Stow 2-1 Enfield

Stow picked up another crucial three points against promotion rivals Enfield, who included no fewer than eight former Stow players in their squad, in addition to four more who were out of action. In a tight match which could have gone either way, it was Callum Ibe – who had a spell at Enfield at the start of the season – who scored a decisive winner with 93 minutes played.

Stow opened the game brightly, but were dealt an early blow when Harrison Carnegie was forced off injured, with just nine minutes on the clock. His replacement, Timi Ogunrinde, almost made an immediate impact, firing narrowly wide with his first touch in a Stow shirt.

The pressure on the Enfield goal continued, with Charlie Cole heading just over from an Adalberto Pinto cross, and then Cole firing just wide when a loose ball fell to him in the box.

Stow’s efforts paid off with half an hour played, as Ogunrinde unleashed an unstoppable volley into the bottom corner past Jake Alley. The finish was particularly impressive for the way Ogunrinde controlled the loose ball which dropped from high in the air.

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As the first half came to an end, Enfield began to come into the game a bit more. Kieran Bishop fired straight at Amarildo Cekrezi from a tight angle, and the visitors were then awarded a very dubious penalty when Roman Michael-Percil appeared to trip on the ball in the box. However, Dwade James put the penalty wide of Cekrezi’s left-hand post.

Enfield started the second half as they finished the first, and were soon awarded a second penalty, which Michael-Percil put away after being taken down in the box.

The visiting side were enjoying a lot more time on the ball, and Bishop almost made it count, but JJ Da Cruz was in the perfect place to block Bishop’s shot after he had beaten three players in a mazy run.

Enfield were temporarily down to ten men when keeper Jake Alley was sin-binned for throwing the ball at the referee, but the Es managed the game well and stopped Stow getting a meaningful shot at temporary keeper Ryan Ramsay.

But with 93 minutes on the clock, Callum Ibe ghosted into the Enfield penalty area, getting on the end of Samir Bihmoutine’s perfect cross to spark wild celebrations both on and off the pitch. For Enfield, it was their third defeat in three games, and the second given up by an injury-time winner in four days.

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