On a good day, it will take you 40 minutes to get from Enfield to the Harlow Arena in Hertfordshire – something Enfield 1893 players have had to get used to.
The nomadic team were formed out of Enfield FC more than 10 years ago and have played their home games in Broxbourne, Ware, Brimsdown and, since 2014, Harlow.
Life on the road might get some down but try telling that Enfield 1893 chairman Steve Whittington who has been at the helm for 14 years and is still upbeat about the club’s prospects.
"We’ve had some ups and downs," he said. "One of the blows was coming out of Enfield but we go on regardless.
"We’ve been to Ware, Broxbourne and now Harlow. It’s very hard because we haven’t got a financial income as we have to pay rent.
"We cannot get help because we’re not in the borough. But we play for total enjoyment and total fun. We don’t get big crowds but there’s a lot of fun involved. We’re really enjoying it at the moment.
"Someday we might be able to get back to Enfield. That would be fantastic but since I took over, the ambition is to keep the club going and I can’t see that changing."
Enfield 1893 head to Tower Hamlets in the Buildbase FA Vase second round having edged out Coggeshall Town in the extra time in the previous round.
In its previous form, the club made it as far as The FA Cup fourth round before finally bowing out to Barnsley, and Whittington hopes there’s another magic cup run just around the corner.
He said: "The ambition is just to be happy. The highlights have been just keeping the club going and the runs like we’re on now is fantastic. Hopefully we can keep going for a few more rounds and then who knows, something special might happen."
E’s manager Matt Hanning added: "We’re a close-knit club and the lads have been fantastic so far in this run. Who knows how far we’ll go but everyone is loving this run, it has been pretty dramatic.
"The run has given us a lot of confidence. We haven’t won an awful lot of cup matches in recent years so it’s good for the supporters. The directors and chairman have worked incredibly hard to keep the club going.
"I’ve had supporters texting me saying they can’t wait for the game so there’s a feel good factor. It is hard to keep a fanbase when you’re not in the borough but some fans have remained loyal and hopefully we can repay that."
Buildbase FA Vase history
Since reforming in 2007, Enfield 1893 have made it to the fourth round of the competition on two occasions, with the most recent coming in 2012-13 season where they were knocked out by Ampthill Town 3-0.
Meanwhile, Tower Hamlets have never made it beyond the second round having lost to West Midlands Police in 1994.
Did you know?
In their former guise, Enfield reached the fourth round of the 1981 FA Cup, where they lost to Barnsley in a replay played at White Hart Lane.
The prize
The winner of this second round clash will pocket £900 with the losers taking home £300 for their efforts.
