AFC Totton
VENUE: Stan Robinson Stadium, Silver Street, Willand, Cullompton, Exeter EX15 2RG
To book your Coach Ticket, call StagsTravel on 07540 124 719
STRUGGLING WILLAND ROVERS prepare to entertain title-chasing AFC Totton on Saturday, hoping to upset the odds and turnaround the worst current run of form among all 20 clubs in the Southern League Div.1 South.
Although their start to the season had been largely inconsistent, when The Devon All-Whites lost 0-2 at Sholing on Saturday 19 November, they still held a solid midtable position having won five and lost four of their opening 15 matches of the 2022/23 league campaign. But fast forward three months and the Silver Street outfit are currently on a run of just one win in their last 12 league games, during which they have picked up only six from a possible 36 points.
The defeat at the Imperial Homes Stadium was followed by single-goal losses at Westbury United and AFC Totton, when Matty Burrows scored the only goal of the game as his teammates spurned several chances to extend the lead on a hard pitch that had only just passed the pre-match inspection. Willand bounced back with a 3-1 home win over Devon rivals Tavistock AFC on Christmas Eve but, since then, they have suffered defeat at the hands of Lymington Town, Bishop’s Cleeve, Bristol Manor Farm, Bashley and Evesham United, while managing to eek a point-a-piece out of Exmouth Town, Hamworthy United and in the return match at home to The Mitres.
Willand now find themselves hovering three places above the drop zone, just above Lymington Town whose five wins in that same 12-game period suggest they could be about to climb above Rovers as the relegation dogfight heats up going into the final third of the season. The goalscoring prowess of striker Owen Howe will give Bristol Manor Farm reason to be optimistic for their chances of getting out of trouble, which would leave Willand to duke it out with Cinderford Town, who are also in poor recent form, and Slimbridge AFC whose games in-hand will provide some hope that they can still escape the drop to Step 5.
Prior to scoring the goal for Bristol Manor Farm that might well have sealed the deal on his recent switch to the Snows Stadium, new AFC Totton winger Marcus Day had previously last found the back of the net during The Farmy Army’s 2-1 home win over Willand Rovers at the end of January. Skilful winger Douglas Camilo’s consolation goal on the day is one of seven he has scored in the league this season, putting him one ahead of strikers Lewis Hill and Oliver Bray who have six goals each, although half of Bray’s haul came in the same game, the 4-0 thrashing of Bristol Manor Farm in the season’s first meeting between the two sides at Silver Street in mid-November.
WINGER-WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Matty Burrows slots home what proved to be the only goal of the game in AFC Totton's home win over Willand Rovers in December.
We have records of five previous meetings between AFC Totton and Willand Rovers, and The Stags have won all five of them. On last season’s midweek visit to Silver Street, Ethan Taylor put Totton ahead within 40 seconds of the kick-off when Adam Tomasso returned a half-clearance to put the Totton No.10 through on goal. Hisham Kasimu’s brace had put the result beyond all doubt by six minutes into the second half, but Taylor added another with a rare header to convert Ben Jefford’s left-wing cross. Thomas Bath pulled one back for the hosts four minutes before the end with a classic centre-forward’s header from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Stags face a difficult week with a Thursday night Southampton Senior Cup tie at troubled Wessex League Premier Division outfit Alresford Town just two days before they make the journey to Devon to take on Willand Rovers, although they will then enjoy a full week’s rest before they entertain Bashley in next weekend’s New Forest Derby. The defeat at Sholing on 07 February put an end to an unbeaten run of 16 league matches, but Jimmy Ball’s men will be looking to build another similarly successful long streak at Silver Street, where they’ll hope to make it four consecutive victories following the 1-0 success at Paulton Rovers, the 3-1 win at Exmouth Town and last Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 home win over midtable Melksham Town.
It's currently unknown who will feature prominently at Alresford on Thursday night, but new signing Marcus Day could be in line for his AFC Totton league debut at Willand on Saturday afternoon, while Matty Burrows will also want to return to the starting line-up after having been named on the substitutes’ bench in both of the last two games. Conor Whiteley, who like Burrows recently completed a three-game suspension, is also in contention for his first league start since being sent off at Bishop’s Cleeve on 03 December.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
