AFC Totton
Photo courtesy of Oli Blackburn
By Eloise Doe
AFC Totton claimed three points at the Snows Stadium, beating Bath City by two goals to one.
In the 4th minute, Ashley Clarke received a perfect ball about 25-yards out and made a cracking strike into the net to give AFC Totton the lead.
By the 15th minute, the visitors’ forward players pushed towards goal on a quick counter-attack. A shot was taken, but a tight goal-line clearance was made by Ryan Gosney.
In the 17th minute, Christie Ward produced an outstanding strike, with the ball flying into the top left corner of the net to make it 2-0 to AFC Totton.
AFC Totton continued to dominate possession in the half. Linton made a brilliant turn in the box and slipped it through, but Bath City’s number one, Wiles-Richards, cleared it away.
Bath City were awarded a free kick in the 33rd minute, which was struck low and driven across the ground into the net, with Fisher getting the goal.
Within two minutes of additional time at the end of the half, a corner was awarded to the Stags. It was received by Merritt, who struck the ball towards goal, but it went well wide.
The half-time whistle was blown by referee Said Ouchene, with the Stags holding a 2-1 lead. At the break, AFC Totton made a substitution, with Rose being replaced by Jaiden Bartolo.
Bath City came out strong in the 50th minute, putting pressure on the Totton defence. They made confident passes towards the left-hand corner, before switching play to the right, where possession was eventually lost.
In the 68th minute, Bath City made a double substitution, with Fisher coming off for Matt Bowman, while Jordan Alves also entered the field.
As the game intensified, Lee won another free kick for the Stags after being brought down by the opposition. Tanner took the kick with his left foot, placing it into the box, but it was cleared.
AFC Totton then made a substitution, with number 11 Linton coming off to be replaced by number 9 Scott Rendell.
In the final minutes, Tony Lee received the ball from around 25-yards out and struck it towards Wiles-Richards, who dived to his right to make the save and concede a corner. Five additional minutes were announced at the end of the half.
The full-time whistle was blown, sealing an impressive 2-1 win for AFC Totton at the Snows Stadium.
AFC Totton XI: 13. Ryan Gosney, 2. Alfie Merritt, 7. Ash Clarke, 10. Tony Lee, 11. Malachi Linton (Scott Rendell 87'), 17. Declan Rose (Jaiden Bartolo 46'), 19. Christie Ward, 24. Vaughn Covil, 26. Tyler Cordner (C), 27. Craig Tanner, 28. Jacob Towns.
Unused subs: 4. Mike Carter, 22. Luke Bennett, 32. Dylan Andrews.
GO STAGS
