Tuesday 30th September 2014 - 7.45pm kick-off
THE FA CUP - QUALIFYING - SECOND ROUND ... REPLAY
In honour of UK National Poetry Day, on Thursday 2nd October, I thought it might be appropriate to write a match report in rhyme, for a change. So here goes:
'Twas my delight,
On a Tuesday night,
To head for Donkey Lane.
With the crowd psyched up
For the FA Cup,
Town were sure to win the game.
With that draw on the coast
With which to boast,
It should prove "gain, not pain".
I soon realised, however, just how tough it is to avoid descending rapidly into doggerel - as you can plainly see. So I'll let you all off this punishment and revert to prose.
It is a truism that coppers "all seem so young these days". I have started to worry, recently, that football clubs are also starting to seem incredibly young. Enfield Town F.C. were formed in 2001. You can read a short explanation of why in my profile, to the right on this page. Meanwhile, Eastbourne Borough F. C. were formed in 1964 (as Langney F.C. - naming themselves after the district of Eastbourne in which they continue to play their home games). So yes, this is their fiftieth anniversary year; but they're still younger than me! They are sponsored by Best Demolition; and an unlikely demolition job was something Enfield Town were hoping to inflict, against opponents ranked 29 places above them in the football league structure. They had been unlucky not to do so at the first attempt, on Saturday, as their hosts came from behind. The Enfield Independent Sport section had carried a headline "FA Cup draw felt like a defeat for Towners boss".
Could Enfield bring a wrecking ball to "Best Demolition" hopes of Wembley advertising?
Bradley Quinton's team would be hoping to put things right and to complete that unfinished demolition job on the more senior, Conference South side. He would, however, have to achieve this in the continued absence of club top-scorer and crowd favourite (CF) Liam Hope. Those in the crowd of 357 (which was a healthy one for a mid-week evening game, especially considering the almost total lack of away support - even the Eastbourne subs bench was looking a little 'light') were, perhaps, hoping for some more "magic" from this cup tie. They were not to be disappointed. In a game that swung first this way and then that, fans were to enjoy a sack-load of goals and heaps of excitement. Eastbourne Borough's manager, Tommy Widdrington, celebrated his birthday on match day; but he may feel he had aged more than just a year, after seeing his side matched by minnows from the league below, in an absolute thriller. In fact, there was so much on-pitch action that only a shortened account of the game is provided here. It is perhaps worth pointing out that, despite being sponsored by a beer brand, no alcohol may be consumed within sight of an FA Cup match pitch - hence the large blue blinds pulled down in the club bar (see below).
It was a clear but mild, moonlit night; almost worth getting all poetic about.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" (made famous anew by the cast of "Glee") welcomed the two sides out onto the pitch via the public address system. It was clear that Enfield Town's supporters had certainly not stopped believing, as they filled the first half-hour with a non-stop racket of singing, chanting and 'banter'. As early as the first minute, Towners fans had plenty to cheer, as a shot fizzed low towards the right of the Eastbourne goal, though it was easily dealt with by The Sports 'keeper, Lewis Carey. "We're the famous Enfield Towners and we're gurn to Wem-ber-lee! Wem-ber-lee! Wem-ber-lee!". It was soon clear that the standard of officiating was going to be better than the normal weekend fare. The referee was keeping up very close to play. "We don't normally see that", observed one regular punter. Decisions were being given correctly with surprising frequency - and to the right team. This was a cause for some confusion amongst the fans. It was almost like watching a proper ref. Like on the telly.
After 6 minutes Carey was busy again, first saving low to his right before blocking a follow-up shot with his feet. "Conference South? You're 'avin' a larrf! Conference South? You're 'avin' a larrf!". In response, the visitors' four fans were shouting themselves hoarse at the far end; but could hardly be heard, even when noise levels in the home end dropped. "No beer; no fans! No beer; no fans!" to the tune of the chimes of Big Ben - a reference to the homely lack of decent hospitality on offer last weekend in the first tie, at Priory Lane. The early pressure was all Enfield's but as we reached the quarter-hour mark, Eastbourne made a couple of dangerous looking breaks. Luckily, both resulted in skied efforts which would have troubled nobody but the ball boys; had there been any ball boys - it being a school night. Play would often have to pause during the evening as players leapt fences and searched the semi-rough for lost balls. The visitors were starting finally to come into the game and had a couple of free-kicks from dangerous, central positions - which, again, came to nothing. After 25 minutes, Enfield's #11, Michael Kalu, was flattened on the right-hand edge of the opposition area. He won a free-kick and took it himself; and also returned a driven second attempt as the scrambled defence tried to deal with the threat.
