Enfield v Hornchurch Play Off Semi

[Sweetnicker]

2 hours ago, 4wembleyfinals said:

Great crowd. But utter disappointment in conceding 2 goals against in 3minutes. What went wrong???

Too early for recriminations but I hope we will start planning for next season straight away so as to keep the momentum going.

Finally congratulations to Cheshunt who I now fancy will do it again on Monday. 

Thank you much appreciated  and it will be a tough game

[dwhe]

4 hours ago, Sweetnicker said:

Here you go again Theo how about giving us a bit of praise for beating the team with the best home record in the league. Whoever wins out of us the Hornchurch i'm pretty sure both sides will be ready for the challenge, you however will have to wait and you would love to have the opportunity, admit it you are gutted.

 How about going to your own forum to gloat .... oppps sorry I forgot you cant.

[Albury_Walker]

2 hours ago, dwhe said:

 How about going to your own forum to gloat .... oppps sorry I forgot you cant.

Nobody is gloating matey. The job still isn't done yet . Bad luck Townies that must of been gutting to have it snatched away at the death like that. To be honest I was looking forward to a final against you lot . Hornchurch are a team that blows hot and cold and are a bit like us in that respect but still a tough nut to crack . I'm sure you'll be there abouts next season .  

[Theodopolous]

7 hours ago, Sweetnicker said:

Here you go again Theo how about giving us a bit of praise for beating the team with the best home record in the league. Whoever wins out of us the Hornchurch i'm pretty sure both sides will be ready for the challenge, you however will have to wait and you would love to have the opportunity, admit it you are gutted.

Amazing results you have had…. Gutted to miss out Monday but certainly not gutted to miss out on promotion… it’s all about big fish small ponds or small fish big pond … even our amazing support would drain if we we were losing regular…. the challenge will be exciting but that will soon wear off ….

[The Crowing Cockerel]

Bitterly disappointed as luck dictates that these opportunities only come round every few years. That being said, whilst Town could've snatched it, the team with the better players won. I would venture to say that Hornchurch's budget is significantly larger than Town's, and it shows when you can bring on the likes of Sam Higgins - and don't seem to miss the incredibly unfortunate loss of Tom Wraight. Hornchurch's 2nd and 3rd goals were really very good. I fancy that both Hornchurch and Cheshunt have enough in the way of finances (at present) to be mid-table National League South sides - Hornchurch's squad is certainly good enough on paper already. At this point in time I would worry about Town struggling on the pitch in Step 2. With attendances up this year and 2,000 people attending the Play-off Semi, things do seem to be on the up for Town. Some consolidation, astute signings and a Cup Run to swell the coffers, and we might just be ready for the National League.

As I said at the beginning, there was a large slice of luck which saw us through to the play-offs, and it will be no mean feat to get there again next season. I fancy the likes of Bishops Stortford, Lewes, Folkestone, Horsham, Kingstonian, Cheshunt/Hornchurch will be very strong once again. Plus there will - and need to - be changes made to the Town squad. Will Mo stay? If not, where are his 30-40 goals coming from? Can we hold on to Jake Cass? Can we find a decent couple of centre-halves? (Gyebi and Bray worked hard, but the latter was at fault for the Hornchurch opener, and there were some dicey moments which demonstrated why we've conceded so many this season).

Now we have a chance to reset, I would much rather Town didn't continue with the hoof-ball tactics next season (except when absolutely necessary). 

Time for a breather before we go again!!!

Up the Town!

[Barney]

Good summary TCC: a very difficult result to take in a game that we could easily have shaded - thought we were better first half, and might have had a pen as well as hitting the post, but I definitely can't begrudge Hornchurch the win who are clearly a decent side, who kept knocking on the door and finally got their goals. Some frustrating goals to concede though (not winning a key header, or having anyone close to a second ball - and how long did Higgins have to control and pick his spot for their 2nd?!). I think 2-2 over 90 would have been fair, and then who knows what would have happened from there? Would have liked to have seen us make substitutes earlier, just to get some fresh legs on (either in midfield, or another centre back) and also to break up the flow of the game a bit. With the pitch as it was, I have no complaints about the way we played, I think any side trying to knock it around would have struggled, but I too would like us to recruit a couple more ball players for next season to add to the already decent squad so that we can retain the ball better, rather than looking to feed off of direct balls to Cass / Cunnington. Would like a couple more natural leaders in the team as well, I do worry about how well we communicate across the pitch too.

