AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH
Matchday #25
AFC TOTTON 0
BARNSTAPLE TOWN 0
Bottom of the table Barnstaple Town made the 400-mile round trip from North Devon to a bitterly cold Snows Stadium yesterday (Saturday), and hunkered down to frustrate promotion-chasing AFC Totton with a defiantly defensive display on their way to a hard-earned goalless draw.
The hosts came into this match fresh from their encouraging 2-0 victory at Frome Town last weekend but without midfielders Jordan Ngalo - who transferred to Aldershot Town on Friday - and Nathan Hurst, who picked up a knock in Somerset. Lewis Waterfield and Jack Hoey both started, with Shaquille Gwengwe dropping to the bench alongside new signings Jake Adams and Woody Angell, who joins on loan from Aldershot as part of the Ngalo deal. Ade Olumuyiwa joined Ben Jefford, Jack Masterton, Freddie Read and Hurst on the injury list after being involved in a car crash during the week, for which he was treated for concussion.
Unable to play, Olumuyiwa instead undertook his ambassadorial role with the Club, accompanying a group of 29 pupils plus teachers from Springhill Catholic Primary School in Milton Road, Southampton, who, after a guided tour of the stadium welcomed both teams onto the pitch before settling down in the Wessex Heartbeat Stand to heartily sing their way through the whole match.
The sun was out when Barnstaple, in all red, kicked-off. But it soon hid back behind the clouds and gave way to a swirling wind that got steadily colder as the game wore on. Totton bossed the ball in the first few minutes and created the first chance of note in the 4th, when Lewis Waterfield’s forward pass from the left of midfield was flicked on by Sam Griffin into the path of Hisham Kasimu in the centre, with Ethan Taylor in support. Barnstaple goalkeeper Lloyd Irish, one of a number of new recruits brought to Mill Road over the last month to bolster their chances of Southern League Div.1 South survival, was quickly off his line to snatch the ball away from the Stags striker’s toe. Then, a well-timed sliding tackle by George Jones halted Jack Hoey’s progress after a neat exchange of passes with Griffin enabled the attacking midfielder to attack the inside-left area.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS: The AFC Totton 'YMCA' karoke routine still needs more practice.
Under experienced manager Craig Laird, Barnstaple were lined up in a rigid 5-4-1 system designed to throttle Totton attacks in the visitors’ defensive third, in the hope of utilising on the counter-attack the finishing skills of the division’s second-top goalscorer, Ollie Howe, who joined the Barum Revolution from Bristol Manor Farm last month. It meant that many Totton attacks got bogged down before reaching Barnstaple’s goal but, equally, there were often not enough red shirts far enough advanced to prevent Harry Medway and Pascal Kpohomouh simply retrieving the ball and beginning another move for the home side.
Taylor was unlucky not to reach Griffin’s clipped pass in the 13th minute, after smart control by Kasimu from Kpohomouh’s forward pass, the ball escaping across goal and out for a goal-kick when Taylor looked to be one-vs-one with the keeper. Then, Kpohomouh conceded a free-kick for an elbow on Owen Howe in midfield and the striker got on the end of skipper William Tucker’s delivery to head at Lewis Noice’s goal, but the Stags keeper was able to deal with the looped effort comfortably.
Harry Medway made a strong block to prevent Howe shooting on the turn after a long throw-in from the Barnstaple left flank. Noice climbed highest to punch away the resulting corner.
With Barnstaple defending in such numbers, the overlapping runs of Callum Baughan from right-back were proving to be Totton’s best route forward. He won a corner which Taylor curled into the area. A defender headed the ball upward and it dropped to Jack Hoey whose shot was diverted behind for another corner on the opposite side but the Stags couldn’t capitalise.
Jordan Ragguette began to make similar insurgent runs down Totton’s left, linking up with Lewis Waterfield and Adam Tomasso to win a 23rd-minute corner. Taylor played it short to Baughan on the left corner of the Barnstaple area. He squared the ball to Waterfield in the middle, about 25 yards out, and the midfielder took a touch before firing narrowly over the crossbar at the top-right.
