The 17-year-old joined our Academy in the Under-8s and after progressing through the ranks is now entering his second season of full-time football.
A member of our Under-17 Premier League Cup-winning side in 2024/25, he turned professional in October last year.
After reaching over 500 participants in Auckland, the SFD team - Jason Pedulla, Shannon Moloney, Tyler Blackwood and Jimmy Martin - delivered another 12 sessions in Sydney - taking participation numbers to over 1,400 in two weeks.
Reflecting on the SFD team's time in Sydney, Jason Pedulla, Football Development Manager, said: "The last seven days have been an amazing experience for our department.
"The NSW football community have made us feel incredibly welcome and their passion for the game is evident from administrators, coaches and teachers through to players and parents."
Here are some of the highlights from our Football Development team in Sydney...
• 3 x sessions with the Sydney FC Academy (U20s, U15s, U13s)
• Session with partner school Pymble Ladies College in conjunction with Nike
• Combined coach education and football development session with partner schools Pymble Ladies College and Trinity Grammar (Trinity travelled from Melbourne to take part)
• Coach Education Session with Football NSW (120 coaches in attendance)
• Session with the Football NSW Future Sapphires Squad (Elite Female Players aged 15-16)
• School Engagement Sessions with St. Pius X College & Kingsgrove Public School
• Session in partnership with AIA for students at an AIA Healthier School
• Session with OzSpurs - our Australia OSC
• Coach education and practical session with students at the Australian College of Physical Education
• Community Club engagement session with 30 female players from Concord Junior Soccer Club
Jason added: "As much as we aim to develop the technical ability of the players during our sessions, they have also energised us through their love of the game and willingness to learn. We hope that every player has taken something away from our sessions that helps them to reach their potential as footballers."
All SFD sessions are tailored to give players and coaches an insight into the Club’s coaching philosophy, which is renowned for developing world class players through our own technical DNA.
A regular fixture on the calendar in recent years, the match always proves particularly popular among fans in the club’s locality with a chance to enjoy watching some of our talented young players live and in person ahead of the new campaign.
Wayne Burnett’s squad flew back from their week-long training camp in Spain on Sunday, with all eyes now on the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium – just a stone’s throw from our Training Centre – for their next test.
Tickets are on sale online in advance via Enfield Town’s website or at the ground on the night, subject to availability.
Rejoining us from Reading in the summer of 2021, after a spell in our Academy as an Under-10, Molly went on to make 114 appearances for us in all competitions, becoming an important figure, both on and off the pitch.
Becoming a Spur centurion in March, 2025, the 30-year-old has certainly enjoyed some memorable moments in a Lilywhite shirt, where she was part of the squad that reached our first-ever Women’s FA Cup final in May, 2024.
Wearing the captain’s armband on numerous occasions over the last few seasons, the experienced defender also championed a lot of work away from the pitch, raising awareness around the importance of mental health.
Check out the gallery below as we bid farewell to Molly after five seasons at the Club…
Saturday marked three weeks until our 2026/27 opener at Brentford (22 August, 5.30pm UK) – and we continued preparations by beating Chelsea 2-1 with 10 men in the Sydney Super Cup.
Sandro scored his first goal in Lilywhite at the Accor Stadium, capping an impressive display that saw us defend stoutly after going down to 10 men on 49 minutes before Richarlison tapped home the winner with the last kick of the game.
Asked if he was happy with preparations so far, Sandro told us: “Yes, of course. We keep building our team every day to play in the best shape, to play our best football, not just in the game, but every single day at the training ground.
“Every day we put 110% of our concentration on the pitch to do our best, to do my best, and my team-mates as well.
“I saw a top player in this team every pass, every tackle, every minute in training. We want to keep going every single day until the first game in the Premier League, because it's not just for our fans, but for all these players last season and two seasons ago, it was tough for them, and I think we have to understand that we have to put everything on the pitch to win every game, and I think this is the right way.”