After 6 minutes Carey was busy again, first saving low to his right before blocking a follow-up shot with his feet. "Conference South? You're 'avin' a larrf! Conference South? You're 'avin' a larrf!". In response, the visitors' four fans were shouting themselves hoarse at the far end; but could hardly be heard, even when noise levels in the home end dropped. "No beer; no fans! No beer; no fans!" to the tune of the chimes of Big Ben - a reference to the homely lack of decent hospitality on offer last weekend in the first tie, at Priory Lane. The early pressure was all Enfield's but as we reached the quarter-hour mark, Eastbourne made a couple of dangerous looking breaks. Luckily, both resulted in skied efforts which would have troubled nobody but the ball boys; had there been any ball boys - it being a school night. Play would often have to pause during the evening as players leapt fences and searched the semi-rough for lost balls. The visitors were starting finally to come into the game and had a couple of free-kicks from dangerous, central positions - which, again, came to nothing. After 25 minutes, Enfield's #11, Michael Kalu, was flattened on the right-hand edge of the opposition area. He won a free-kick and took it himself; and also returned a driven second attempt as the scrambled defence tried to deal with the threat.
Michael Kalu (centre) runs in to take the early free-kick he had won himself
As seems so often to be the case at the Queen Elizabeth II stadium, a period of sustained home team pressure then resulted in a goal at the wrong end. The Sports' #2, Marvin Hamilton, formerly of Gillingham, fired them ahead on 33 minutes. "Sing when you're winning ..." came a whispered voice from the far end of the ground. "We - for-got - that - you - were - here!", in response. Almost immediately a strong Enfield penalty shout, for a clear foul on #10 Corey Whitely, was ignored by the referee. It started to dawn on some of the baying locals that one of our regular refs might have been more easily influenced. A 'robust' and late aerial challenge by Eastbourne's goal-scorer was the next action of note and the cause of a lengthy stoppage; making his the first name to enter the ref's note-book. With the first half drawing to a close, a threatening break from Enfield saw #6, midfielder Stanley Muguo (playing in a more advanced role than usual) thread an excellent through-ball into the box for replacement striker, #9 Neil Cousins. Stretching desperately for the ball, Cousins could only send it rebounding off the Keeper's legs. Soon afterwards it was half-time. Despite dominating possession, Enfield had not carried enough threat or taken their chances. The visitors had made more of their few good attacks: 0 - 1. Cue 1979's smash hit "Stars on 45" through the tannoy; the opening melody of which is Abba's "Voulez-Vous?" Most of the home fans definitely did "Voulez"; and were straight off to the toilets, the burger bar and/or the bar at (some even before) the whistle.
Plenty of home fans were still arriving in the opposite end, after the half-time turn-around and the start of the 2nd period, when things got exciting. The first few minutes saw Eastbourne dominate; but they failed to capitalise on this. Then an Enfield break saw a cushioned header by Kalu directed towards the edge of the six-yard box, where Cousins controlled a waist-high ball, bringing it down and under the advancing keeper into the net: 1 - 1. Enfield immediately pressed a little more from the kick-off and closed down The Sports' more quickly, when they had possession. This paid rapid dividends. Carey parried a shot from Whitely but then scuffed his clearance kick, under the renewed pressure. Kalu returned the ball to score: 2-1. Town captain Mark Kirby went close with a header and Kalu shot over after an hour. Enfield seemed to be in control and the manager decided to bring himself on after 80 minutes, in place of his CF, Cousins, to shore things up further in midfield. It seemed an odd change and carried an obvious danger. Apparently he'd told one fan earlier that he'd had a dream he was going to score tonight; and obviously he wasn't going to be able to do that from the bench.
Instead, with the clocking ticking down, Eastbourne substitute McCallum set up an 81st minute equaliser for Dean Sinclair with a downward header. He also had a hand in the next attack by the visitors, which saw Johnson drive a shot from the left across Nathan McDonald in the Enfield goal and into the far side of the net, to make the score 2 - 3 with just 7 minutes remaining. It looked all over for Town and the manager's supposedly prophetic dream. With 2 minutes of regular time left, player-manager Quinton took a free-kick from just outside the box. There would be few more chances; but this one was blocked easily and deflected out for a corner. From that resulting set-piece, the loose ball fell to Quinton once again; and this time he made no mistake, driving the ball in from the left, just inside the box, to level the scores at 3-3. End-to-end action filled the remaining added minutes; but neither side could convert their chances.