All we can do is go again next season, we've showed with the attendance that we have a lot of potential to increase crowds, and hopefully another season of growing and improving will see us in a stronger position for when we do get promotion (it will come at some point). Obviously retaining key players, and adding to the squad will be key.

[lovely stuff]

Firstly i'd like to praise our players for giving 100% effort and commitment last night.And to our management team for lots of hard work on getting us to this play-off semi final.

Unfortunately the pitch made it impossible to play decent football on for both sides.We need to find a way of getting water on the pitch.If we couldn't manage it for the most important game in 25 years i do worry.

Now to the actual action: The looks of surprise on the faces behind the goal when the starting 11 was read out was telling.To play a formation and three man frontline that has hardly been played all season was surprising.Hornchurch won the game by width and targeting our full backs..We decided to go extremely narrow and drop our only wide player (and one of our best players) in order to fit 3 up top.Our two in midfield worked their socks trying to cope with being outnumberd in the centre of the park.

The end of the game was a sour note also. Joe Wright goading the Enfield fans was poor show.So was the idiot who ran onto the field to confront him.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by lovely stuff

[The Crowing Cockerel]

21 minutes ago, lovely stuff said:

Now to the actual action: The looks of surprise on the faces behind the goal when the starting 11 was read out was telling.To play a formation and three man frontline that has hardly been played all season was surprising.Hornchurch won the game by width and targeting our full backs..We decided to go extremely narrow and drop our only wide player (and one of our best players) in order to fit 3 up top.Our two in midfield worked their socks trying to cope with being outnumbered in the centre of the park.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Andy has a reputation for failing to make timely tactical changes. Why, oh why, didn't he make changes at 2-1 up with 15 minutes to go? Surely that would've been the time to go like for like and shore up the midfield with some fresh legs. The 3 up top hasn't really worked when we've tried it this season, and given the space in the centre of the park (Hornchurch 2nd goal) and down our right (3rd goal), in the end it didn't work again this time.

Is this hoof-ball a means to an end and the only chance we have of getting promoted from this league in the future? Or do we need a complete change - and dare I say it: a management change?

[cup of tea]

Very rarely post on other people’s forums but will do this time. Like to thank Enfield for the hospitality and the way you treated the opposition fans. Good luck for next season unless you’re playing us of course (hopefully not!) 

[Theodopolous]

2 hours ago, lovely stuff said:

The end of the game was a sour note also. Joe Wright goading the Enfield fans was poor show.So was the idiot who ran onto the field to confront him

I don’t blame Joe for celebrating … our supporters have no respect for returning players… even Mark Kirby got relentless abuse… if you can abuse Kirbs then there is something wrong…. Though obviously running on the pitch is unforgivable but tensions do run high at times….

[lovely stuff]

21 hours ago, Theodopolous said:

I don’t blame Joe for celebrating … our supporters have no respect for returning players… even Mark Kirby got relentless abuse… if you can abuse Kirbs then there is something wrong…. Though obviously running on the pitch is unforgivable but tensions do run high at times….

Joe was unfortunately taunting the fans behind the goal.He only did it for about 10 seconds but it wasn't needed and was enough to get a lot pf people angry behind the goal

I doubt many of the younsters having a go at Joe during the game were.. (1).Regular supporters.(2).Even recognise Joe if they are fairly new fans.Also to be fair most clubs give their previous players a hard time.Not many players in the modern game show much loyalty to clubs nowadays.

Edited April 29, 2022 by lovely stuff

[Barney]

2 hours ago, The Crowing Cockerel said:

Is this hoof-ball a means to an end and the only chance we have of getting promoted from this league in the future? Or do we need a complete change - and dare I say it: a management change?

