AFC Totton
By Josh Cole
It was defeat in North Somerset for The Stags, losing by a scoreline of 1-0 against Weston-super-Mare.
The opening exchanges were cagey but it was The Seagulls who were creating the better openings.
On 15 minutes Ryan Gosney was called into action and pulled off a magnificent save to deny Ollie Dewsbury, tipping his header from the six-yard box over the bar.
But just four minutes later, the aforementioned Dewsbury put the home side in front after the corner fell nicely to him and through so many bodies his shot found its way into the net.
On 26 minutes it continued to be all Weston-super-Mare as Luke Coulson flashed a free-kick just whiskers past Ryan Gosney’s far post.
After the 30th minute Totton started to gain and control possession, but with the 1-0 scoreline, Weston were happy to allow the likes of Gosney, Luke Hallett and Tyler Cornder to exchange passes deep in their own territory.
Going into half-time, The Stags hadn’t tested Max Harris at all really in the Weston goal.
The second half response from Totton was instant, playing at a much quicker pace than in the first half.
In the 51st minute, Alfie Merritt found Vaughn Covil on the edge but his shot ended up rolling towards Harris.
Three minutes later a Craig Tanner corner was met by the head of Cordner but it header was blocked as it was destined goalwards.
The pace of play was a lot better from The Stags in the second half than the first half again, struggled to create that clear cut chance throughout the game.
AFC Totton’s real successes came attacking down the right-hand side using Hallett as a wide centre-back and playing it down the line for Ash Clarke but it was the final third play that was halting The Stags
No such chance came for The Stags and Weston grinded out the win and the three points on home soil.
We’ll be back away from home again on Saturday as we travel to Hemel Hempstead.
AFC Totton XI: 13. Ryan Gosney, 2. Alfie Merritt (Dan O’Connor 61’), 5. Luke Hallett, 7. Ash Clarke, 10. Tony Lee (Vaughn Covil 46’), 11. Malachi Linton (Jaiden Bartolo 61’), 12. Charlie Osborne, 17. Dec Rose (Sam Tinubu 87’), 26. Tyler Cordner (C), 27. Craig Tanner (Luke Bennett 87’), & 28. Jacob Towns.
Attendance: 806
GO STAGS
