Grier's Guide to Enfield Town
The game: Enfield Town v Kingstonian, Isthmian Premier. Saturday 7 January, 15:00.
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. It's inside an athletics track but 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: With yet another national train strike, public transport will be more challenging than usual. Journey planners aren't yet up-to-date but if you can find a train the ground is walkable from Enfield Town or Southbury on the Overground, or Enfield Chase on the line from Moorgate. You might struggle to get back to Waterloo though for the last trains back to the RBK. The Tube is operating normally - buses go to the ground from Oakwood or Turnpike Lane, on the Piccadilly Line. The club recommend using the car park on Donkey Lane if you're driving. 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.
Our record there: Defeats on our last couple of visits have dented what was 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.
Recent form: Just outside the playoffs in 6th at time of writing with five victories from their last seven games, including an impressive 4-1 win over Potters Bar on Boxing Day. Facing a Ks side who haven't won in 15 away games, they'll be clear favourites.
Players to watch: Luckily for us their fantastic ex-Ks striker Muhammadu Faal has moved on to Havant & Waterlooville. They still have a few ex-Ks in their line-up though - midfielders Andre Coker and Lyle Della Verde, and defenders James Richmond and Juevan Spencer. Sam Youngs scored a hat-trick in the recent win over Potters Bar.
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 446 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.