Asked about the win against Chelsea, he added: “After the first contact with Joao Pedro, Lucas Bergvall and Conor Gallagher, we changed everything on the pitch, because we started like a friendly game, but after five minutes, it was like a battle, every tackle, every pass, every shot.
“After five minutes, I spoke with Ben Davies. He was really aggressive when he spoke with me, and I understood, after one second, how important it was today.
“Then, after the red card, I think we put 10% more on the pitch to win this game. I think we played very well, we played with 100% concentration on the pitch. It was a little bit tough to play today, it was not perfect, but if you put all the passion on the pitch, you don't have excuses. I think we played very well. We are happy.”
He’d just overseen a spirited performance from his young squad against Spanish third-tier side Algeciras CF, one which had seen them deal with all manner of challenges – from battling through a scrappy spell amid taunting howls and whistles from the near 1,000-strong partisan home crowd at the end of the first period to conceding directly from a wide set-piece after the break, from recapturing our attacking rhythm and deservedly equalising later in the contest to winning an energy-sapping penalty shootout on an already sweltering evening in the port city overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar.
It was a great pre-season test against senior opponents and one that came at the end of a gruelling week’s training at a picturesque resort in nearby Cadiz.
For Wayne, there was a lot to ponder as dusk turned into night on the continent.
“It was a very good experience for our young players to come here and play in a stadium like this which was hostile at times – they dealt with it very well,” he said.
“It’s been a tough week – really tough. Not only with the intensity but also the climate, which has been extremely warm. It’s not just about the training – the players have spent time in each other’s company and it’s important that that happens because it builds and develops teams and you get connections. It’s nice to see the players develop. We’ve got some individuals that are new to this group, so it’s been nice to spend some time in each other’s company. It accelerates connections and relationships and I think we’ve done that this week.”
While Wayne spoke, goalscorer Miracle Adewole sprinted widths of the pitch in near-darkness as part of his warm-down, while captain Alfie Dorrington took receipt of the Virgen de la Palma Trophy in recognition of the team’s triumph, promptly presenting it to 17-year-old goalkeeper Farren Doran whose heroics in the penalty shootout, where he saved three of the hosts’ spot-kicks on his first appearance at Under-21 level, saw the team emerge victorious.
The game itself had finished in bad light – temperatures were nearing 40 degrees with the humidity and haze at kick-off but with only the floodlights at one end of the pitch working in the second period as dusk enveloped the stadium, the players were presented with an extra visual challenge in the closing stages of the game. Needless to say, the penalties were taken at the illuminated end, with many local youngsters waving and whistling from behind the goal – yet another test of character for our lads.
“In the opening stages we looked bright with some good passages of play,” assessed Wayne. “They couldn’t get out of their half because our press was really good, we were sustaining pressure but then towards the end of the first half we were penalised for some challenges that were deemed to have crossed the line a little bit, that riled the crowd, shifted the momentum slightly and took us out of our rhythm. I said to the players at half-time that you have to be really careful, especially when you come to European clubs, that you make sure you don’t give them anything that could swing the game into their favour or anything that shifts momentum.
“I think that happened for a bit, but in probably the latter part of the second half we started to get a grip of the game. I thought our second goal was onside (Reiss Elliott-Parris had somewhat harshly had an effort ruled out for offside shortly after Adewole’s equaliser), but it goes to penalties and you have young players stepping up – it’s a moment for them, isn’t it? Some of them seized that moment and did very well.”
Earlier on Saturday, back at the training resort some 50 kilometres away, just prior to the team coach embarking on a long and winding 45-minute journey down steep, narrow roads and through some wonderful scenery en route to the stadium, Wayne had held his usual pre-match team meeting. With a number of regular Under-21 campaigners away on the first team tour of New Zealand and Australia and some youngsters stepping up from the Under-18s, there were several fresh faces in the group and as he addressed them, the 54-year-old spoke about making memories.
