(Ryman Premier League) 3rd April 1999

Enfield (1) 1 Darlington 37
Purfleet (0) 2 Georgiou 63; McFarlane 87

The three point bunny came a calling at Southbury Road, but he buggered off home with the visitors as they snatched a late goal to hop (that's enough bunny jokes) above Enfield in the Ryman table. The day had started so well too, with Darlington finishing off a woeful defensive lapse to somehow beat the keeper and then steer the ball back into an unguarded net. A little known fact is that Enfield's record when defending a one goal start stood at 16 wins and only one team have actually come back to level the scores. So the signs were that Enfield were going to wrap up the points as per usual.

This, in an otherwise lifeless display played to virtual silence. Purfleet's traveling support was shocking, considering their lofty position in the league. If they had more than twenty fans scattered around the ground I would be surprised. The most excitable E's and their support became was during the half time raffle in the Kid E's hut. And yes - I did eat my 1st prize before the end of the game. Come to think of it, the last two Easter raffles have seen prizes for me and woeful displays on the pitch.

The second half opened to Georgiou's equalising goal, which I'll gloss over because it passed almost unnoticed, save for some excitement on the visiting bench. Terry was soon on his way off, picking up another head injury so soon after Heybridge Swifts. With three minutes remaining a draw looked the most likely result, but a looping header past Hall sent the away bench into raptures of delight.

(Ryman Premier League) 5th April 1999

St. Albans City (0) 2 Clark 75, 82
Enfield (0) 1 Keen OG 53

Deja Vu. No, I'm not refering to the Crosby, Stills Nash & Young post-Woodstock album (though if you want to stay behind after this report I could give a detailed analysis of merits of the recording and other classics)... I'm actually noting that Enfield once again threw away the lead when in a promising position. The galling thing about this game is that, unlike Purfleet two days earlier, Enfield's forwards looked a lot hungrier and were extremely unfortunate to find Andy Lomas and his defenders in the way of many a goalbound shot or header.

Whilst Clarence Park may now be fully enclosed from the outside world, the greyness of the perimeter fencing now reeks of a Hayes or a Slough Town. Plus, no more sightings of the ladies playing hockey at half time so Boo. Boston United fans have already christened one end of the ground at the end of the F.A. Trophy quarter final by booting in a huge section that had to be removed for repair. And it was at this end of the ground - minus THAT tree, that Enfield supporters congregated for the first half.

Andy Lomas was the first to be tested. He needed to go full length to keep Glenn Southgate's shot at bay. Albans' defence looked as if it had half a mind on the forthcoming Trophy semi next weekend with Lomas adding to the confusion and appearing ill at ease in dealing with a number of crosses. A succession of corners pinned the hosts in, as Tomlinson, Darlington, Southgate and Dunwell applied the pressure.

Enfield finally opened the scoring in an entertaining second half when Keen, under pressure as ever from Steve Darlington, lofted the ball over his keepers head to the delight of those massed behind the goal. The lad looked disgusted with himself, and spent the rest of the match trying to even up the scores at the other end of the ground. His best chance fell on the hour when from a cross from the left he sent a shot fizzing just over the crossbar. As ever though, it was left to Steve Clark to score the goals to earn Albans full points. With 15 minutes to go he converted from close in, then added a second with ease. Between these two strikes Dunwell had put the ball inches wide with the goal at his mercy, and in a hectic final five minutes dominated by Enfield, two identical near post corner flicks resulted in goal line scrambles on the line and Danny Jones rolled the ball across the face of the goal with no one able to apply the finishing touch. Match report over... now... anyone ever heard of In The Court of the Crimson King?

(Ryman Premier League) 10th April 1999

Enfield (1) 2 Dunwell 43; Jones 90
Slough Town (0) 1 Hall 75

And so the countdown begins. Three home games now remain and the future of Enfeld still remains unclear as to the home of the club next season. This could be the end of our term at Southbury Road and we don't know it. Our Chairman has taken to writing match reports when the only news we want from him remains a "yes" or a "no". A petition went round the ground requiring all who object to sign, and the forms will be sent to the Gazette this week.

