Fresh off the back of a fine 2-0 win over Cray Wanderers on Saturday, Shaun Saunders’ side are straight back at The Enclosed Ground on Saturday when they welcome promotion-chasing Enfield Town.

Goals from Joey Taylor and Imran Kayani extended the unbeaten league run to five matches, lifting the Hawks up to 14th with an abundance of games in hand on those around them.

In the other corner Enfield Town have stumbled a touch of late, though remain a side difficult to overcome. 

Team News

Charlie Harris was shown a second yellow card during Tuesday’s victory, though his suspension might not take effect until a later date. Rob O’Toole returned to field in the 77th minute, and will be pushing for a start after a short spell on the sidelines.

Lloyd Dawes inches closer to making a return from his injury earlier in the season, whilst Stefan Wright has received some positive news regarding his injury, though will likely be an absentee once again.

The Opposition

A side pushing for promotion for much of the campaign, that hope lives on despite the turn in form that has opened the door for fellow play-off contenders. At Christmas they sat proud in third, seven points safe inside the play-offs. Now they’re fifth, still in the play-offs but relying on a great slab of teams below them slipping up.

10 league games into 2024, they’ve won just the two, drawing five and losing the remaining three. They’re a side full of goals but, as Whitehawk experienced earlier on in the season, they do have vulnerabilities at the back can be exploited. 

They’ve been in this league since 2013, and following a flurry of top-half finishes, the form needs to change swiftly to ensure their patience is finally rewarded.

One to Watch | Marcus Wyllie

With Marcus Wyllie and Sam Youngs, Enfield Town have one of, if not the, best attacking lines in the division. They’ve combined for 44 goals in all competitions this season, with Wyllie edging the stats with 23 to his name. 

The division’s second top scorer, the nippy young forward signed forms at the home of Enfield Town in the summer of 2022, joining from Step 5 side Risborough Rangers. He’d only find the net four times in all competitions last season, and has evidently turned things around somewhat…

Recent Form | LWDDD

30/1 | Billericay Town (H) | Lost 2-1

3/2 | Canvey Island (A) | Won 3-0

17/2 | Carshalton Athletic (A) | Drew 1-1

20/2 | Kingstonian (H) | Drew 0-0

24/2 | Wingate & Finchley (H) | Drew 2-2

Previous Meetings

It was a game that must be a contender for one of the matches of the season. Having been both 3-1 and 4-2 down at stages of the match, a miraculous comeback fronted by Jack Dixon ended with a delicious Louis Collins lob saw the evening finish 4-4.

Prior to that, the 2012/13 season saw the Hawks complete a league double, with a 6-0 win at home and a 3-1 league away. The sides met again six seasons later and, hilariously, Enfield this time claimed a 6-0 victory at home, and a 3-1 triumph at The Enclosed Ground.

How to Follow

If you can’t make it to The Enclosed Ground for Saturday’s meeting, then you can follow the action via our X (Twitter) channel, which can be found here.