A clever flick over a defender’s head by Taylor on the right wing, a few minutes later, freed Hisham Kasimu to attack the Barum area. As he took on Brodie Montague, the defender appeared to trip Kasimu, prompting appeals for a penalty kick which went unheeded by the referee. Then, Waterfield’s low, angled pass enabled Baughan to fire in a low cross, which deflected out to Hoey on the edge of the area, his shot hitting a red shirt and looping towards the right of the visitors’ goal before Lloyd Irish pushed it away.
Totton had their tails up, finding ways through the barricades. Ethan Taylor drew a foul just to the right of the D on the edge of the Barnstaple penalty area, to win a free-kick in an ideal position for his own left foot, if a little closer to goal than he may have preferred. He struck a low, curling shot that sneaked under the jumping four-man wall to arrow for the bottom-left corner, but Irish flung himself full length to make an impressive save, pushing the ball to safety on the far side.
From a 35th-minute corner on the left-hand side, Hoey send over an in-swinging cross that Harry Medway, who out-jumped a ruck of players in the Barnstaple 6-yard box, headed firmly at goal, but Irish was the hero again, thrusting his arm up to divert the ball over the crossbar.
Whenever the visitors managed to get the ball up to Owen Howe, he was instantly surrounded and dispossessed by blue shirts, Medway on patrol on the goal side of the danger man and Adam Tomasso shielding from the front.
An impromptu team-talk during a stoppage in play for a head injury to Tucker gave Dan Sackman and his backroom staff the opportunity to deliver a few pointers to the congregation of blue shirts before them and it almost paid instant dividends when Kasimu received Hoey’s pass on the left and fired the ball across goal, just agonisingly out of reach for Baughan, who had made the run to fill the gap on the right side of Totton’s attack.
William Tucker took advantage of a high ball getting stuck in the wind to advance on Ragguette in the Totton left-back position. Tucker laid the ball back to Callum Laird and the Barnstaple manager’s son aimed his cross towards the back post for Howe, but Kpohomouh intervened to clear for the Stags. Then, Waterfield and Griffin combined to free Baughan down the right-hand side, again, but - again - his low cross was repelled by the Barnstaple defence. A similar move resulted in a late corner for the home side, when Baughan’s cross was stabbed behind at the near post, but Totton were unable to take advantage and went in goalless at the break amid a general air of frustration at their inability to break Barum down.
HALF-TIME:
AFC TOTTON 0
BARNSTAPLE TOWN 0
The second half almost got off to a spectacular start when Medway under-hit his attempted long ball out to the Totton left, presenting the ball to Callum Laird just behind the half-way line. With the Totton goalkeeper off his line, the Barnstaple right-back decided to try his luck but Noice had time to get back into position while the ball was in flight to make the catch and prevent his own blushes.
Noice was called into action again, 5 minutes into the second period, when Jake Mawford - a recent signing from Melksham Town - teed up Tucker to attempt a high in-swinging cross-shot, which the Stags keeper had to punch away under pressure at his top-right corner. Then, Waterfield made progress down the right wing for the Stags, finding Ethan Taylor in the area whose shot on the turn was smothered at source, before the ball eventually came back to present Adam Tomasso with a long-range shooting opportunity that he couldn’t keep down. And Taylor almost got through on goal from Hoey’s pass but Irish got there first.
Callum Laird was shown a yellow card around the 53rd minute for holding Ragguette as he attempted to complete a one-two with Griffin to kick-start a Totton counter-attack. Then, Ragguette received Medway’s pass on the left flank before pushing the ball into the path of Kasimu in the inside-left channel. The Stags striker opted for an early shot but went for power over accuracy and sent the ball soaring over the bar.
SOLO EFFORT: Jordan Ragguette's solo runs down the left wing caused problems for the Barnstaple Town defence.
Ragguette continued to offer an attacking outlet for the home side. He overhit one cross that Baughan had to retrieve on the far side, the Stags right-back returning the ball to Ragguette who found Taylor just behind the penalty spot. Surrounded by defenders, he tried to weave an opening on his left foot before he shot over the bar.
