It was a Saturday to remember for the Clapton CFC Men’s First Team, as they beat visitors Enfield Borough 3-2 to clinch a ninth straight league victory and finish the day top of the table.
CCFC began Saint Valentine’s Day hoping for a feast of goals to continue their impressive form since the turn of the year. Geoff Ocran’s side have notched nine successive league wins since 2026 began, transforming them from play-off hopefuls to genuine title contenders.
In contrast, the day’s opponents, Enfield Borough, have had a tough season. Although it must be said, the Panthers’ plight at the bottom of the table is as much a result of having as many as eleven games in hand as it is poor form.
CCFC started as you’d expect the division’s form team to. With barely a minute played, Julian Austin went close with a shot from the edge of the area, narrowly deflected wide. From there, the first fifteen minutes saw Clapton have plenty of the ball, without fashioning much in the way of clear-cut chances. Although a nasty clash of heads saw Junia Charlton down for several minutes and in need of treatment.
However, Enfield Borough clearly hadn’t read the form book. Or, if they had, weren’t cowed by it. With 19 minutes played, Borough’s big striker Steven Kabungwe raced onto a through ball and calmly slotted the ball under Jack Francis. It might have been against the run of play, but it was 1-0 Borough, and CCFC suddenly found themselves in a real battle for the points.
As has been the case a few times this season, conceding the first goal seemed to be the shot in the arm Clapton needed. Almost immediately, CCFC won a free kick just outside the Borough box. James Briggs swung it in and Sam Cook connected, only to see his header well saved by the keeper. Cook was first to the rebound, but Borough’s keeper was there again with another smart save.
Charlton’s afternoon ended at this point, after the earlier clash of heads left the centre back struggling to continue (get well soon, Junia). On came double-century man Dean Bouho for his 202nd appearance in a straight swap.
CCFC were pushing hard. First, Will Miller took advantage of some Enfield uncertainty as a defender tried to shepherd the ball out of play. Miller stole the ball from under the defender’s boot, jinked inside and lashed the ball centimetres over the stanchion from a tight angle. Then Cook did score, heading in from a Briggs corner, only to see the goal ruled out for a foul on the Borough keeper.
Yet for all CCFC’s pressure, things were about to get worse before they got better. Borough’s wideman wriggled into the box, went over a little softly and drew a penalty from referee Lewis Moore. The crowd complained and did their best to put Kabungwe off, but in vain. Up he stepped and calmly beat Francis for his second goal of the game. In fact he scored 10 days earlier and is the only player to have scored against us in the last eight games.
2-0 Enfield Borough and CCFC were staring down the barrel of a hugely disappointing defeat. However, this CCFC team is often at its best beating stacked odds. Seemingly strangely liberated, Clapton went on the attack. An Austin drive forced a brilliant save from Enfield’s keeper. Then, a minute or so later, a CCFC header crashed off the underside of the bar, bobbled about and somehow stayed out.
The breakthrough was coming. And, sure enough, on 43 minutes, Louis Brown delivered it. Some good work down the left saw the ball fall to Brown, whose shot rolled in off the right-hand upright. 2-1.
CCFC fans had barely finished celebrating the first goal when the equaliser arrived. Top scorer Fred Taylor saw his shot saved, Austin kept the ball in play and rolled the ball across the box to Brown, who had little to do but tap the ball into an empty net.
2-2 at the half-time whistle, and the Louis Brown edition of old East End favourite Knees up Mother Brown ringing around the ground.
The second half began with all the terrace chatter focused on the prospect of an unlikely comeback victory. But Borough weren’t beaten. Sighs of relief could be heard as a great chance was fired into the side netting.
Then, Francis came to the rescue after a loose pass in midfield set Borough on the break. Francis was off his line like a shot to clear, receiving a late challenge for his troubles. And on his 100th league appearance in a row as well.
In truth, though, it was CCFC looking more likely to take the lead. The lively Miller saw his shot across goal roll agonisingly wide of the post. The former Spurs and Burton Albion man has impressed since signing, but there was to be no third goal in as many games today.
Instead, Brown got his third, sealing a brilliant afternoon for the forward. A slightly hopeful punt forward found Brown in space. CCFC’s centre forward still had a lot to do, but coolly nodded the ball past the keeper, ran around him and tapped the ball into the unguarded net. 3-2 Clapton.
His hat-trick turned out to be Brown’s last action of the game. Off he came to an ovation that would have been standing if the Scaffold had seats, and on came Andre Odeku. The newly introduced Odeku could have made it four just a few minutes later. Taylor, who spent the day moonlighting as provider-in-chief, put in another good cross to the far post. Odeku headed it hard and true, but Borough’s keeper – excellent all game – got across to acrobatically block.
From that point on, the game largely petered out as a contest. Both teams received yellow cards, and Ocran made a raft of late subs to shore things up. As the game meandered to a close, the news began to travel around the ground that the result, coupled with leaders Hutton FC’s match postponement, would put CCFC top of the league. So it proved, as the referee called time, Ocran and his red and white team could celebrate their place at the top of the pile.
CCFC Men’s First Team are next in action away at 19th placed Dunmow Town at 7:45pm on Friday (February 19).
Rob Stafford
Photos
