Enfield suffered a disappointing 12-11 (3-4, 1-4, 5-0, 2-4) home defeat to Watford on Wednesday as their London League Division Two winning run came to an end.
The result sees Enfield remain second in the table and four points behind title favourites Watford.
With both teams missing key players, the first quarter got off to cagey start at Southgate.
Enfield twice took the lead early on – once through captain Rob Threadgold and then Andy Rollé, but Watford fought back to level on both occasions and then moved 3-2 in front.
Veteran Italian and former Posillipo star Claudio Palumbo replied for Enfield with a delicate finish, but the visitors had the final say to take a 4-3 advantage at the end of the first.
Enfield’s Andy Poore
The second quarter was one to forget for the hosts as only Andy Poore managed to find the target from a well-worked man-up.
Watford then began to show their superiority and struck four times to take control of the match and an 8-4 lead at the half.
In the third, goalkeeper Andy Boorman blocked everything Watford threw at him, while Rob Lucas (2), Richard Waller and Stefano Cortellini (2) fired in to put Enfield 9-8 ahead going into the final period.
Waller then hit his second of the night and Lucas completed his hat-trick to edge Enfield 11-9 in front with just over three minutes remaining.
Watford refused to lie down though and soon levelled the scores at 11-11 before winning the game under controversial circumstances just before the final buzzer.
Confusion between the home table and referees saw one Watford-winning effort ruled out before the final few seconds were allowed to be replayed – and when they hit the net again, a goal was given.
Enfield 1sts next London Water Polo Division Two game is away to Avondale on Monday, 7 September, 9pm start.
Enfield team in full and scorers v Watford: Andy Boorman, Andy Poore (1), Andy Rollé (1), Stefano Cortellini (2), Richard Waller (2), Tony Matthews, Tom Mendham, Craig Snowdon, Rob Threadgold (1), Rob Lucas (3), Claudio Palumbo (1) & Martin Ilievski.
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(As it stands on Wednesday, 12 August 2015)
| P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watford Mens 2s | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 122 | 78 | 44 | 25 | |
| 2 | Enfield Mens 1s | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 109 | 80 | 29 | 21 | |
| 3 | Reading Mens 1s | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 59 | 14 | 16 | |
| 4 | Avondale Mens 2s | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 85 | 96 | -11 | 14 | |
| 5 | Sutton & Cheam Mens 2s | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 71 | 89 | -18 | 12* | |
| 6 | Whitgift Trinity Mens 1s | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 63 | 83 | -20 | 9 | |
| 7 | Beckenham Mens 2s | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 77 | -38 | 8* |
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ENFIELD TOP GOALSCORERS
– DIV 2 – Summer 2015
1. Charlie Briers – 27
2. Rob Lucas – 16
3. Richard Waller – 15
4. Andy Rollé – 12
5. Alex Waller – 11
6. Stefano Cortellini – 5
7. Craig Snowdon – 4
8. Rob Threadgold – 4
9. Tom Mendham – 3
10. Andy Poore – 1
11. Claudio Palumbo – 1
+10 goals awarded to Enfield after Beckenham 2nds and Sutton both failed to raise a team