On the pitch it was a quiet affair. Take away Graham Roberts from the equation and it made for a very dull affair. Mr. Roberts was probably still smarting from his performance on Sky TV this morning when he fluffed two penalties against "The Cat". Knowing what stick he was going to get, who could blame him? Mind you, his absence was similar to his departure from this club in 1994. Could he be on the move once more? Slough's best effort of the half was well on the way to the Cambridge Road as Richard Dunwell gave Enfield the advantage in the final minutes of the half as he followed up a defensive rebound to shoot past Wilkerson. Pierson (to be fair) also had a near post effort from a corner for the visitors.

Southgate - after revelations of obscure player nicknames in TGTLS 28 - nearly provided a second within moments of the restart. For long periods the game lacked any sparkle, and but for a late equaliser from Hall the game would have wandered aimlessly towards its conclusion. Whatever - In the final ten minutes Bentley struck the bar as he attempted to lob Wilkerson, then Dunwell finished off a piece of trickery on route to goal by also testing the same piece of woodwork. Southgate's cross evaded a mass of boots and flailing legs. Meanwhile Bentley also got into a scuffle in the box as Wilkerson milked an injury and a pushing match began. The early departures had already begun as Danny Jones moved forwards. His sweet strike was already coming back after hitting the net before Wilkerson hit the ground!

My nephew's first visit to Southbury Road bought some funny comments. For reasons best known only to him, all opponents became known as "slugs". I think he just heard the name "Sluff Town" and got the pronounciation wrong.

(Ryman Premier League) 16th April 1999

Billericay Town (0) 0
Enfield (1) 1 Darlington 11

The expected hold ups on the M25 did not materialise, so the supporters coach arrived at New Lodge a full two or so hours before kick off! Still - this allowed for extra pre-match drinking and gossiping at the latest news from Southbury Road. The latest is that the supporters like the idea of doing a Grantham Town, though I doubt there will be 400 of us willing to stump up the 2,000 pounds each required that a merry Tony Lazarou was suggesting in the club bar this week. Or was it the drink talking?

Since Enfield's last visit to New Lodge in an F.A.Cup qualifying round, two covered terraces and - correct me if this is wrong - sideline terracing has been installed. Blue & white seating behind one of the goals, which means I was wrong to thing of Hampton as the only ground with this facility. Certainly an improvement.

To be honest, the game did little for me. Once Darlington had opened the Enfield account early on with the help of Darren Annon, the game settled into a replica of the encounter two months ago. Root of course, was his ever jovial self; always a good laugh when the opposition keeper can see the funny side of the behind-the-goal quips. Steve "Ninja!" Terry make a welcome appearance in defence and as his name suggests, was also sporting alternate headwear to cover his injury as well. He came close on one occasion from a corner where strangely enough, he nearly scored from with his feet.

But the real hero was Jason White. Our Jason had been treating the ball like a hot potato for the first half, though when he was called into action to make saves his reactions were excellent. His best save of three came in the final moments of the match in a one against one encounter against a Town forward that he stood up to, then dived to his right to make a magnificent block. Quality.

(Ryman Premier League) 24th April 1999

Enfield 0
Hampton 0

Enfield's frustrated supporters staged an angry half-time demo to accompany more petitions, posters and banners against the move away from Southbury Road. Approximately 100 supporters took to the pitch and made their way to the centre circle, where they stayed for the duration of the break. The Chairman was absent of course - as is his want this season - so whilst the demo was a display of solidarity at the move to stay in Enfield, it's likely that Mr. L. will only get to hear of it through the local press.

As for the game, it was truly end of end of season material (if there was ever any kind of thing). Long before the final whistle I had given up and was delving into the current issue of TOTE for inspiration. Meanwhile, those who wish to attend what could be our last ever home match at The Stadium will be pleased to know it (Hendon: 7.30pm Thursday 29th April) will be free for all.

