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Enfield fixtures and match reports for 1999/2000 September 1999[Aug] [Oct] [Nov] [Dec] [Jan] [Feb] [Mar] [Apr] [May](Ryman League Premier Division) 4th September 1999 Enfield (4) 5 Cooper 3; Bunn 24, 50; Jones 32 (not a penalty); Southgate 34 Goal moments only today. I could be here all night after this, an entertaining affair against close neighbours Hendon. Things went right straight from the off, with Grant Cooper's shot being waved in by McCann, who we were later to learn should never have been played anyway due to injury. A second goal followed as Bunn's mis-hit attempt at goal had McCann chasing shadows again. Now the scoring picked up, with Jones playing a wall pass to Bunn on his way to becoming the third to stick one past the keeper in the opening half hour. The cheekiest goal of the afternoon followed soon after, as Southgate spotted a dozy McCann not paying attention from a free kick far out on the right. The inquests into this goal began even before Southgate's quick shot was curving sweetly into the net. If Enfield thought they were cruising, the rug was just about to be pulled from under their feet. Two quick strikes from Hendon in the space of two minutes gave the score a competitive feel that certainly did not reflect the play to that point. No pom poms at the break. Most supporters were reading their programmes and digesting two pages of letters penned to the editor. It remains to be seen if the frank exchange of views regarding the task force meeting and related Enfield subjects is going to be allowed to continue in what is an official club publication. I do hope so. McCann's fifth blooper opened the second half. Caught in two minds, the keeper was second in the race to beat James Bunn to a through ball, the end result of course was that Bunn took the ball past McCann and as calm as you like, slotted it home for 5-2. McCann hobbled off at this point as our end of the ground got calculators out and guessed at the final score. Well - that should have been the end of the visitors resistance, though Dominic Gentle thought otherwise by turning in a third to set the pulses racing. The replacement keeper for Hendon in turn played a blinder, dealing with everything that Jones Dunwell and co threw his way. and get this - smiling - yes smiling all the way through! (Ryman League Premier Division) 7th September 1999  Gravesend & Northfleet 1 Sewell 25 The E's continue to ride their luck after tonight's come-from-behind win - their third in a row over the 'Fleet at their Stonebridge Road stadium.The home side started the brighter and their midfield constantly pushed up to support some intelligent forward play. Enfield, by contrast, made only rare forays towards the edge of their opponents box and a header from Protheroe that flashed wide of the post was the only real goal effort of any note. Referee Bone did his best to interrupt the flow of the game with some curious decisions but the most annoying came after some twenty minutes when an indirect free-kick was awarded against Jerome John for supposedly collecting a back-pass - it was, in fact, a timely clearance off the line that Jerome fell on but the official obviously saw it differently than that. Gravesend wasted the chance anyway, but five minutes later they deservedly took the lead when Bruce Sewell scored direct from a free-kick given away after the E's had again lost possession in midfield. Enfield pulled themselves together though and earned five successive corners before the interval - Jones heading the last one high and wide to signal the end of the E's brief dominance. Gravesend started the second half in a much more cynical manner and all the tried and trusted time-wasting tactics were employed - including defenders hoofing clearances over the stand roof when a simple tap out of play would have sufficed. A few bookings were earned around this time too, as the E's started to let their frustrations boil over. Chandler took Annon and Tomlinson off around the hour mark and sent Morris and Morgan into the fray. The ploy stemmed the flow of Gravesend pressure for a while but Enfield still looked unlikely to break through. Richard Dunwell sent the away fans wild though after sixty-nine minutes when he fashioned his own chance with a neat twisting run into the box - the final shot being emphatically placed beyond Desborough's reach. One minute later and the E's were ahead - Danny Jones rolling the ball into an empty net after Desborough was left stranded by a careless headed back-pass. Gravesend, needless to say, abandoned their delaying tactics of earlier and raised the tempo of the game. Jerome John made two spectacular saves before fumbling a shot on the line only to grab the rebound before any