Redbridge started the game brightly with Vinnie Durrant looking a threat early on. The winger clearly looked in confident mood following his winner away to Ware on Saturday and had an early shot go wide. Down the other end James May comfortably saved from Enfield skipper Mark Kirby as the visitors began to press forward.

Nathan Gordon was making his first start since joining Redbridge in the summer and he was linking up well with Ryan Murray up front. Gordon who had previously played in the division for Tilbury and local rivals Ilford saw a shot blocked early on and looked particularly impressive with his hold-up play.

Dan Trenkel was working hard in midfield for Redbridge and he had a good effort sail wide of Rob Blackbourne’s post just after the 20-minute mark. Down the other end, Trenkel was adjuged to have fouled Stuart Blackburne inside the area with the referee awarding a penalty. Enfield’s no.9 stepped up and coolly slotted the spot-kick down the middle to put the visitors ahead.

Town to their credit upped the tempo and with their wingers Emmanuel Osei and Adam Wallace looking dangerous almost doubled their lead before half time. Fine play by Osei down the right saw the gangly winger skip past Aarun Best only for Blackbourne to narrowly head over the wideman’s cross.

HT Redbridge 0 Enfield 1

After half-time one of the key no-no’s that any manager wants to see happen is for his team to concede a goal straight away at the restart. Frustratingly for Spillane, Redbridge didn’t concede just one goal immediately after the restart but incredibly two.

Firstly with fans still scuttling back to their seats after the interval, Blackburne scored his second of the game curling home nicely past May inside the area on 47 minutes.

With the home defence still rocking, Enfield made it 3-0 two minutes later when Dave Kendall looped in a shoot from an Osei corner. A reaction was needed by Spillane’s side in order to not only avoid embarrassment but to put some pressure on the hosts who must have felt that the game was already won.

Amazingly within four minutes the Motormen had pulled it back to 3-2 through two goals from Gordon. The fist came when the forward lashed home a shot at the back post after Trenkel’s header from a long throw-in by Billy Sendall fell into his path on 54 minutes. Gordon’s second came when he raced onto a mistimed backpass by McKay and slotted the ball under Rob Blackburne in goal to the delight of the home supporters.

Enfield then had a great chance to make it 4-2 but somehow Osei saw a close range effort blocked by Jonathan Wheatstone inside the area and then incredibly saw his shot on the rebound hacked off the line by Sendall who again was skippering the Motormen in absence of Glen Golby.

Incredibly on their next attack, Redbridge equalised. Good play from Vinnie Durrant and Tommy Spillane out wide on the left saw Redbridge win a throw-in. Alike Gordon’s first goal, Enfield couldn’t defend Sendall’s long throw into the area which saw Murray flick the ball on for Gordon who headed the ball back across goal for Trenkel to head home to the shock of Enfield’s supporters.

Startlingly that was the fourth goal scored by Redbridge from a Sendall throw-in already this season and the second in the game. The goal seemed to imply that Redbridge had all the momentum and that after being 3-0 down, it would be the hosts that would go 4-3 up if a seventh goal was to be scored in the game.

Amazingly another long throw-in by that man Sendall almost put Redbridge in the lead but Trenkel’s header inside the area went wide of both the far post and the un-marked Gordon who was waiting to pounce for a chance to grab his hat-trick.

Sadly for Spillane and his coaching staff, it was to be Enfield who were to grab the game’s seventh goal as poor defending saw the visitors win a corner, which resulted in Kirby drilling home a shot past May after beating his marker Murray to the ball.

Redbridge looked to get a second equaliser but Enfield held out and after several near misses grabbed a fifth to complete the scoring when Wallace drilled home from three yards out after Kriby and Dave Kendall had saw shots blocked.

Incredibly the Motormen in injury-time almost grabbed the game’s ninth goal of the game but Ben Bradbury and substitute Kieran Bishop saw efforts go over. It had been a good comeback by the hosts but there was no doubt that it was a game that the Motormen should not have lost after getting back on level-terms, but that’s football for you.

Redbridge: James May, Billy Sendall, Tommy Spillane, Aarun Best (Jamie Haywood 69), Jonathan Wheatstone, Dan Trenkel, Ben Bradbury, Nathan Gordon, Ryan Murray (Kieran Bishop 79), John Bricknell (Mitchell Das 85), Vinnie Durrant.

After the game I caught up with our manager Terry Spillane and got his thoughts on what turned out to be a highly-eventful match. To hear the interview in full go to http://www.mediafire.com/?mkgwoj2uubjfjlc and download the interview.