Just an observation, but apart from Worthing, the rest of the top 5 play a fairly direct style themselves having watched them all play. Maybe when budgets are limited, and pitches are of inconsistent quality throughout the season, this is the correct way to approach the league. Certainly the best footballing side I saw was Lewes, who taught us a passing lesson at home when they won 4-1, but subsequently didn't make the play offs. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to play great possession football, but I'd also like to give us the best chance of getting promoted.

As a side point, did anyone have a better view than me of the Maja sending off? I know it didn't affect the outcome at all, but the challenge looked pretty innocuous - was the red for something that came after?

[Steph]

Lots to think about in the last few posts.

My observations, for what it is worth, were that the best side won on the day. I got a crick in my neck for the amount of time I was looking towards the Enfield goal and not to my own end. Hornchurch were a good side with, and I disagree with most on here, an astute passing game using both wide men who could play good football especially the left winger in the second half who had our defence in knots.

If we put Hornchurch under pressure it was for seconds rather than minutes. If you want to argue how many corners did Hornchurch get compared to Enfield. I didn't count but I would be surprised if they didn't outnumber us by around 2 to 1.

We had three very good attackers but our midfield was stretched and it meant that we had no width and our aim was to meet the target men, but that is no surprise as I think it has been the method for 90% of the season. (I don't say 100% as someone will come on here and say what about such and such a game).

With a defence under pressure for most of the game they were bound to tire and sure enough Hornchurch got their just reward in the end.

If we are to sum up the game and the season it is that we concede too many goals and the reason for that, in my view, is that our defenders lack pace and tactical nous. The best way to defend is always to keep possession but that does not seem to enter our management mind.

Now I sound like an old fogey but I can remember the Tom Lawrence style of play. Soak up the pressure for the first 10-15 minutes assess the opposition and then as they tire start using your wing men and the overlapping full backs. Seemed to be Hornchurch style as well.

It has to be said, however, that Joe Wright had a good game and certainly saved Hornchurch from having to chase a larger total at the end but one man does not make and team.

[andyetfc]

Couldn’t be at the game so can only go on what has been said on the various threads on here.

I’m sure we all have our own thoughts on why we will still be in the Premier League next year rather than the Southern Conference and I’m sure we all would have wanted to take the next step up. However, what I can’t understand is why anyone would already believe either Hornchurch or Cheshunt would struggle next season and why they would not get on with the extra travelling. If they couldn’t, then would we? Credit where credit is due, so let’s just get on with the next phase of the club’s development and leave the two semi final winners to scrap it out in the final.

It wasn’t good to read that a ‘so called supporter’ ran on to the field of play and confronted their ‘keeper. What’s going to happen to him, that’s what I’d like to know. For those who have been with ETFC since the start, a similar situation happened at Sawbridgeworth and action was taken. Let’s just hope this was just a one off.

Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be too long before supporters will get to know who will, and who won’t be staying at the club and then which positions need filling and by whom.

The world is full of opinions, especially when it comes to football.

 

[Benjrider10]

With such a bumper crowd for the play-off semi vs. Hornchurch (call it 2,000), the club must have made a decent amount of money from gate receipts, bar take, club shop sales, food etc. What I hadn't realised until I checked on the Isthmian League website Meeting Your Responsibilities.pdfis that the play-offs are treated as cup games, not league games. This  makes a big difference. For league games, the home team keeps the gate receipts (minus all matchday expenses). For cup games, the gate receipts are split 37.5% home team, 37.5% away team and 25% to the league.

So my guess of, say, GBP 15k gate receipts would mean ETFC and Hornchurch both getting GBP 5,625 and the league getting GBP 3,750. ETFC would keep all profits from the bar, club shop, food etc. so say another GBP 2k. So ETFC coffers boosted by (my guess) GBP 7k to 8k. Still good, but not as much as I thought.

25% for the league looks high to me, and I think the home team should be rewarded for its performance over the season by getting a higher split than the away team. Thoughts on the split?