danger occurred. Danny Clarke replaced Glenn Southgate near the end but the youngster had little time in which to impress. The game fizzled out in the end, with Enfield content to hang on for a win that regains them first place in the table. It was a hard-earned win for sure, but three points are three points all the same. (Ryman League Premier Division) 11th September 1999 Enfield (1) 2 Bunn 13; Tomlinson 82 Normal service has been resumed. After giving way to TGTLS News editor Peter Coath for one game I'm back. With today's game being the final Saturday outing at The Stadium, this was to be an afternoon of saying goodbye to familiar surroundings for many in the crowd. I personally said goodbye to the Town End toilets on at least three occasions during the match. Tsk. It has to be said that this game agaist Basingstoke Town did not match the charged atmosphere of the final game of last season against Hendon, when John Morgan signed off with the late winner that we all thought was a fine way to say goodbye to the stadium. Tuesday night against Barton Rovers, being the final game as we know it, will possibly draw a couple of hundred and that will be it. This afternoon, Enfield against Basingstoke Town on a hot summer day did not have quite the same appeal. The appearance of chairman Tony Lazarou at the Cambridge Road end of the ground was a major distraction for many. James Bunn taking the ball around keeper Clive Lyttle and slotting into an unguarded net bought the game back into focus though. 'Stokes chances came in first half injury time as John was called upon to make a reaction save to his right, then palm the ball over the bar moments later. Dunwell ended the half on a mazy run and shot into the side netting. Enfield's second and clinching goal came by way of Tomlinson, who fooled Lyttle from some distance with the most exquisite of goals. Jones was unfortunate to miscue an overhead kick soon after. And so finally an opponent draws a blank against Enfield. (Ryman League Cup first round) 14th September 1999 Enfield (1) 1, 1 Cooper 22 An entertaining end - if this is indeed the end - of Southbury Road. It's not being disrespectful to Soham Town Rangers when I write that I don't really expect Saturday's game to end in a stalemate. No. Last night's game was the last first team game, though there are other games scheduled to take place up till next Tuesday at least. This was to be Enfield's first defeat of the season in any first-team competition, though as an excuse to this a number of players were rested or at least given a short run out tonight. Barton Rovers capitalised early on, with Andy Hall picking the ball out of the net after losing a one against one against Young. Grant Cooper bought Enfield back into the game soon after with a super free kick, helped off the pitch with a lot of barracking and helpful shouts at the keeper to go left, right, or anywhere but towards the ball. Rovers then hit back to rattle the post, looking more than capable of regaining the lead. Glen Southam (shot) and Danny Alleyne (header) went close towards the end of the half. Grant Cooper almost repeated his first half free kick goal early into the second half, though it took an extra lick of paint on the crossbar as the ball made a resounding *thud* and cannoned back to safety. Are goalposts painted these days are do they come in standard white? Clarke took it upon himself to run a mazy run into the Rovers penalty area before shooting quite feebly wide across the face of goal. The most humorous moment of the match occoured after Rovers had scored what they thought to be the winning goal with twenty minutes remaining. The goalscorer was indulging in a quite spectacular forward celebratory flip till it was pointed out by referee Graham Monk that he was going to chalk the goal off for *showing off*. I prefer that explanation anyway. With the scores level at ninety minutes extra time was played. This was notable for the fact that E's keeper Jerome John made a surprise appearance as an outfield player. Not only that, but he did have a shot of sorts before the aptly named Gordon Guile stuck the winner away from a free kick for the visitors with seven minutes remaining. There was no pitch invasion at the end because as was mentioned earlier, there are a couple of minor games still remaining. So that souvenir goal netting will have to wait another week at least. Speaking of which - after discussions with Wealdstone supporters who saw the move away from Lower Mead as an excuse to pick the strangest of items for a place on their mantelpiece,. here are a few ideas for any Enfield supporters (or otherwise) who are looking for that little something extra to impress the mates with from your days at Southbury Road for the final game at the