AFC Totton
A big game against Eastleigh in the Semi-Final of the Hampshire Senior Cup Tuesday 08 March - don't miss this one! Tickets on sale now: afctotton.ticketco.events/uk/en
Given the season they are currently enduring, it remains to be seen whether Vanarama National League side Eastleigh will regard a mid-March Hampshire Senior Cup Semi-Final against historic local rivals AFC Totton as a welcome change of pace or a fixture they need like a hole in the head.
The Spitfires, who parted company with manager Ben Strevens in late-January, are currently on a run of 11 matches without a win in all competitions, which has left their hopes of making the promotion play-offs in tatters as they now sit in 15th place. Lee Bradbury, the former Portsmouth and AFC Bournemouth striker, has just left his post as Assistant Head Coach at Crawley Town to fill the Silverlake Stadium vacancy and one of his first tasks will be to decide just how strong a team to field against the Stags.
There were several departures from the first team squad during the transfer window but the recent arrival at the Silverlake Stadium of veteran 34-year-old striker Brett Pitman, who lists AFC Bournemouth, Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth, Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers among his former clubs, has been one cause for encouragement.
While their National League form has been spluttering, they haven’t fared much better in the cups. They needed a replay to see off the challenge of Folkestone Invicta in an FA Cup Qualifying tie, but then fell at the 1st Round hurdle with a 0-2 defeat at fellow National League outfit, Boreham Wood. And it was a similar story in the FA Trophy with a convincing 5-0 thrashing of Enfield Town in the 3rd Round being followed up by a 1-2 defeat at Notts County.
Surprisingly, Eastleigh have only ever won the Hampshire Senior Cup on one occasion, when they beat the Stags 2-0 in the 2012 Final at St. Mary’s Stadium. They came agonisingly close to lifting the trophy again in bizarre circumstances last summer, when the COVID-delayed 2020 Final against AFC Bournemouth was eventually staged at our very own Snows Stadium. Going into the second minute of stoppage time with a 2-1 lead, the Spitfires were shot down by Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers who, joining his teammates in the Eastleigh penalty area for a last-ditch corner, leapt highest and thumped a header into the back of the net to take the tie to spot-kicks, which the Cherries won 5-3.
After a bye in the 1st Round, Eastleigh’s 2021/22 campaign began with a 3-1 win on the Isle of Wight against East Cowes Vics in the 2nd Round in late-September. Havant & Waterlooville were despatched by a score of 2-0 in December, before Eastleigh eliminated Andover Town at the Quarter-Final stage with a 2-1 victory. Totton, meanwhile, overcame 2013 winners Alresford Town and Gosport Borough, before Lymington Town’s late withdrawal from the Quarter-Final match resulted in a walkover to a home Semi-Final tie with a familiar foe.
EASTLEIGH – LAST 5 MATCHES (All Competitions)
Sat 12 Feb Yeovil Town H Vanarama National League D 0-0
Tue 15 Feb Weymouth A Vanarama National League L 0-1
Sat 19 Feb Notts County A Vanarama National League L 0-2
Sat 22 Feb Southend United H Vanarama National League D 1-1
Sat 26 Feb Boreham Wood A Vanarama National League L 0-1
AFC TOTTON vs EASTLEIGH – Previous Meetings
Our records for AFC Totton-Eastleigh encounters go back to 1986, accounting for 38 matches in all competitions. And not surprisingly, the higher league Spitfires have the better of the head-to-head record with 19 wins to 10, with 9 draws.
The biggest single win by either side was a 7-1 drubbing dished out by the Stags to their now more illustrious neighbours on their own ground in February 2002, courtesy of four goals from Paddy James, a brace from Martin Whiddett and one from Kevin Reacord.
Eastleigh have won all three of our previous Hampshire Senior Cup meetings, most recently by a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2012 Final at St. Mary’s Stadium. The Spitfires were in front within 11 minutes when Chris Flood slid in to convert Mitchell Nelson’s cross, and Gary Elphick almost doubled their lead with a header after Stags keeper Grant Porter parried Dylan McMahon’s free-kick. Nathaniel Sherborne had a chance to equalise when he went clean through on the hour mark, but he sliced wide. Then, James Coutts passed up a glorious opportunity by shooting straight at Gareth Barfoot in the Eastleigh goal from a back-post corner. The Stags’ Jonathan Davies (now of Frome Town) struck the woodwork before Mitchell Nelson made it 2-0 at the other end, connecting with Flood’s cross to force the ball over the line at the back-post.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Historian
