A young Enfield side suffered a 13-9 (1-3, 3-5, 1-3, 4-2) home defeat to Poly in their opening Middlesex League fixture on Wednesday.

The central London side started with experienced veterans Richard Hime and Gary Simons, and they ultimately made the difference by combining for eight of Poly’s goals.

For the hosts, there were some excellent individual performances, with the likes of Frazer Briers and Sina Dehnadi shining in defence.

Enfield Water Polo Club

As the game started, Enfield soon fell behind and despite a well-taken equaliser by Andy Poore, Poly were 3-1 up at the end of the first.

In the second quarter, the hosts battled back with brothers Nikos and Costas Chamalidis both hitting the target.

Tom Mendham also found the net for Enfield, but five Poly goals gave the visitors a commanding 8-4 lead at the half.

Enfield struggled in the third and conceded three more before Adrian Lo fired home from deep to make it 5-11.

Goals from Poore, Mendham, Lo and Costas Chamalidis was enough to give Poly a brief scare in the fourth, but two strikes of their own sealed a 13-9 away win.

Enfield’s next Middlesex Water Polo League fixure is at home to Penguin on Wednesday, 13 May, 9pm start.

Before the Poly game, a one-minute silence was perfectly observed in memory of Enfield water polo legend Ken Hall, who passed away last weekend.

A minute silence was held for Enfield legend Ken Hall

Ken’s sons Richard and Chris were both on the poolside and his favoured No.4 cap was also presented to Richard on the night.

Enfield team: Andy Boorman, Costas Chamalidis (2), Martin Waller, Nikos Chamalidis (1), Max Roberts, Andy Poore (2), Chris Waller, Sina Dehnadi, Frazer Briers, Tony Matthews, Adrian Lo (2), Tom Mendham (2) & Giles Owens