(Isthmian Premier League) 4th October 1997

Enfield (2) 4 Endersby 25; Venables 29; May 84; St. Hilaire 90
Bishop's Stortford (0) 1 Adekola 88

A much-needed win against traditionally difficult opponents. Enfield recorded their first home victory in the league after a nervous opening half an hour both on and off the pitch. Stortford made life difficult by testing the woodwork to set Enfield pulses racing during the match. Endersby then baffled the visitors defence and goalkeeper King, before doing the decent thing and scoring to calm nerves down. Four minutes later Venables scored a cheeky tap in when it appeared that everybody was going to let a cross from the left go harmlessly for a goal kick. May rattled the bar on the stroke of half time.
Enfield cruised for the second half to three points. Stortford, as pointed out, had two real chances but blew both. Any danger was snuffed out by Pape's capable handling. The final ten minutes produced three more goals as May casually waited his chance to put the ball past a couple of defenders and the keeper on the line. Earlier, he had fluffed an easy chance by attempting to lob the keeper from outside the penalty area when there was time to control the ball before shooting, then Adekola briefly bought the score back to respectable levels when he near took the net off, blasting past a helpless Pape after being presented with the opportunity via the bar. Time remained for the Saint to demonstrate the real art of the lob, beating an advancing King for the fourth before referee Styles called a halt to the fun.

(Isthmian Premier League) 7th October 1997

Dulwich Hamlet (2) 2 Whitarsh 7; Holness 33
Enfield (0) 0

So the long away run came to an end in South London. Thirty games without defeat. What a shame that the end should come with little more than a whimper as Hamlet (plus one of their senior citizen fans) quite literally took the Le Tiss out of a side that lacks - oh well, I might as well say it - motivation of the kind that came from a certain Mr Borg. The two Graham's appear too passive from the first month's evidence to really gee this lot up. That's my opinion anyway.
Enfield looked stale and short of ideas in front of goal. Starting for the first time for the E's was a certain forward called Hynes, who ticked us all off in Sutton United's colours last season. The few chances that came their way were either mis-hit, blocked, or dealt with by Hamlet's Williams, who had an excellent game. Dulwich Hamlet made a dream start when Whitmarsh found himself free on the right to shoot past Pape, who must have wondered if his defence were also sampling the Phoenix & Firkin's wares like the boozy lot at the other end of the ground.
Leroy May nearly squared the score up from a Venables cross that just begged to be converted. This proved to be the best of the half's chances for Enfield, who forced a series of corners midway through the half that tested Williams, but never looked like beating him.
By now the Hamlet home faithful (the ones who presumably never travel to the away games) were getting quite excited - in particular one old dear who was wizzing her rattle round and in danger of wetting her knickers in excitement. Quite what she did for Dulwich's second is unclear, though there was no doubting the classy finishing by Holness, who volleyed past Pape before he even saw it!
Hynes had by now limped off injured, hardly given the chance to make an impression.

The second half saw Dulwich quite content with their lot. And after all, why bother risking too much on a third goal and allow Enfield a foothold back in the game? Venables managed a header whilst off balance that tested Williams, but the way he was playing, Enfield could have had potshots all night and not scored.
Restlessness on the Enfield terrace gave way to boredom, and when Dulwich's No.1 fan gave her rattle another twirl, it was difficult to stop offering a suggestion for an alternative use for her rattle. Oops - bad move! The old dear hitched up her skirt and, e..v..e..r.. s..o.. s..l..o..w..l..y.. made her way round to behind the goal where a by now laughing and amused section waited. Still brandishing the aforementioned rattle, she requested an audience with the chap who had shouted out that obscenity. One young lad stepped forward, probably wondering if he needed to give some clarification, and promptly wished he hadn't when he got a earful of abuse, along the lines of 'you skinny little runt... I'll set my mates on you.' A helpful remark along the lines of 'shall we wait while you go down the bingo club and get them?' did not go down too well. Another Enfield fan intervened, and the whole episode ended with Mavis standing in front of us all and rattling for all she was worth - what a sight and what a night. Enfield fans sure know how to sweet-talk the chicks, eh?!

(Isthmian Premier League) 11th October 1997

Walton & Hersham (3) 3 Sayer 2, 38, 43
Enfield (1) 1 Mernagh 28

Match report by Peter Coath
Conditions were simply awful for this game, with persistent rain for the last two days and continuing throughout. Enfield failed to adjust quickly enough to the slippery surface and Walton's Sayer (ex-Enfield) grabbed the first of his hat-trick in the second minute whilst the visitors midfield were still on their backsides. Undeterred, Enfield sought to get back into the game and Delroy Preddie - in the home goal - made a fine one-handed tip-over to deny Leroy May. Enfield made openings on a regular basis but a combination of pitch conditions and last-minute desperation from the home defence kept them at bay until May broke into the box from the right, and pulled the ball back for Gavin Mernagh to side-foot a shot beyond the wrong-footed Preddie.
One would have expected Enfield to take advantage of their superiority but five minutes later, with the sanctuary of the half-time interval looming, a dithering defence allowed Sayer a free shot from the edge of the area and the home side were once again in front. The game changed completely from then on and moments later the now rampant Swan's gained a fortuitous third when referee Eddie Green awarded a dubious penalty for hand-ball against Grant Cooper. Pape saved the spot-kick with ease but the wet conditions contributed towards a loose ball slithering free for Sayer to score an easy goal.

The second half saw Enfield attack frequently and Preddie did well to deny May a simple tap-in after he failed to deal with an Edwards free-kick. Enfield manager - and ex Walton player - Graham Westley used all three substitutes in an attempt to pull back the deficit but St Hillaire and debut-maker Junior Hunter were well policed throughout with only Tucker making any impression. Once again though, Enfield fell back into bad habits with far too much reliance placed on Lee Endersby and he fell back deeper into midfield as the home defence came to terms with this.
So no further goals in the second-half and an embarrassing defeat for the E's away to the second from bottom Swan's.