“I thought the young players acquitted themselves excellently, coming into a new environment, not only in terms of the match but all week,” he continued. “I said to the players before the game that football is about moments, they’re the things that you’ll remember throughout your career, and I think one or two of them had moments tonight. Farren Doran… I’m very pleased for him, he’s trained very well all week, he deserved his chance to come in and play and he saved three penalties which was fantastic, then young Cam Thomas has come on, he’s taken the last penalty and he’s stepped up and dispatched it very well, so I’m really pleased for all the young players – we had a lot of them on show tonight. I’m pleased for the staff, too. It’s been a really good week, it’s been hard work, the players have been really committed, we’ve had a lot of intense training sessions and they’ve come through them really well.”
Having arrived via Gibraltar’s tiny airport last week, the squad stayed and held their daily training sessions in a hilly area of Andalusia, at a golf and spa facility occupying high ground that was fully exposed to the baking sunshine. Appearing almost like a mini village set on multiple levels with white buildings and orange tiled floors, surrounded by beautiful golf fairways and overlooking fields of brown, yellow and green for miles around, the venue had character and served an important purpose – to take the players out of their comfort zone and into unfamiliar surroundings.
The walk from the main part of the complex that housed the residence patios to the training pitches took about six minutes along a winding footway adjacent to the first tee of the golf course, with the 362-metre fairway stretching tightly past some lakes on the left and away in front of you as far as the eye could see. You’d need a good line to play it – as some of the travelling party did during a rare few hours of downtime on Thursday. As you turned right through a small woodland clearing, the training pitches appeared in front of you on lower ground, with a modern gym facility with a fully-opening glass façade overlooking them.
It was a well-trodden route over the course of the week, with players sometimes heading out there to train or use the gym two or three times a day before plotting their way back, each time drenched in sweat. The place was abuzz with support staff ensuring the boys had everything they needed to perform – something that was clearly appreciated by them all. As is routine for Wayne and the staff, no detail was left unaddressed, right down to a key reminder sent out on the WhatsApp group just before departure for the game on Saturday from the team nutritionist, who underlined the importance of proper hydration and fuelling with the potential for some young athletes to lose up to two kilograms of fluids during an intense match in 30-plus degree heat. These are young professional players – they knew that anyway – but the reminder is an illustration of the care and attention our staff give to the players around the clock in order to help them optimise their performance levels.
“We emphasise the point that we’re here to work,” added Wayne as he summarised the week. “We’ve sometimes trained double and triple sessions during the week and it was only right that we had a small amount of downtime and rest – some of the group enjoyed a round of golf on Thursday. But the emphasis is that we’re here to work and that’s what they did. I’m really pleased because it’s been a tough week but a purposeful and worthwhile trip for us all.”
Richarlison was there when it mattered with a tap in with the last kick of the game at the Accor Stadium, where 80,363 packed the iconic home of the 2000 Olympics.
That doesn’t tell the whole story though, as we played the final 42 minutes with 10 men following Kevin Danso’s sending off for bringing down Joao Pedro as he went through on goal. Our 10 men impressed – Antonin Kinsky produced a number of outstanding saves – before Richy’s moment.
Earlier, Sandro Tonali scored his first goal for us before Estevao levelled.
It means we remain unbeaten in pre-season with 2-0 wins against MK Dons before we travelled Down Under and Auckland FC in New Zealand before beating Sydney FC on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Speaking to us after an impressive display against Chelsea, Roberto reflected: “I'm happy for a lot of things. First of all, because we have spent a very important 10 days together. We worked very well.
“I'm happy to work with these players. I'm looking forward to work with the other players they are in London - Bentancur, Pape SARR, Senesi, Kudus. I think Kudus almost ready to work with us.
“We played very well in the first half. In the second half, the red card changed the game for us and for Chelsea as well. For us, we couldn't play like we are working. For them, attacking against 10 players behind the line of the ball, especially in this condition of the pitch, in this physical condition, in the second half with a lot of fatigue, I think it was bad for both teams.
“It's important to change the habits, because our habits in the last two seasons have been not good in terms of results. It's important for us to win the game, to win the duels, to win the second ball and to play well in every position of the pitch. Yes, a very good 10 days.”
