Enfield 1 Northwood 0

Saturday 17th January 2026

NORTHWOOD




1	Hafed Al-Droubi
2	Ademide Baruwa (82m)
3	Mack Miskin
4	Manny Folarin ©
5	Gabe Cuthbert
6	Dan Vincent (68m)
7	Henry Atkinson
8	Carl Stewart
9	Dan Williams
10	Freddie Ford
11	Osa Otote (83m)
Substitutes
12	Bryan Mankumbani (83m)
14	Harry McKenna
15	Louis Udeh (82m)
16	Jon-Jo Bates (68m)
17	Ronnie Mfinda
	Enfield: George Edgeworth, George Spillane (Joni Vukaj 46m ), Malachi Soile, Aundre Wholas-Spencer (Charlie Anderson 80m), Matthew Hurley , Toib Adeyemi, George Thompson, George Sykes , Samir Ali (Nathan Brathwaite 79m ), Oluwatamilore Ogunnowo (Freddy Moncur 47m ), Bradley McClenaghan

Northwood slipped up in their efforts to put some distance between themselves and the bottom four with this narrow defeat away at fellow strugglers Enfield who completed a double over the Woods and improved their own precarious position. Northwood chose the wrong time to fail to score in an away game this season while the E’s gained their first home league win since the August Bank Holiday Monday.

Joint Manager Jon-Jo Bates dropped himself to the bench in the only change to the side who had lost at high-flying Biggleswade a week earlier, with the replacement being Dan Vincent who started for the first time since picking up an injury in mid-December.

The game started in bright sunshine but it took until the ninth minute for the first attacking action as Gabe Cuthbert picked out Dan Williams with a neat ball forward and the Woods striker did well with a run across two defenders before his shot lacked composure and it flew over the bar.

Four minutes later, some good patient approach work saw Henry Atkinson play Carl Stewart into the box and his touch got him into the box only to miskick with just the keeper to beat.

The home side had been unable to get into the final third and their first effort on goal came after 18 minutes when Tami Ogunnowo hit a strong shot from distance but it was straight at Hafed Al-Droubi who saved comfortably.

There was no great fluency to the game but after 28 minutes, Mack Miskin’s ball down the left saw a defender miss a clearance and Williams was able to seize on the loose ball, drive into the box and square for Atkinson who had timed his run well but just couldn’t reach it, perhaps put off by a slight push in the back.

Enfield began to add some headway into the final third to their possession after this and Samir Ali got down the right to knock in an inviting cross but Ogunnowo was unable to connect and then Malachi Soile also found joy down the same flank to burst into the box but his effort only found the side-netting.

Into the final five minutes of the half and Williams managed to get his head on a neat chip into the box from Osa Otote but it looped over and then, at the other end, a free-kick for the E’s picked out George Sykes and his flicked header bounced onto the crossbar and over.

On 43 minutes, Manny Folarin won a tackle in his own half and Freddie Ford quickly threaded a ball through for Williams to run onto but he was halted by a tight offside call but then, just before the break, Folarin was harshly penalised for a challenge on George Thompson and picked up a yellow card. The free-kick, taken by Aundre Wholas-Spencer was an easy take for Al-Droubi.

‹

›

PHOTOS by James Brown

To start the second half, Enfield made two changes with the experienced pair of Joni Vukaj and Freddie Moncur both introduced. But just three minutes in, Northwood should have been ahead. Ford knocked a good ball into the box for Williams and although Matt Hurley nicked it off him, his touch only set up Otote for an open goal but the Woods winger saw his effort agonisingly hit the post rather than see the net bulge.

Four minutes later, there was a good chance for the home side as Sykes flicked on another header which put Vukaj into the box but he sliced his effort wide.

On 56 minutes, Otote made a good run across the edge of the area before being bundled over by Soile, just inches away from the penalty-box. After much deliberation, it was Vincent who was given the responsibility from the free-kick but he hit his shot well wide of the target and another opportunity had been spurned.

On the hour, Enfield were awarded a free-kick from out on the left and Vukaj did better with his effort, flighting it across goal and the ball crashed back off the crossbar. Bates replaced Vincent for the final twenty minutes but by now the flow of the game was deteriorating with both sides picking up yellow cards with depressing regularity.

It was after 78 minutes that Northwood went close to snatching the lead again, this time when Otote set up Ford for a shot from distance which beat goalkeeper George Edgeworth but crashed back off the bar.

Just two minutes later, the game swung the way of the home side as a good run from the left was ended by a rash challenge from behind by Folarin. A second yellow card for the skipper ended his afternoon as the Woods were reduced to ten men and Vukaj had no problem tucking away the resulting spot-kick as he had at the Skyline earlier in the season. Manny Folarin had picked up his second dismissal of the season, the only Northwood player to have been red-carded, and coincidentally, by the same referee each time.

The Woods had a bit of time to rescue a point and brought on Louis Udeh and Bryan Mankumbani at the back to allow others to push forward but it brought no joy. Enfield took their yellow card tally to seven, including one from the bench while Northwood kept it to just the six. Not a game for the purists that’s for sure!

A week to work on things now before a tough trip to Marlow next Saturday with the Blues only just above Northwood in the table having lost their last four matches.

REPORT by Alan Evans



BOARD SPONSORS