Quinton prepares to take (and miss) his late free kick; fortunately his dream came true after the subsequent move.
Extra time would be required; but under such unfamiliar circumstances, there was some confusion amonsgt the crowd. Should they change ends again? Twice more? Some stayed put; some trooped to the far end; some compromised and moved to the stand on the half-way line, myself included. The small Jemca Toyota Enfield stand was clearly not used to holding this number of fans. I could tell, from the face full of cobwebs that greeted my arrival in the corner, up at the back.
The view from the Jemca Toyota Enfield stand, as Town push (sluggishly) forward.
If the fans' uncertainty was driven in part by tiredness (it was drawing towards 10 o'clock, after all) this was also reflected in the extra-time performance of the home side. The slightly higher fitness levels of the Conference South side were starting to tell. They were finding more space in behind Enfield, whose defence started to look flat-footed and uncertain. Town fans became increasingly nervous. Enfield's Muguo put a soft, mis-kicked shot across goal after 4 extra minutes, when he should have done better; and substitute Ade Cole could only strike the ball against Carey's legs, when put clean through, one-on-one. Otherwise, Eastbourne looked the sharper of the two sides; and the more likely to score. So, almost inevitably, Enfield regained the lead 3 minutes into the second half of extra-time. Whitely chased a well-weighted through-ball and The Sports' Kiran Kinda-John brought him down 'agriculturally', in the box. After turning down a number of similar Enfield appeals, the ref finally took pity and awarded the obvious spot-kick. Ryan Doyle strode up manfully to blast it home through the 'keeper, to make the score 4-3.
Doyle leans back and leathers in the 7th goal of the game.
"Let's all do the Pos-nan! Let's all do the Pos-nan! La, la, la, la - La, la, la, la". The crowd also ran through the whole gamut of their Cup- and Wembley-related song repertoire - which wasn't all that big. It was tempting fate, though. With 4 minutes remaining, McDonald got his positioning wrong and flapped at a cross under his bar, whilst back-pedaling. Most times he would have punched clear or tipped the ball over the bar, easily; but not this time. Oh no! Visiting sub Dean Bown was on hand to punish his error and stroke in the equaliser to take us to 4-4. There was still time for Enfield's sub Cole, on his Town debut, to burst through one-on-one with the keeper again; but the result was almost an exact replica of his earlier effort, as Carey denied him with his legs again. Nothing could stop the dreaded penalty shoot-out, it would seem. Enfield were the more tired side; and, on Saturday, the penalty conversion count had been 1-0 to Eastbourne. The omens were not good. Towners fans seemed to sense this and sang lustily, to the strains of "Auld Lang Syne": "We're proud - of you. We're proud - of you. We're proud - of you. We're proud! ...". Proud enough, in fact, to trudge back down to the A10 end of the ground again, to keep up their support to the bitter end. If nothing else, the night had been a veritable football fan fitness workout programme.
Enfield regroup and try to stay focussed, ahead of the deciding penalty shoot-out. Some fans (in background) are more focussed on the chance to order up an extra burger.
Borough went first but handed the initiative to the home side when their second kick, from Sam Beale, was saved low in the centre by McDonald. Enfield substitute Phil Kane gave up that advantage with our third kick, when his shot went waist high to the centre and was blocked by Carey. The away 'keeper dusted himself down to take (and score) their fourth penalty, which was equalised by Doyle, with his own second spot-kick of the match. Hamilton scored Eastbourne's fifth attempt, to pile incredible pressure on home skipper Big Mark Kirby, taking the 10th kick. Would it be decisive? He needed to score to keep his side in the tie and force 'sudden death' kicks. His on-target shot was saved, though, at a comfortable height, in the centre. He hid his head in his upturned jersey.
