Enfield's debut in the Alliance Premier League came at the Drill Field, home of Northwich Victoria FC. Lee Holmes' second-half equaliser was not enough to secure a point for the E's. Gary Jones scored the winner for the hosts, coupled with Reid's opener in front of a crowd of 1,050. I have managed to gather together a number of match reports from this first season which are reproduced from a number of newspaper sources. Thanks also to Ron Merlin and his teenage scrapbooks for giving an insight into what it must have been like to support a successful Enfield side winning leagues, cups and frightening League opposition with their *plucky* FA Cup exploits.

Northwich Victoria (away) lost 1-2
report from the Weekly Herald

Enfield manager Eddie McCluskey will be praying that the bad luck the plagued his side in their opening Premier League game does not remain for the rest of the season. His team outplayed Vics, who finished fourth in the APL in the last campaign, for much of the match. But it was the home side that got the breaks that counted.

Northwich could hardly believe their good fortune in taking three points with a side that had a makeshift appearance and after spending most of the second half pegged in their own half. Their winner was their biggest break and came in the 72nd minute. Enfield keeper, John Jacobs, turned villain when he mishandled a hurried, low shot from exciting teenager Mark Ward. He pushed the ball right into the path of Northwich striker Gary Jones, leaving him the formality of tapping into a yawning goal-mouth.

It was an earlier goalkeeping clanger by Jacobs' opposite number Dave Ryan that gave Enfield a thoroughly deserved equaliser six minutes from the interval. He dropped a corner from Steve King and Lee Holmes reacted quicker than a posse of defenders to fire the ball high into the net. Enfield's poor luck had begun as early as the eighth minute when Noel Ashford broke through the home defence. His shot looked to be going inside the far post, but veered away at the worst moment.

After 21 minutes Holmes fluffed a glorious opportunity when he was gifted the ball by Northwich Victoria manager Lammie Robertson, but he prodded the ball over the bar. Shortly after, the gamble of playing Steve Turner failed when he limped off to be replaced by Dave Flint. In the 27th minute Northwich again wriggled off the hook. A rocket shot from King completely beat Ryan, only to hit the underside of the bar, rebound onto the goalline and bounce clear.

Northwich's first goal came two minutes later and was again against the run of play. Like their winner it was aggressive running by Ward that set it up. He ended his run by beating Steve Oliver and putting the ball through to Paul Reid who looked suspiciously offside, picking his spot to score.

Although their first game resulted in a dissapointing defeat, Enfield had plenty of reason not to be downhearted. A visit to the Drill Field is one of the hardest tasks in the Alliance and they showed they had the skill and, more importantly, the strength to match any team in their new company.

Enfield: Jacobs, Barrett, Warburton, Jennings, Oliver, Ashford, Turner, Ironton, Holmes, Taylor, King. Sub: Flint for Turner. Att 1,050

AP Leamington (home) won 6-1
report from the Weekly Herald

Enfield surged to their first home league victory of the season by sweeping aside APL stragglers Leamington at the Stadium on Tuesday night. It was Enfield's fourth - and biggest - win over the Brakes in five weeks, with an aggregate of 17 goals to 4 in Enfield's favour. Leamington, pointless after eight games, have now conceeded 40 goals in 10 successive defeats.

For 25 minutes of the uneven struggle the Brakes stayed on level terms. Then Steve King put Enfield ahead from the penalty spot after Brown had handled Noel Ashford's powerful right-wing cross. Within two minutes Leamington were level again. Gorman netting the rebound after John Jacobs had parried Farrington's deflected shot from Kilkelly's short free kick. But once Nicky Ironton had restored Enfield's lead in the 34th minute with a diagonal header from King's deep right-wing corner there was no holding the home side.

Paul Taylor, left in space 25 yards out, wasted no time in blasting a right-foot drive into the roof of the net. But if that was spectacular there was even better to follow. Four minutes into the second half Keith Barrett hammered home a blistering effort from 35 yards. Barrett laid on the fifth goal after 62 minutes by heading down Steve Oliver's free kick for Ashford to force the ball over the line before it was hacked clear.

And King completed the scoring as he had started it - converting a 68th minute penalty after Ashford had been tripped by Jones. It could have been so many more. Dave Flint had a goal disallowed, King saw a header hooked off the line by Cooper and crashed a tremendous 30 yarder against the crossbar. Hall, Leamington's overworked keeper, saved from Ironton and scrambled a Barrett header against the bar and Brown sent a back-pass on to his own post.

Dartford (away) won 2-0
report from the Weekly Herald

Two more goals by top scorer Noel Ashford maintained Enfield's impressive away form at Dartford on Saturday, writes Tim Drew. They have gone eight trips without defeat since the opening day of the season when they lost 2-1 to Northwich - and this was their fifth win in eight league matches away from the Stadium. Ashford, whose goal secured victory at Kettering seven days earlier, did it again with numbers seven and eight of the season.

