Grier's Guide to Enfield Town
The game: Enfield Town v Kingstonian, Isthmian Premier. Tuesday 5 October, 19:45.
The club: Supporter-owned team who formed in 2001 to keep football going in the borough when Enfield, formerly giants of the non-league game, sold their Southbury Road ground and moved to Boreham Wood. They've been firmly established in the Isthmian Premier since 2012 and won the Alan Turvey Trophy in 2019.
The town: Formerly a small market town, Enfield has long-since been swallowed up into North London suburbia. The world's first ATM opened at Barclays in Enfield in 1967; the Royal Small Arms Factory made a lot of the British Army's guns from 1816 until its closure in 1988; and the town got a lot of attention in the 1997 General Election with the 'were you up for Portillo?' moment - the surprise loss of Enfield Southgate came to symbolise the scale of the Conservative defeat.
The ground: Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, 3 Donkey Lane, EN1 3PL. If Ks' long-term search for a ground leads to somewhere with an athletics track then Enfield will be the template for how to do it properly. Roll-on roll-off terraces behind each goal allow close access for the fans and a decent atmosphere. The main stand and first floor cafe dominate the ground, and are a great piece of art deco architecture.
Directions: About a 20 minute walk from Enfield Town station, via either Liverpool Street or Seven Sisters. You can also walk from Southbury, although it's slightly longer. The club recommend using the car park on Donkey Lane if you're driving (and can find petrol). Pick your poison traffic-wise: you can either head to junction 25 of the M25 and then back in on the A10, or battle the North Circular.
Ticket prices: £11 adults, £7 over 65s/students/under 21s, £1 under 16s. They should be available online at https://shop.etfc.london/events
Our record there: A generally good record, in particular a 5-2 victory that kicked off 2014-15. We also grabbed a 1-0 win in 2018-19 thanks to a fine goal from loanee James Daly. We went down 2-1 last season though despite a Corie Andrews goal.
Recent form: Just outside the playoffs in 6th at time of writing and still in the FA Cup to boot. If they get a draw at Chelmsford in the next round then our game will be postponed.
Players to watch: Muhammadu Faal. Apart from bedsheets listing the number of players used, nothing epitomised fan frustration with the Leigh Dynan era more than the regular shouts of, "Get Faal on!" The popular striker was regularly benched at Ks but then joined Enfield and raced to the top of the Isthmian goalscoring charts before landing a move to League One Bolton. It didn't work out for him at that level but he's back at Enfield and has already bagged five this season.
Crowd: A supporter-owned success story, Enfield are a credit to the league. They'll usually have a decent crowd and some singing from behind the goal, with an average of over 500 so far this season..
Drinking: There's a choice of three pubs by Enfield Town station: Gastropub The Kings Head, O'Neill's and Taps Irish Bar all show big screen football. The Old Wheatsheaf is a bit further away and in the wrong direction from the ground but it's recently been taken over by Big Smoke, the brewery who run The Antelope and The Albion, so you can be sure of a good pint.
Food: A friendly tea bar run with homemade cakes as well as the usual burgers etc. The retail park near the ground includes KFC, McDonald's and Nando's.