ground (believed to be a youth team game next Tuesday at the moment). Items rated on a points basis. Who will get the most? Floodlights or bulbs (1500) Credibility points for: Getting the Mad Man On The Mike’s mike (1)TGTLS News 30 match day issue (priceless!) That irritating Saracens scoreboard (firewood) Getting on Lawrence Hughes’s video if he is there (1) (F.A. Cup second qualifying round) 18th September 1999  Soham Town Rangers (1) 1 Nedimovic 12 An overcast afternoon in Cambridgeshire, watching Enfield overcome a spirited first half performance from the hosts of Soham. Cheap admission, cheap beer, programmes and (get this) decent food! Is it any wonder that our hosts never fail to notice the malnourished features of an Enfield supporter who shuns the burger bars of Southbury Road and hogs on proper food on his/her travels? Soham's No 5 (pictured above) proved to be a real character. A real Bob Dowie lookalike if ever there were one. 'Bob' was there at the end of every Enfield move, using his ginger nut to steer the ball to safety or give his defenders a few well chosen words of encouragement. His bulky frame and performance quickly ensured his ninety minutes of fame in the eyes of Enfield supporters out looking for a bit of fun, ably assisted by keeper Sean Cooper whose handling was just a little too good as time and time again the ball was tossed into the air for catching practice. Soham had in the meantime taken a shock lead after Jerome John was unable to do more then parry a shot into the path of Nedimovic. Bob - listed in the programme as Joe Green but Bob suits him better - continued to frustrate and snuff out any kind of danger created by a lacklustre Enfield side that were continually second to the ball and just not up for the challenge. Danny Jones came close to leveling the scores, thirty minutes into the match when he just failed to apply a finishing touch as Cooper smothered the ball at his feet. Dunwell blazed wide soon after to the annoyance of his detractors. However, in the space of two injury time minutes he was to play a part in shifting the balance of the game to the visitors. Firstly, Lee Protheroe made a real hero of himself as his attempt at goal was diverted goalbound and in by an unfortunate defender. No amount of persuasion is going to convince me that Prod can claim the goal. This was followed seconds later with a fine combination between Bunn and Dunwell - the former providing a cheeky back heel to put Dunwell through to fire high into the roof of the net for the lead. From here on in Enfield took charge. Within minutes of the change round the game was effectively over. Protheroe shocked everyone with a legitimate first ever goal for the club that beat the keeper from some 20+ yards. He was quite within his rights to go loopy with the celebrations! Poor old Bob in the meantime was resigned to papering up the cracks of the Soham defence that had lost its composure. Keeper was game for a laugh though. (Ryman League Premier Division) 24th September 1999  Dagenham & Redbridge (2) 4 McDougald 15; Cole 22, 50; Protheroe (OG) 66 The first real test of Chandler's Chicks this season proved to be too much for the side. Victoria Road - boosted by a fair number of Hammers supporters with no Premiership game to attend - attracted a healthy gate of 1,200+ for this top of the table clash. Judging by this performance it will be Dagenham who will be contesting the Isthmian championship come May, and not an Enfield side who appeared to lose heart after two early setbacks in defence. James Bunn was unlucky not to at least connect with a hopeful cross into the box at 0-1. Had his despairing lunge connected then it may have been a different game. As it was, Dagenham called most of the shots and also hit the post again before the break. For fanzine watchers out there, The club have launced the unimaginatively titled 'Fanzine With No Name' on the unsuspecting Isthmian world. No mention of Enfield in there. What's wrong boys? Matters just got worse in the second half. Within five minutes the E's had gone three goals behind with Cole heading against the bar and in. Then a sloppy mix up in defence gave a clear run on goal for a Dagenham forward, who had too much time on his hands and appeared to want to walk the ball round Jerome John. His effort was smothered, though a fourth goal was soon forthcoming from the unfortunate boot of Protheroe, who turned in a cross from the right which took an age to cross the line. There were two further chances for Dagenham before the close. A lob that had John scrambling back which curled past the left hand post, followed by a fortunate rebound off the same post straight into John's grasp. If this report suggests no Enfield chances, then that's exactly how it was. |