He struck first deep into injury time in the first half and the goal followed a free kick from John Tone, back in first-team action little more than five weeks after his cartilage operation. Tone, restored to left back while Steve Oliver switched flanks in the absence of broken nose victim Keith Barratt, had a quiet game and it will take a little time before his confidence returns completely, particularly in the tackle. His free-kick from the left was too high and too long for Dave Waite but Oliver retrieved the ball from the by-line and his near post chip was headed down and into the far corner by Ashford.

Enfield had several good chances to add to their lead before Ashford netted again. He won possession on the edge of the centre circle and was then on hand to receive the ball back before clipping a 20 yard shot over stranded Dartford keeper Keen, who had come several yards off his line. Nicky Ironton, who was booked for bringing down Dartford defender Glenn Coupland, saw several close efforts come to nothing and a Steve Turner shot beat Keen only to hit the post.

Dartford, who have not won since the opening day of the season, floundered in the muddy conditions and against the commanding displays of Enfield's central defenders, Dave Waite and Tony Jennings. John Biddle, Dartford's manager, resigned after the match.

Yeovil Town (home) won 2-0
report from the Enfield Gazette

Statasticians among Saturday's crowd at Southbury Road may be interested to know that Enfield had an astonishing 30 shots on goal during the 90 minutes of a one-sided Alliance Premier League game. It was the sort of bombardment that makes the Zulu invasion of Rorke's Drift sound Like a Sunday School outing.

But, for all their pressure, only two of the Enfield spears managed to pierce the heart of a courageous if characterless Yeovil side - and manager Eddie McCluskey will doubtless be wondering why the finals corner tally of 13 to 2 in favour of Enfield was not reflected in a massive scoreline.

There were two reasons. One: a teenager called Steve Langley in the Yeovil goal who covered himself in glory, and a fair amount of mud, to repel Enfield's attacks almost singlehandedly. And two: the fact that Enfield, for all their guile, grace and sheer professionalism, still do not have a goal hungry scorer who can punish defences that are reeling - as Yeovil's palpably was on Saturday.

The barrage began as early as the fourth minute as Steve Oliver thudded a powerful drive into Langley's chest from the edge of the area. Then Paul Taylor, in terrific form, surged through from midfield only to see Langley again divert his final shot. Nicky Ironton followed up but his goalbound chip was volleyed off the goalline by Yeovil defender Gold.

Two West Country defenders performed the Can-Can to clear a desperate situation - high-kicking the ball clear - but after Langley had made a stunning double save to thwart Lee Holmes the pressure finally told in the 22nd minute. Taylor turned defender Jess Payne on the right flank and, despite an attempt by Payne to fell the midfielder, referee Barrett waved play on. Taylor's deep cross was nodded clear by Gold - only as far as Steve Oliver, lurking 20 yards out. His sweet half volley appeared to take a slight deflection as it zipped past Langley into the net.

The Yeovil defence was by now crazily overworked and Payne resorted to using his knees to clear dangerous crosses by King and Holmes. But, as if to remind us that human life really did exist the other side of the half-way line, Yeovil winger Jeremy Brown managed their first shot of the afternoon in first-half injury time. He cut inside John Tome but a left footed effort drifted well wide.

Steve King, unable to make his abundant possession count, saw a humming 20 yarder pawed around the post by Langley to start the second half. Then Keith Barrett's cross was half cleared by Gold in a carbon copy of Enfield's first goal - but this time Oliver screwed his shot badly over the bar.

Strangely enough, the decisive second goal arrived just as Yeovil were making their first tentative steps towards testing John Jacobs. Taylor bustled on the ball in midfield and a superbly weighted pass sent King streaking towards the Yeovil goal. As defender Ritchie forced him wide, King appeared to snatch at his shot and it flashed across the goalmouth - straight to where Noel Ashford was waiting at the far post.

That 57th minute goal did the hard working Ashford a power of good. He immediately began to assume dangerous positions and was inches away from a second goal two minutes later as he climbed above Giles to King's high cross.

The rest of the match was a tale of Enfield chances created and missed. Langley was up and down like the price of petrol but was let off the hook far too often as shots sailed high and wide. At the other end Yeovil awoke from their stupor to threaten the Enfield goal twice and should have scored when Dave Platt was put clean through by Beck. The striker beat Jacobs with a clever chip but saw the ball float wide of the near post.

But a single goal margin of victory would have been ridiculous. It reminded me of the old saying: 'Yeovil were so outclassed they were lucky to score none.'