(Ryman Premier League) 27th April 1999

Enfield (1) 1 Bentley 45
Sutton United (1) 1 Watson 37

Another demo at half time. Honestly! They ought to make the fences a bit lower for the over 35's. Sutton United and their followers were strangely subdued, considering they had won the league just days ago. Too much celebrating perhaps? Jeff Rodin of the Enfield Coucil hardly endeared himself to E's supporters with a lame response in the matchday programme to why the football club would be better off staying put. Basically, he thinks that the swimming pool earmarked for the Southbury Road site is badly needed by the community - so does the Albany pool not count?.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested. Gareth Howells made his first appearance at our ground since his move from St. Albans. Did I detect a smile from Mr. Happy as Watson gave his side the lead? Probably not actually. Especially as Bentley marked his return to the side with a shot that stung the keeper's hands on the way in. Previous to this Danny Jones and Sammy Cooper had been on target.

Some humour was to be had as the strains of 'Road to Nowhere' greeted United as they emerged for the second half. To be fair, Sutton did have their chances to regain their lead - only denied by a goalline clearance. The introduction of Morgan added some jest to the proceedings as he just failed to convert with Howells well out of his goal and the ball hastily pumped back in the general direction of the goal, whilst 'Ninja' Terry almost provided the perfect header back into the path of Darlington from a corner.

(Ryman Premier League) 29th April 1999

Enfield (0) 2 Bentley 67; Morgan 80
Hendon (1) 1 Whitmarsh 21

It's hard to believe that the curtain could fall on Southbury Road after a performance like this. A fine fightback from a goal behind, a super winner from the boot of one of our young prospects for the future and a passionate crowd baying on the team towards its goal.

The mood on the terrace ranged from anger and frustration, to nostalgia and hope. Whilst Lawrence Hughes and Dave Bromage wandered the ground with camera and microphone for snap interviews, I sat on the terracing talking to a supporter who has been following Enfield since 1933. Sixty plus years of memories about to be shattered on the whim of one man. He told me of the white wooden fence surrounding the ground and how he used to bunk in from time to time over the wall. The camera was stuck under my nose just as the teams came out. I muttered something along the lines of 'get along to the Civic Centre on the 10th May before realising that the footage would be shown afterwards. Banners and posters stuck around the ground proclaimed the folly of our Chairman.

For the first half the Cambridge Road End was quite subdued. Then someone noticed Lazarou standing watching the game from inside the Starlight Suite. Quite his own little ivory tower now. Quick as a flash there were ten on the way round to stand in the way. A big cheer went up - and Lazarou moved off. Enfield were by now a goal behind due to a strike by Whitmarsh, though I was of course more occupied with off the field events to really care. Darlington's response was a mazy run and shot that swerved and took a lick of paint off the left post, followed by Sammy Cooper laying the ball across the box to Darlington again, who was inches short of connecting for a certain equaliser.

Half time bought the supporters onto the pitch for the third game in a row. This was by far a more determined demo, just in front of the main stand this time.

And so to the final half. Free admission obviously helped, but the Town End was certainly denser than usual. The entire Enfield songbook came out and it was as if we were playing the likes of Football League opponents in the FA Cup. Terrific, and there was certainly a lot to shout about as Bentley stooped to head home an equaliser midway through the half. Sammy Cooper put a shot past the post soon after, setting up the crowd for John Morgan's winner, where he unleashed from distance to beat McCann. The back of the stand took a fearful pounding and I was worried that if we do actually remain, first of all they're going to need to replace some sections first. But as to the final moments... the game ended with "You'll never walk alone", with scarves swaying from side to side for full effect, and for once I couldn't sing for a lump in my throat. The final whistle blew and as the crowd began to drift away a few of us sat down on the terraces for a while to remember, before finally moving to the bar to drown our sorrows.