THIS WEEKEND’S MATCH PREVIEW – ENFIELD TOWN (AWAY)

Time to avoid the cold turkey as Dulwich Hamlet head north to Donkey Lane & the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, home of the E’s.

It’s been a bit of strange season for the Enfield Town, the original fans’ club. Struggling after just one win in their opening five matches under the stewardship of former Dulwich midfield bulldog, George Borg, the E’s lost their manager in the wake of a narrow 3-2 defeat away to then high-flying Wingate and Finchley. Borg’s departure came not in the wake of his team’s performance on the field but unsavoury comments addressed to gaggle of the Wingate supporters.

The reins fell in the lap of Borg’s number two, Bradley Quinton, who inspired the Towners to back to back wins over Hendon and Tonbridge Angles to lift spirts at Donkey Lane as Enfield Town began their climb away from the relegation zone. By the start of December the transformation was total as a single goal victory over Peacehaven and Telscombe lifted the club into seventh spot within touching distance of the playoff places. Though surprisingly beaten 2-1 away to struggling VCD and dumped out of the Robert Dyas Cup by fellow North Londoners Hendon, they regained their composure with a tight 1-0 win over boracic Bury Town thanks to a late strike from skipper Mark Kirby in injury time. The result moved Enfield up to seventh spot in the Premier Division standings, just two places and two points shy of Leiston, occupants of the last play-off place.

However, after suffering just one league defeat in their last ten outings, the Town establishing themselves as one of the form teams in the division, Quinton’s men have hit a bit of a slump in the past fortnight. Beaten 2-0 at home by East Thurrock last Tuesday week, they returned from the south coast pointless last weekend after a narrow 2-1 defeat at Bognor before a crushing defeat away to Billericay, the worst under the new manager and the worst of the season on Monday. On a difficult pitch the Towners found themselves 2-0 down at half-time thanks to goals from Rowan Liburd and Glenn Poole before second-half strikes from Ryan Melaugh and a brace from Ricky Sappleton completed a resounding win that left Quinton apologizing to the fans who’d made the long midweek trek into Essex.

This afternoon’s game kicks off at 3.00 pm at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, 3 Donkey Lane, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 3PL

MATCH DAY PRICES

• Adults: £10.00
• Concessions: £6.00
• 16 - Under 21 Ticket: £6.00
• Under 16’s: £1.00

There is also a £1 transfer charge to the seating area in the main stadium building.