Saturday 28th September saw the eagerly awaited clash between the ESLs pacesetters at Goldsdown Road however it was for very different reasons both players and supporters were talking about after the game.
With such an important game so early on both sides knew this game could prove vital come the end of the season unfortunately the game was spoilt as a contest from one of the strangest and baffling refereeing displays you are ever likely to see.
Rovers came into the game in fine form after a midweek cup victory over Southend Manor and expectations were high however both sides started the game by not giving too much away. They also had goalkeeper Dale Brightly making his debut in goal having been signed on a dual contract from Canvey late Wednesday night.
The home side had a succession of corners in the first five minutes and inform Wakering forward Gary Paterson had a couple of long range efforts but not enough to trouble Alex Jennings in the Enfield goal.
Stuart Hepburn also saw one of his trademark long throws hit a post all this despite having taken a whack in the ribs earlier.
Enfield went closest to opening the scoring first on thirty minutes when a fine move saw Robbie Evans put his shot into the side netting.
On thirty two minutes Enfield again went close when Jack Leachman was left unmarked and with a free header he put it over. A minute later the home side worked a move well from a corner and a rasping twenty five yard shot from Jake Giddings saw Rovers new keeper Dale Brightly get a strong right hand to it and push it wide.
Unfortunately by this point the game seemed to be come secondary as referee Peter Wilson continued to stop the game at every opportunity, give free kicks and fail to play advantage to the side in possession, insist on giving every player committing a foul a lengthy lecture and yellow card to boot. Both teams were left baffled and frustrated at the stop/start nature of the game and as a spectacle to watch it was awful and the half finally and thankfully came to a halt with the score at 0-0.
Hoping for better in the second half the game restarted and Rovers started the better with Max Kent going wide on forty nine and Dan Trenkel heading a Pato cross wide on fifty two.
The home side opened the scoring on fifty four minutes when after a well worked move Brandon Martin found himself in the clear and out paced the defence to fire in past Brightly for a 1-0 lead.
This drew a response from Rovers who now had to open up. Well as much as referee Wilson would let them as his performance and decisions were still puzzling everyone with both benches letting him know their opinions.
Rovers won a free kick on fifty five which was taken by Gary Paterson. His shot hit Harry Prince in the wall and rebounded to safety however such was the power of Pato’s shot Prince had to go off with what appeared a dead leg and he was replaced by Daniel Walsh.
On sixty five Rovers made a change bringing Ash Hawkins off and Aaron Baldwin on. Unfortunately Ash had a bit of an off day today which was a shame as he has been terrific this season so far.
On seventy minutes Rovers levelled things up with a well worked move down the left leaving Player Manager Dan Trenkel to tap in and score his 100th goal for the club. A great landmark for Trenks and an important goal we were beginning to feel.
After that the game descended into a farce as referee Wilson stepped up his stopping of the game at every opportunity and I know as a match reporter you should capture every booking etc however by this time id lost count and track and as a supporter I became as frustrated as everyone else in the ground. There seemed to be three teams on the pitch in this game im afraid and unfortunately it was the two football teams losing.
Rovers did have another chance on seventy five minutes when a superb Max Kent cross caught the Enfield defence flat footed and Billy Radley proved to be just an inch too short to meet it with his head with the goal at his mercy. The ball fell to Paterson whose shot went into the side netting.
It was going to take something exceptional to win this game and unfortunately for Rovers it came well into what felt like ten minutes of stoppage time when a superb John Bricknell strike left Dale Brightly with no chance and seal a 2-1 win to Enfield. A worthy strike to win any game however that along with Trenk’s 100th for the club will always be overshadowed by the bizarre performance of referee Wilson.
Rovers must now put this defeat behind them and focus on making another run of results, which im sure they will, starting with the away trip on Wednesday 2nd October to local rivals Southend Manor in the ESL.