26 Dec 2025 15:00 • Enterprise National League South

Photo courtesy of Fin Hall

By Josh Cole

It was a Boxing Day defeat for The Stags away at a cold and dismal Salisbury.

Totton made a promising start to the game, entering Salisbury’s final third pretty often but creating no such clear-cut chance.

From the 15^th minute onwards though it was Salisbury with the momentum and were playing free flowing football.

The third man runs from The Whites were hurting Totton as they struggled to follow their men, and this lead to the first goal of the game.

A mix up at the back allowed Mo Dabre to run unmarked into the box and square the ball to Josh Hedges who just tapped into the empty net in the 27^th minute.

Totton had huge shouts of a handball as we approached the 40^th minute of the game, and they can count themselves very unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty.

At half-time there was a lot of work for jimmy Ball and the coaching staff to do to turn the game into our favour, because it was a half solely dominated by Salisbury.

Whatever was said, did work initially as Totton came out a much brighter side at the start of the second half and managed to grab the equaliser on the 47^th minute!

The first real bit of energy in possession for The Stags ended in AFC Totton fashioning a chance down the right side, Tony Lee at the forefront and he found Craig Tanner on the edge of the box who curled the ball into the top corner for his first Totton goal!

Momentum was now in Totton’s favour, and they were starting to take touches more often than kicking the ball long, and it was working to get higher up the pitch.

But as the game passed the 60^th minute, tensions were flaring and Lee was involved, having already been booked he was taken off as we didn’t want to go down to ten-men.

Unfortunately this was the moment where the second half shifted back into the favour of Salisbury and it was looking like a return to the first half.

On the 75^th minute Noah Coppin fired a ferocious shot in at the near post to re-establish their lead.

With their one-goal lead restored once more, they were smart and ran the clock down until they got forward once more in the 91^st minute, where they were awarded a penalty.

Dec Rose swiped at a cross into the box, it hit his arm and the referee didn’t even think about it, and pointed to the spot. Hedges stepped up for his second and buried it.

That would be that, a disappointing day in Wiltshire to say the least.