AFC Totton
"STAGS ARE GOING UP! SAY, STAGS ARE GOING UP!" AFC TOTTON win play-Off final to claim their place in national league south
A SELL-OUT SNOWS STADIUM crowd witnessed a Play-Off Final to remember as AFC Totton clinched their place in the National League South courtesy of Ethan Taylor's second-half winner.
The Stags started the game in the driving seat. Ben Seymour had a great chance early on as he found space down the left-hand side, but his quick flash across the penalty area failed to threaten Gloucester's goal.
Totton did well to work it in from the right-hand side in the fifth minute, Seymour opting to dummy the ball and let it run across the box, but his smart thinking caught his Totton teammates unaware as much as it wrong-footed the Gloucester defence.
The home side were in the ascendancy and earned a free-kick to the left of Gloucester's penalty area. It was whipped in with venom by Craig Tanner and met with a glancing header by Ethan Taylor, which Tony Lee was unable to bundle home from beyond the far post.
17th minutes into the tie, winger Elis Watts beat Richard McIntyre down the Gloucester right before being brought down for a free-kick. Harry Pinchard whipped in a teasing ball, which was dealt with by the AFC Totton backline; the resulting corner posed no threat for The Stags.
In the 34th minute, Sam Magri came close to diverting a low, right-wing cross into his net from six yards out; Ryan Gosney was rooted to the spot and could only watch as the ball trickled wide for a left-wing corner.
As the first half was coming to an end, Totton gained a free-kick in a dangerous position, earned by Lee harrassing The Tigers' man mountain defender Ben Richards-Everton into committing a foul to the left of the visitors' box. Tanner's cross ricocheted off two players near the penalty spot before falling to Taylor, who blasted over the crossbar.
Shortly into the second half, Totton captain Scott Rendell was slow to his feet after a poor tackle from behind in the centre-circle, for which Gloucester skipper Kevin Dawson received a yellow card. Rendell was able to continue after a brief stop in play to receive treatment.
By 55 minutes, Totton were beginning to get the upper-hand once more. An awkward bounce caused confusion in the Gloucester box; goalkeeper Jared Thompson reacted quickest and claimed the ball before Seymour could pounce on the loose ball.
Gloucester's best chance came in the 66th minute, when Harry Pinchard took advantage of a loose pass across The Stags' back four to race through on goal down the middle; Gosney reacted quickly to smother the chance on the very edge of his area and save the blushes of his defenders.
It proved to be a crucial stop, because Totton took the lead just four minutes later. Gosney's ground kick struck a white shirt in the centre-circle but Magri was alive to it and lifted the ball forward for Lee to cushion a side-foot volley into the path of Ethan TAYLOR, who had stolen in behind The Tigers' defence to dink a composed finish past Thompson from 10 yards.
Roddy Collins was booked shortly after the restart, as he tried to prevent Gloucester getting on the front foot. Then, Seymour latched onto Rendell's through-ball down the right to centre with a low cross that had defenders falling over the ball in front of Thompson, before they eventually scrambled it clear.
Gloucester pressed, Watts looking the most potent threat with his ability to run at players frim the right wing. A succession of corners and free-kicks from wide areas were dealt with by the Totton defence, then Taylor was booked for a foul just outside the box from which substitute Brandon Smalley curled over the bar.
Gkoucester continued to probe, looking for a way back into the tie, but despite having to endure a nervy end to their 2024/25 campaign, AFC Totton held their nerve and their clean sheet to secure promotion to Step 2 for the first time in the club's entire 139-year history.
Full-Time: AFC TOTTON 1-0 GLOUCESTER CITY
Attendance: TBC
Star Man: Ethan TAYLOR (AFC Totton)
Entertainment Value: 4/5
Author: Ashley Whiteway
Copy Editor: Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Harvey Gerring
Watch JIMMY BALL'S Post-Match Interview
Watch ETHAN TAYLOR'S Post-Match Interview
