Match Report - Enfield Club de Futbol (A)

Dramatic circumstances secured a victory for Roza in the previous game, but Enfield Club de Futbol were a brand new challenge to face on Sunday 27th October. We travelled to Clowes Sports Ground with a strong squad hopeful of leaving with 3 points.

Starting XI: Rajan Ranu; Harry Small, Chris Johnson, Jake Koumi, Ollie Begueria; Danny Smith, Ben Reynolds, Moh Kataria; Iddo Razin, Steph Savva, Alex Andreou

In the early stages of the game, chances were few and far between with both teams struggling to hold onto the ball. Enfield probably shaded it in terms of possession and territory, with Roza finding it hard to get a meaningful shot away.

It was then our hosts who took the lead midway into the first half through a good finish which left Rajan Ranu with no chance.

Roza began to react after going a goal down, starting to get a few shots on target, albeit ones which were not overly troublesome for the Enfield goalkeeper. A deflected effort from Steph Savva required good reflexes from the ‘keeper, and he reacted well to save low; whilst Moh Kataria also had a chance on the edge of the box.

Harry Small gingerly left the field to be replaced by Rees Colgan half an hour into the game, moments before we were awarded a penalty for a high foot on Kataria. Moh was tenacious in his closing down of the ball and his hard work paid dividends when Iddo Razin, back on penalty duty, calmly placed it in the top right corner.

Roza went into the break at 1-1 and the match was very much in the balance.

The second half began strongly for the away side, with Alex Andreou hitting a couple of shots at goal, Steph Savva becoming increasingly involved and the half-time substitute Saj Rajaratnam helping to drive us forward. Rajaratnam was not the only person to come on at the break, with Cal Cook joining the fray for goalscorer Iddo Razin.

Despite some pressure, including a chance for Cal Cook where he didn’t get the contact he wanted on it, Enfield still looked fairly likely at the other end - and they scored before the hour to put themselves 2-1 up. As Roza pushed for the equalizer late in the game, the deficit increased to 3-1 where Begueria was unlucky to see his deflection spin into the bottom corner.

A closely battled contest now looked out of reach for us, and it would have got in further away if not for an exceptional penalty save from Rajan Ranu.

Sunday morning’s game was one to forget for the boys, as we return to Mount Grace to face RT United in the Premier Cup this week.