Haringey Borough vs. Enfield Town - 3pm k-o
Sat. 6th August, 2016 - Pre-Season Friendly
On Saturday, I travelled to an away game, for the first time in some months. Although, admittedly, it was not so very far away; just 5 miles, in fact. Haringey Borough F.C. were to be Enfield Town’s final pre-season friendly opponents; and it seemed like a good time to check out how The Towners’ preparations for another tough Ryman Premier League season had been coming along. “The Borough” play at White Hart Lane and, after significant investment, their Coles Park ground now features a new, state-of-the-art 4G, all-weather astro-turf pitch ... hopefully assuring all attendees of great ‘phone reception. The new pitch is a major investment, after year's of postponed matches and fixture congestion, due to a water-logged playing surface.This is an astonishing fact when one considers that the very existence of the ground has been under threat for some extended period of time: “End of an era as Haringey Borough FC learn they will lose Coles Park home” said the Tottenham and Wood Green Journal, back in March 2011. That was after Haringey Council had approved plans to demolish the historic 80-year-old ground. Well Boro haven’t lost it yet; and, five years later on, they are now entering their 83rd year on the site – though now ground-sharing with wandering Brimsdown FC, of the Spartan South Midlands League (First Division).
Amidst the confusion of player number changes, eagle-eyed readers will notice only five Town players on show at Coles Park from the starting line-up of their last league game.
Borough announced before the match that the game against Enfield would see free admission for all. So a tidy crowd, which I would estimate at about 200 (no official crowd figure has been released, since there were no gate receipts) occupied their main stand. Many of these were away fans. The rest of the ground areas remained closed, probably for Health & Safety’ reasons – as well as to allow for those all-important finishing touches, ahead of Haringey’s own new season. Boro play their league football in the level below Enfield. So Town’s travelling fans were probably expecting a morale-boosting away win. Fingers were mostly being crossed for an entertaining game. The question on many minds was how the visitors would perform in the heat of an early-August scorcher; and in the absence of a couple of last season’s stars, lost to higher tier clubs. Stalwart defender Claudiu Vilcu having joined Bishops Stortford, in the next flight up; while key striker Corey Whitely has moved to Dagenham & Redbridge, two flights up the rickety ladder of the English Football League. Their local admirers may wish them well; or else might continue to hope they encounter “snakes” on their journey and return back ‘down’ to the club, before too long.
Old hands knew all too well that there was an obvious Enfield connection in the Boro dug-out, where Tom Loizou sits as club manager. He had dramatically departed from the (old) Enfield FC club, way back in 2002, just days after the season ended. Then-owner Tony Lazarou (he of ground-selling infamy) said “the two had agreed to terminate Mr Loizou's 18-month reign by mutual consent”; but, given “Lethal” Lazarou’s own track record with the truth, it’s possible that was just a big, fat lie. For those interested, incidentally, Haringey are currently offering free season tickets for home games. Apply via the club.
If the derelict views from the main stand - and the border guard watch-towers - reminded anybody of an apocalyptic post-war landscape, or of 1966 British spy film “Funeral in Berlin” (sly World Cup year reference intended!) then they should not have been any too surprised to find Harry Palmer crop up, starring in the Boro goal - see team sheet, above. Fine casting!
First-half action, as Town (in white) apply pressure from a corner.
It turns out that Enfield Town will be playing a number of games on artificial surfaces this season; so, despite the match's insalubrious setting, the logic of this friendly fixture, staged in what currently looks like a war-zone, was soon explained - "... and not a lot of people know that!". Not the least of those league games will be a potentially testing trip to newly-promoted and well-financed Harlow Town – see coverage of their 'tasty' play-off game against Hornchurch, elsewhere on this blog page. This particular pitch never seemed to trouble any of the players, home or away. Although Enfield’s Nikki Ahamed (in particular) appeared to have a mostly torrid afternoon, with frequent poor control and misplaced passes, it’s not clear how much of that could genuinely be attributed to the surface - which looked really good and seemed to play well.
The Excitement of the First-Half Drinks Break. "Who ordered the Lambrini?"
Suffice it to say that, in what was, ultimately, a lack-lustre final run-out, there was little to bother purist followers of The Beautiful Game. Enfield Town ended last season as the form side at the top of the Ryman Premier League; but Boro just about edged the first 10 scrappy minutes of this game, as Town acclimatised to the surface. Early home pressure culminating with a strike against the Town woodwork from distance, out wide on the right, by Boro's #9 Benjamin. Then fortunes slowly readjusted; and Enfield belatedly started to take control of the game, against their more ‘junior’ opponents. Their quick break in the 20th minute, following a wasted Boro free-kick, was one of few early highlights; but this dangerous 2-on-1 break was, itself, also wasted. The mid-afternoon heat required a pre-planned drinks break in the middle of the first half; and it was very nearly the pinnacle of the first-half highlights.
Town’s Micky Parcell stood out, at right wing-back; so it was probably only appropriate that he finally broke the deadlock, opening the scoring in the 38th minute. His intelligent, lung-busting, support run through the middle was spotted by the otherwise frustrated (and frustrating) Ahamed, who played a well-weighted pass into space near the right-hand corner of Boro's 6-yard box. From there, Parcell neatly tucked the ball home beyond Palmer - who perhaps should have been wearing his trademark, thick-rimmed spectacles. Shortly before half-time, referee Joel Mannix spotted what nobody else had: a defensive hand-ball in Boro’s area. There were neither appeals nor complaints; but Town’s Billy Crook strode up to blast past Harry Palmer, from the spot. Mixing up his movie reference metaphors, nobody could have blamed the Boro ‘Keeper for observing: “You were only s’pposed to blow the bloody doors off”. So Enfield lead 0-2 at the break, underlining their higher tier status; and, if slightly flattering to them, it was hardly against the run of play.
The sultry, half-time breeze from the allotment end brought a pervading scent of warm rubber off the 4G pitch, where the black pellets of the playing surface had been getting thrown up by each step taken and by every bounce of the ball. A number of substitutions were made at the break; but with little change in the order of play. Enfield continued to edge the home side; but without further reward – and without many incidents of note beyond a nasty-looking and unwanted pre-season injury to Boro’s substitute #17, Ben Traore; caused as he twisted his standing leg, receiving a ball. It was perhaps fitting, and probably unsurprising to Enfield fans, that the home side did finally earn a late, late consolation goal to give the final score some respectability and balance. Boro’s #16, a half-time sub., beating Enfield’s suspect offside trap and running through in timely fashion to notch one up for the home side. Final score: 1-2; with pre-season honours (very nearly) shared! A morale-boosting away win duly delivered. No funeral in N17, then; but the morale-ometer remained strangely, stubbornly unmoved; unboosted.
Come On, You Towners!
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