corner.

The nearest East Thurrock came was when Danny Cossington hit the woodwork but on 26 minutes, it was 5-0 as Percy Kiangebeni’s shot was only half cleared and Della-Verde drilled his shot low and hard beyond the keeper.

As the home fans lambasted their team for embarrassing, woeful defending, the goal spree continued as Mo completed his hattrick, winning and converting a 33^rd-minute penalty after the referee adjudged he was tripped.

There was still time in an exhilarating first half for Nathan Smith to get on the scoreline, latching on to a Sam Youngs freekick after ghosting in unmarked at the far post.

H-T 0-7

With the game won, Andy Leese made an immediate and sensible change at the break as Jonathan Muleba replaced Manny Maja, who had been booked in the first half and couldn’t risk a second yellow.

As a result, Chappell moved seamlessly into central midfield alongside Percy and Sam Youngs, the latter deserving considerable praise for an outstanding energetic display capped by a terrific strike that crashed against the bar.

A minute later Mo was on hand to finish off another glorious Della-Verde cross to pick up his fourth goal for 8-0, only to be understandably subbed shortly afterwards, his work very much done for the day.

It could so easily have been nine when Della-Verde, going for his hattrick, saw a second penalty awarded to Town well saved by Arthur Janata. And there was still time for substitute Lewis Taaffe to blast over after a fabulous exchange down the left with the ever-improving Ryan Kirwan who put in another eye-catching faultless performance.

As an exhibition of clinical finishing, we may never see the like of it again but next up Met Police and a chance to progress in the FA Trophy, with no room for complacency.

Town:

McDonald; Chappell, Smith (Bray, 70), Gyebi, Kirwan; Youngs, Maja (Muleba, 46), Kiangebeni, Della-Verde; Faal (Taaffe,  63), Cunnington.

Enfield Town 2 Worthing 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town twice came from behind and remained top of the league as the eagerly anticipated showdown between the division’s top two ended all square on Saturday.

We may have relinquished our 100 percent  home league record but we are unlikely to meet many better sides this season than Adam Hinshelwood’s Rebels who played the slicker football, especially in the first half, but ultimately could not turn it into all three points.

You have to give enormous credit to Town who showed commendable tenacity, determination and spirit as they maintained their one-point lead over Worthing – who have a game in hand – as well their unbeaten home run.

Praise also has to go to the management team who changed the system to get back in the game at a time when we were in danger of being over-run.

Mo Faal thought he had opened the score straight from the kickoff, only to have his neat finish ruled out for offside. For the next 35 minutes, Worthing took control , playing out from the back and moving smoothly through the gears.

Nathan McDonald had already saved magnificently from Oliver Pearce when, after 16 minutes, it was no surprise when the visitors struck first. It looked as if Lee Chappell had been fouled but nothing was given and Jasper Pattenden ran on to place his low shot in the corner.

With Worthing’s composed play, especially in the wide areas, causing us all kinds of problems, we switched to 3-5-2 – something that had been discussed in the build-up to the game – and it soon paid dividends. On the stroke of halftime, Faal’s skill and persistence down the right caught Worthing napping and from his pinpoint cross, Percy Kiangebeni headed a superb equalizer.

H-T 1-1

It was the perfect tonic we needed yet 13 minutes after the restart, the Rebels were back in front, Rees Myles-Meekums heading home after we took our eye off the ball when the referee played advantage following a foul on the edge of the Enfield box.

Andy Leese was furious with the defending and had to be restrained in the dug-out by Mario. To make matters worse, by now Scott Thomas had been lost to what looked like a hamstring injury to go with his persistent ankle problem, Sam Youngs taking his place.

But on 69 minutes we levelled again as the ever-threatening Faal latched on to substitute Adam Cunnington’s flick, kept his composure and finished with trademark aplomb.

Both teams had chances to win it in the final stages, Mo for the Town despite having five defenders around him and, for Worthing, substitute Darnell Goather-Braithwaite who held his head in the hands after planting a free header over the bar from close range with virtually the last kick of normal time.

Andy Leese was happy with a point against most pundits’ tip for automatic promotion.

“We struggled for the first half-hour, then changed our shape to match them up,” said Andy. “We warned them at halftime about concentration so I was really unhappy about Worthing’s second goal. But our resilience was there for everyone to see. The key is not to lose to the sides around you.”

Attendance: 615

Town:

McDonald; Chappell, Gyebi, Smith, Kirwan (Cunnington 61); Thomas (Youngs 42), Maja; Coker (Muleba 83), Kiangebeni, Della-Verde; Faal

Subs not used: Taaffe, Bray

There are big games and then there are gigantic games, writes Andrew Warshaw.

Expectations are reaching fever pitch ahead of tomorrow’s eagerly anticipated showdown with Worthing.

With no professional fixture in north London, we are expecting a bumper crowd for one of the biggest league fixtures in our history: first against second.

Worthing, most pundits’ favourites for automatic promotion, are one point behind us with a game in hand in what is the ultimate six-pointer with the visitors likely to bring between 150 and 200 fans.

The Rebels have won their last five league games, scoring 15 goals in the process. In midweek, 24 hours after we beat Wingate and Finchley, they went to high-fliers Kingstonian and won 4-3 to leagfrog the K’s into second spot.

Two years ago, coronavirus wrecked Worthing’s promotion dream after they were top of the Isthmian Premier League by seven points with eight games to go, only for the season to be declared null and void.

Whilst there is no doubting their all-round ability, especially in attack, we are in great form too and have proved on our day that we can beat anyone.

It promises to be an unforgettable afternoon so don’t miss out.

We are using the Worthing game to highlight hate crime awareness week with volunteers, officials and stewards wearing special  T-shirts as will the players in the warm-up.

(end)

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.”