There was, after all, to be no record-breaking penalty shoot out - as there had been at Anfield, recently. It was an unkind end, for one of Enfield's strongest players on the night. All ten kicks had been on target; but Eastbourne Borough had won the shoot-out by 4 penalties to 3, thanks primarily to the efforts of their 'keeper Carey. He was their clear man-of-the-match - or, at least, his legs were. Town had led FOUR separate times, across both games; but just couldn't finish the opposition off. So it's The Sports who advance to an away tie in the next round, at Kingstonian. Their two titanic struggles against Enfield, suggest Eastbourne are unlikely to face Manchester United this season. "It's better to concentrate on the league, any way", said one old hand, unconvincingly, as he turned on his heels for the exit gate; but did he really not want the magic of the cup to continue? This cruel result may have been 'a good thing', on balance; but it didn't feel like that, immediately after the final, final whistle. Wembley can wait, for now. Meanwhile, next Tuesday offers Enfield another trophy opportunity, in the Ryman League Cup. The home fans stayed and sang on for at least 5 minutes, by which time I had closed my car door and pulled away, shutting out their distant noise, already contemplating the lengthy process of writing up the night's action. Possibly in verse? "I wandered lonely, as a football on a cloud ..."
Phil Kane fails to keep up the pressure, as Carey blocks his poor penalty - Enfield's 3rd.
Plenty of home fans were still arriving in the opposite end, after the half-time turn-around and the start of the 2nd period, when things got exciting. The first few minutes saw Eastbourne dominate; but they failed to capitalise on this. Then an Enfield break saw a cushioned header by Kalu directed towards the edge of the six-yard box, where Cousins controlled a waist-high ball, bringing it down and under the advancing keeper into the net: 1 - 1. Enfield immediately pressed a little more from the kick-off and closed down The Sports' more quickly, when they had possession. This paid rapid dividends. Carey parried a shot from Whitely but then scuffed his clearance kick, under the renewed pressure. Kalu returned the ball to score: 2-1. Town captain Mark Kirby went close with a header and Kalu shot over after an hour. Enfield seemed to be in control and the manager decided to bring himself on after 80 minutes, in place of his CF, Cousins, to shore things up further in midfield. It seemed an odd change and carried an obvious danger. Apparently he'd told one fan earlier that he'd had a dream he was going to score tonight; and obviously he wasn't going to be able to do that from the bench.
Instead, with the clocking ticking down, Eastbourne substitute McCallum set up an 81st minute equaliser for Dean Sinclair with a downward header. He also had a hand in the next attack by the visitors, which saw Johnson drive a shot from the left across Nathan McDonald in the Enfield goal and into the far side of the net, to make the score 2 - 3 with just 7 minutes remaining. It looked all over for Town and the manager's supposedly prophetic dream. With 2 minutes of regular time left, player-manager Quinton took a free-kick from just outside the box. There would be few more chances; but this one was blocked easily and deflected out for a corner. From that resulting set-piece, the loose ball fell to Quinton once again; and this time he made no mistake, driving the ball in from the left, just inside the box, to level the scores at 3-3. End-to-end action filled the remaining added minutes; but neither side could convert their chances.
Quinton prepares to take (and miss) his late free kick; fortunately his dream came true after the subsequent move.
Extra time would be required; but under such unfamiliar circumstances, there was some confusion amonsgt the crowd. Should they change ends again? Twice more? Some stayed put; some trooped to the far end; some compromised and moved to the stand on the half-way line, myself included. The small Jemca Toyota Enfield stand was clearly not used to holding this number of fans. I could tell, from the face full of cobwebs that greeted my arrival in the corner, up at the back.
The view from the Jemca Toyota Enfield stand, as Town push (sluggishly) forward.
If the fans' uncertainty was driven in part by tiredness (it was drawing towards 10 o'clock, after all) this was also reflected in the extra-time performance of the home side. The slightly higher fitness levels of the Conference South side were starting to tell. They were finding more space in behind Enfield, whose defence started to look flat-footed and uncertain. Town fans became increasingly nervous. Enfield's Muguo put a soft, mis-kicked shot across goal after 4 extra minutes, when he should have done better; and substitute Ade Cole could only strike the ball against Carey's legs, when put clean through, one-on-one. Otherwise, Eastbourne looked the sharper of the two sides; and the more likely to score. So, almost inevitably, Enfield regained the lead 3 minutes into the second half of extra-time. Whitely chased a well-weighted through-ball and The Sports' Kiran Kinda-John brought him down 'agriculturally', in the box. After turning down a number of similar Enfield appeals, the ref finally took pity and awarded the obvious spot-kick. Ryan Doyle strode up manfully to blast it home through the 'keeper, to make the score 4-3.
