Enfield Town 5 Quorn 1 (abandoned after 82 minutes)
Report by Andrew Warshaw
Enfield Town’s progress in the FA Cup depends on a ruling by the Football Association after our third qualifying round fixture was called off with eight minutes left following a serious injury to Quorn goalkeeper Tom Allsop.
Town had just scored their fifth goal with a place in the next round all but assured when Allsop collided with one of his own players as he came to meet a Jack Bates centre and collapsed unconscious.
Concerned players on both sides urgently signalled for immediate medical attention with Allsop later carried off a stretcher before being further treated by ambulance paramedics and taken to hospital.
After a confusion-packed 30-minute delay while the officials contacted the FA for advice, the match was abandoned and it now up to the authorities to decide the outcome which will probably not be known before Monday’s fourth qualifying round draw – the joint furthest we have reached in the competition. Either the 5-1 result stands or a replay will be ordered appear to be the two main options with significant prize money at stake.
It is with huge relief that Allsopp has since tweeted he is doing okay following various scans. He also made a point of thanking Town’s medical staff for their swift action.
Before the game there was a minute’s silence to pay tribute to former Chichester striker Billy Vigar who tragically sustained a fatal brain injury at Wingate and Finchley last Saturday.
When the action got under way, only Adam Thompson was missing from Town’s regular line-up despite all manner of injuries and illness in the build-up.
To suggest we started sluggishly is an understatement as Step 3 Quorn, who looked quicker, sharper and more penetrative, put us under the cosh. They had clearly done their homework and could have been three goals up but for Rhys Forster who had dragged himself out of bed to make his 99th appearance in goal for Town.
We were treading water with winger Simeon Coburne a particular thorn in our side. But just as it seemed we might be victims of a potential giantkilling we shook off our lethargy to open the score with a majestic Lamar Reynolds volley.
On the stroke of halftime, our lead was doubled after Tosh Gallimore dribbled his way into the box before beating the outstretched arm of Allsop though his shot (pictured) appeared to take a deflection.
H-T 2-0
Now the belief and fight went out of Quorn and we took total control as Mickey Parcell entered the fray, the first of a number of subs who also included the returning Bates for a second Town spell.
Sam Youngs, who had passed a pre-match fitness test and played with his head bandaged up as a result of last Saturday’s collision, seemed to put the result beyond doubt with a glorious strike.
Lamar then notched his second with the most sublime of lobs when the flag stayed down and Tommy Wood’s tap-in made it five but was overshadowed by Allsopp’s worrying condition.
“The player’s welfare is above anything else,” said Gavin Macpherson. “Obviously we wish the lad the very best and we need to thank Laura and George for their contribution in dealing with it.”
“The referee made a call to the FA whose decision apparently was to play out the remaining time. I understand Quorn didn’t want to come back out. The referee’s report will now go in and we wait and see what happens.”
“As for the game, I think that’s the poorest we’ve started this season. I have to credit Quorn for playing in a way we didn’t expect but once we settled down we could have run away with it handsomely. We had a really rough week and didn’t really know who could play until just before. It could have gone the other way in terms of a makeshift side but luckily we ended up being in reasonable shape and were clinical. I’m not sure of the protocols but let’s hope common sense now prevails.”
Town:
Forster; Benjamin (Jones 65), Hawkins, Donaldson; Adom-Malaki, Bullas (Bates 77), Brown, Gallimore, Leonard; Youngs (Wood 65), Reynolds (Lodovica, 77)