Match Report

MATCH REPORT
Enfield Borough 1 Hillingdon Borough 3

An extremely disappointing display saw Enfield Borough lose their Middlesex derby with Hillingdon Borough on Tuesday evening. The visitors gained full revenge for the ten goal defeat they suffered on their last visit back in October as they both outthought and outfought Enfield.

Having gained a well-deserved win on Saturday at British Airways on Saturday, manager Anthony McNamee kept changes to a bare minimum with Alessana Queta replacing the unwell Craig Nelson. Yet that solitary alteration was to have major implications as without player/coach Nelson to guide the team from the middle of the pitch, Enfield were like a rudderless boat, lacking direction and drive. In a generally poor match, both side failed to create a chance of any note in the opening twenty minutes, and when it eventually arrived it came from a “Route One” source. Enfield keeper Finn Rushton launched a clearance down the pitch which Korede Akande latched onto it and outpaced his markers. Hillingdon keeper Kesse Norbet-Adu spread himself well to block the wingers shot. Spurred into action, Hillingdon broke quickly from an Enfield corner and Jade McCrea’s right-wing cross was flicked first time by Miles Collins requiring Rushton to reach up at full stretch to prevent the ball looping up over his head and into the net.

After twenty-five minutes right back Michael Mullings was forced off with a leg injury, Adewale Orisagbemi came on in midfield and Carl Adiku moved back to defence. Despite the reshuffle both Boroughs were still cancelling each other out. However, a ten minute spell either side of the interval turned the match decisively in the visitors favour. Hillingdon opened the scoring after forty-three minutes. From a throw-in the ball arrived at the feet of Harry Bailey who “shovelled” the ball towards goal. His effort seemed to deceive everyone as it slowly curled inside the far post. If there was any argument about the merits of the first goal, the second three minutes later was worthy of a much better match than this. Just into injury time Orisagbemi gave away a foul thirty yards from goal and Hillingdon captain Reece Stray strode up and drove the ball superbly past the diving Rushton and into the top corner of the net.

Enfield came out for the second-half with the words of the management ringing in their ears and they started brightly when Rinidie Lokilo-Imponge set Carlito Montana Williams away down the left wing. His cross was punched away by Norbet-Adu as far as Adiku whose first time shot was well off target. Six minutes after the break Hillingdon scored again. Collins stole the ball from Joe Huston-Mendy and headed for the byeline before centring to Bailey who scored from close range. Changes were made as Kevin Mussanda and Juan Olave replaced Lokilo-Imponge and Akande. Despite these, Enfield’s biggest threat still came from the long ball upfield from Rushton and this time Tom Opoku got in behind the Hillingdon defence but he placed his shot narrowly over the bar. Hillingdon kept looking to increase their advantage and Ayoub Enajar’s weaving run was only ended when he was fouled by Huston-Mendy on the edge of the penalty box. This time Stray curled his shot around Enfield’s wall and Rushton dived to push the ball away to safety.

Enfield’s defensive frailty that has shown up in earlier games was evident when a slip by Malachi Soile presented Hillingdon with a three-on-one attack. McCrea chose to shoot which Rushton parried up into the air then managed to collect under his crossbar whilst being challenged by the visitor’s forwards. Richard Worrell was introduced to add some presence to the attack and he held the ball up well before laying it off to Opoku whose shot was blocked. With one minute of normal time remaining Enfield finally got themselves onto the score sheet. Mussanda passed to Opoku who switched the ball onto his left foot before shooting. Norbet-Adu parried the shot but the ball was never properly cleared and eventually landed at the feet of Orisagbemi who swivelled and shot low into the bottom corner of the net to register his first goal for the club.

Manager Anthony McNamee was perplexed after the match. “I cannot understand how our standards can drop so far from Saturday to Tuesday. I think some people got a bit carried away the victory at British Airways, but this has brought everyone back down to earth with a bump. I have tried to be fair and give everyone a good run to prove themselves, but unless things alter we will have to make changes. I’ve told the players that no one is guaranteed their place in Saturday’s line-up.”

This weekend Enfield face a big challenge as they host Wallingford Town who stand second in the table with three wins from three games, scoring nine goals in the process. Kick off at the Maurice Rebak Stadium is 3pm.
Team; Rushton, Mbaza, Mullings (Orisgabemi), Queta, Huston-Mendy, Soile, Montana Williams (Worrell), Adiku, Lokilo-Imponge (Olave), Opoku, Akande (Mussanda)