Doyle leans back and leathers in the 7th goal of the game.
"Let's all do the Pos-nan! Let's all do the Pos-nan! La, la, la, la - La, la, la, la". The crowd also ran through the whole gamut of their Cup- and Wembley-related song repertoire - which wasn't all that big. It was tempting fate, though. With 4 minutes remaining, McDonald got his positioning wrong and flapped at a cross under his bar, whilst back-pedaling. Most times he would have punched clear or tipped the ball over the bar, easily; but not this time. Oh no! Visiting sub Dean Bown was on hand to punish his error and stroke in the equaliser to take us to 4-4. There was still time for Enfield's sub Cole, on his Town debut, to burst through one-on-one with the keeper again; but the result was almost an exact replica of his earlier effort, as Carey denied him with his legs again. Nothing could stop the dreaded penalty shoot-out, it would seem. Enfield were the more tired side; and, on Saturday, the penalty conversion count had been 1-0 to Eastbourne. The omens were not good. Towners fans seemed to sense this and sang lustily, to the strains of "Auld Lang Syne": "We're proud - of you. We're proud - of you. We're proud - of you. We're proud! ...". Proud enough, in fact, to trudge back down to the A10 end of the ground again, to keep up their support to the bitter end. If nothing else, the night had been a veritable football fan fitness workout programme.
Enfield regroup and try to stay focussed, ahead of the deciding penalty shoot-out. Some fans (in background) are more focussed on the chance to order up an extra burger.
Borough went first but handed the initiative to the home side when their second kick, from Sam Beale, was saved low in the centre by McDonald. Enfield substitute Phil Kane gave up that advantage with our third kick, when his shot went waist high to the centre and was blocked by Carey. The away 'keeper dusted himself down to take (and score) their fourth penalty, which was equalised by Doyle, with his own second spot-kick of the match. Hamilton scored Eastbourne's fifth attempt, to pile incredible pressure on home skipper Big Mark Kirby, taking the 10th kick. Would it be decisive? He needed to score to keep his side in the tie and force 'sudden death' kicks. His on-target shot was saved, though, at a comfortable height, in the centre. He hid his head in his upturned jersey.
There was, after all, to be no record-breaking penalty shoot out - as there had been at Anfield, recently. It was an unkind end, for one of Enfield's strongest players on the night. All ten kicks had been on target; but Eastbourne Borough had won the shoot-out by 4 penalties to 3, thanks primarily to the efforts of their 'keeper Carey. He was their clear man-of-the-match - or, at least, his legs were. Town had led FOUR separate times, across both games; but just couldn't finish the opposition off. So it's The Sports who advance to an away tie in the next round, at Kingstonian. Their two titanic struggles against Enfield, suggest Eastbourne are unlikely to face Manchester United this season. "It's better to concentrate on the league, any way", said one old hand, unconvincingly, as he turned on his heels for the exit gate; but did he really not want the magic of the cup to continue? This cruel result may have been 'a good thing', on balance; but it didn't feel like that, immediately after the final, final whistle. Wembley can wait, for now. Meanwhile, next Tuesday offers Enfield another trophy opportunity, in the Ryman League Cup. The home fans stayed and sang on for at least 5 minutes, by which time I had closed my car door and pulled away, shutting out their distant noise, already contemplating the lengthy process of writing up the night's action. Possibly in verse? "I wandered lonely, as a football on a cloud ..."
Phil Kane fails to keep up the pressure, as Carey blocks his poor penalty - Enfield's 3rd.
Enfield Town: Nathan McDonald, Theo Jones, Joe Stevens, Ryan Doyle, Mark Kirby, Stanley Mugou, Stephan Hamilton-Forbes (Phil Kane 81), Nathan Livings (Ade Cole 95), Neil Cousins (Bradley Quinton 81), Corey Whitely, Michael Kalu. Unused subs: Tyler Campbell, Anthony Page (GK), Taylor Hastings, Jamie Smyth.
Eastbourne Borough: Lewis Carey, Marvin Hamilton, Sam Beale, Matt Aldred, Ian Simpemba (Dean Bown 82), Adam Watts, Ryan Worrall (Gavin McCallum 60), Dean Sinclair (Lloyd Foot 84), Kiran Kinda-John, Simon Johnson, Darren Lok. Unused substitutes: Jay Lovett.
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