“I messaged Ezekiel because we had a midweek cup game and I wanted to check he was still available,” says Adam Fisher, manager of non‑league Hendon.
There was no reply. Then I found out what had happened.
Ezekiel Williams died in hospital on 2 November after sustaining head injuries in an incident in Milton Keynes. He was 26 years old.
Two men have been charged with his murder.
Known to friends as ‘Zekes’ and ‘Eze’, Williams was a familiar face in non‑league football, having played for Hastings United, Kettering Town and St Ives Town.
A midfielder, he joined Hendon in September and quickly earned a reputation as a humble, unassuming and generous individual with razor‑sharp wit.
His death has left the part‑time club based in Kingsbury, north‑west London, devastated.
“Nothing prepares you for something like this,” said Hendon chairman Cyrus Cooper in a BBC Sport interview. “We’re all human beings and the club is struggling to come to terms with what has happened.”
Hendon, who compete in the Isthmian League South Central Division (the eighth tier of English football), have not played since Williams’ death as players and staff mourn his loss.
On Saturday, twelve days after his death, they return to action at Bedfont Sports.
“Saturday is going to be so hard because Eze is going to be on our minds and what happened to him,” Hendon midfielder Tashae Andall‑Gibbons told BBC Sport.
“Everyone is distraught. Eze was only 26 and had his whole life ahead of him.”
Cooper added: “It’s going to be the first time the players put their kit on without Ezekiel being there.
I think there are going to be a lot of tears. It’s going to be an emotional day for everyone associated with Hendon Football Club.”