(Isthmian Premier League) 18th October 1997

Enfield (1) 4 Deadman 26; May 56, 85; Hunter 88
Heybridge Swifts (2) 2 Keen 11; Game 44

Enfield, filled with Westley's new breed, eventually overcome stern resistance to bring much needed breathing room to the management team. Debuts? Five, if I am correct. Firstly, Andy Hall from the youth team took Pape's gloves. Eric Young (Ex everybody South of London), along with Cooper, Deadman and Darlington from Kingstonian.

Enfield were caught out from the start. Keen heading home from a corner early on and Hall, in goal, looked a tad nervous for a while. The setback actually spurred this new-look Enfield side on, and for the rest of the game this was to be a performance of determination, commitment and effort unseen at Southbury Road all season. Deadman and May had excellent chances to level the scores - the best of these being May's one against one with the goalkeeper who managed to frustrate throughout the afternoon with blocks and parries to keep out Enfield's forward line.
It fell to Deadman to finally force the equaliser, beating Newell's despairing dive to his left. May caused the biggest laugh of the afternoon as he almost straightaway scored via his - ahem - infamous "third leg" as he slid on his arse in the penalty area, the ball rebounding off a post and harmlessly away. Game then threw a spanner in the works by restoring Swifts their lead. Once again the damage came from a corner that may well have been dealt with by experienced hands.

Enfield continued to dominate the game. Deadman, Darlington and May looked likely to capitalise at any given moment. To May fell the honour - Endersby, and Venables combining to set up an easy tap in on the goal line, much to his relief after a barren run in front of goal of late.
With five minutes to go, Darlington gave a tantalizing taste of what he can do, teasing as he beat a defender on the touchline to cross for May to again find an guarded goal at his mercy. It just remained for Junior Hunter to make a brief appearance and score with what was unofficially timed at twenty seconds to wrap up a rather enjoyable home win. And guess what? You-know-who's name never got a mention.

(Isthmian Premier League) 20th October 1997

Purfleet (2) 4 Carthy 10; Lawrence 13; Ware 52; Perkins 64
Enfield (0) 0 Hunter sent off 78

'And don't bother to shower afterwards' was the sardonic remark to the players as they trudged off after this latest defeat. And who could blame any Enfield supporter for feeling let down after this poor display? A side that looked second best in all departments and - the added hurt - George Borg was there to see the sorry mess. I would imagine that he looked at the changes in personel and felt glad that he got out when he did.
Purfleet had never beaten Enfield previously. The best that they had managed were a couple of draws at home. They quickly gave notice of their intentions by establishing a two goal lead in the opening quarter of an hour. Pape was completely caught off his line for the second - the ball looping over and into an unguarded net (don't know much about the first because I was on my way to the burger stand at the time). The other half hour of the half was dismal, but seeing as Enfield were still in the game, it was hoped that a half-time "chat" by Westley might have some effect.

At Dulwich we were introduced to "Hell's Granny". Tonight it was "The Messiah", otherwise known as Purfleet's physio. Now, Purfleet's team were going down like ninepins in an alarming manner. One visit from the man with the magic sponge and miracles were being performed before our very eyes. 'Praise be, I was crippled and now I can walk' rejoiced the Purfleet defenders as each in turn were visited by this man with the healing hands, who commanded respect from Enfield supporters as he made his dignified way behind the goal after one particularly impressive display when he raised one of his sides players from the dead. He is, as we speak, being signed up by Clive Butterfield for Green Lights F.C.
But enough of this jolly banter, for there is little to laugh about when your side gets turned over in this manner. Purfleet had come out after the break and promptly added another couple of goals for good measure. Damn - I don't even want to remember the way our flat-footed defence were exposed for No.4. Hunter then gave the Messiah a real poser when he clattered into one unfortunate defender. There were a lot of protests about the sending off, but it sure did SOUND as if some kind of meaty contact had been made with the player. Poor sod. Then came the only chance of a goal when the post was struck from a Cooper free kick. All this, and the coach driver made a pigs ear of reversing down the slope and out of this hellhole. Note:- try getting the coach turned the right way before we get on after the match.

(F.A.Cup 4th Qualifying Round) 25th October 1997

Enfield (0) 1 St. Hilaire 68
Carshalton Athletic (0) 2 Thompson 55, 56

Enfield's 97/98 F.A.Cup campaign spluttered to a halt after one game. They were never really in it once Richard Thompson had pinched a quick couple at the start of the second half. There were a number of enforced changes to the side that finished the game at Purfleet, but that's one of the down sides to acquiring half a side midway through the season. It's like fielding the second side for an important cup tie.
An uneventful first half. Honestly - it was so dull and uneventful that I only have one chance by Leroy May when he failed to connect with a free kick in injury time on my notepad. Carshalton's effort would have gone wide, even if the goals were doubled in size!

Richard Thompson then beat Pape to the ball just outside the penalty area to put the visitors one up. It looked messy - the kind of goal where you kick the bloke in front of you as you scream, 'clear it!'. Moments later it was 0-2, as Thompson headed home. Two goals from an uninspired Enfield attack looked unlikely, but the Saint surprised us all with an excellent goal from the past as he cut in from the touchline, defenders turned inside & out, before unleashing a shot past Blake that had the keeper completely beaten. Hilaire was promptly injured -the substitution was a farce because Terry was sent on when Hilaire looked as if he was just ready to rejoin the fray - and that, as they say, was that for a season.
So who would Enfield had got in the 1st Round? The draw paired Carshalton Athletic with Stevenage. Nah, I had enough of that lot in the pre-season friendlies.