Totton should have taken the lead a minute before the hour mark, when Hoey played a through-ball down the centre intended to release Hisham Kasimu. The chance seemed to have gone when the ball ricocheted off the shins of two defenders and bounced into the path of Kasimu with only Irish to beat, but the attempted finish rolled wide of the left-hand post with the goal at the Totton striker’s mercy.
Jordan Ragguette decided to take responsibility with a solo run at the Barum defensive ranks, driving in from the left-hand side before he let fly from 30 yards, shooting narrowly over the crossbar.
Dan Sackman reinforced his attack by sending on Brett Williams in place of Jack Hoey. Then, Lewis Waterfield made a well-timed tackle inside the Totton penalty area to take the ball from Oliver Haste.
Midfielder Ashton Hewitt won a free-kick on the right for Barnstaple. Tucker delivered an in-swinging cross, Noice jumped high to catch just under the crossbar. There was then a stoppage in play to allow Adam Tomasso and Owen Howe to both receive treatment after a clash of heads.
When play resumed, Taylor and Williams tried to progress down the right-hand side and won a corner. Taylor swung it towards the back post and Sam Griffin ran around the back to meet the ball with a diving header that flew well-wide of the left-hand post. Then, Ragguette tried again to burrow his way through to goal on his own, only to see his shot blocked.
Noice was again called upon to catch a Tucker cross that was swinging inward towards goal, against the aural backdrop of the Springhill children chanting “Come On You Stags” at the top of their voices.
Shaquille Gwengwe came on for Callum Baughan for the last 12 minutes, as Sackman rolled the dice once more in his search for a breakthrough goal. And Totton continued probing, Griffin and Ragguette working the left flank while Gwengwe, Williams and Taylor tried to find a way in down the right, with Kasimu in the centre. But Barnstaple stood firm, conceding corners and free-kicks when they had to but defending those resolutely, too.
With about 5 mins to go, Kasimu laid the ball on for Ethan Taylor to escape through the middle of two defenders before shooting from the edge of the area, his effort struck the top of the crossbar and Lloyd Irish jumped to push the rebound behind for another corner.
Barnstaple made half-hearted claims for a penalty late on, when Harry Medway appeared to trip Owen Howe while play was building up down their left wing. It looked accidental and the referee allowed play to continue.
Jake Adams, the 19 year-old former Southampton and AFC Bournemouth Academy player, came on with a minute of normal time to go, with Lewis Waterfield making way.
Shaquille Gwengwe attacked the right-wing byline and centred for Kasimu, who couldn’t finish on the stretch but managed to force a corner. Taylor took it and Pascal Kpohomouh jumped highest but his header was off target.
Adams showed neat skill on the ball, twisting away from his marker to create an angle for an incisive pass down the inside-right, as Totton continued to mount pressure on the Barum goal. Taylor sent in an in-swinging cross that eluded Kasimu’s head. Then, Griffin played a pass into a crowded penalty area that bounced through to Taylor on the right of goal, Irish doing well to close the already narrow angle to prevent Taylor converting. The ball came out to Adams on the right and he fired it back into the danger zone, where Irish dived low to scoop up the ball at the feet of Brett Williams.
SO CLOSE: Sam Griffin almost stole victory for the Stags with the last kick of the game.
As stoppage time entered its 9th minute - a consequence of several second-half head injury stoppages - Totton won another corner on the right wing. Ethan Taylor took it and the ball flicked up off one aerial challenge before falling to Sam Griffin in space at the far post. The winger’s volley was on target to creep in at the near post but Owen Howe was on the goal-line to shin the ball away, the referee immediately blowing the final whistle to confirm the Barnstaple striker had secured a point for his team. It was a frustrating result for Totton but Barnstaple fought hard and deserved to get something from the game, their players able to switch their attention to a Saturday night on the tiles in Bournemouth before they go back to North Devon on Sunday.
There were a mixed bag of results elsewhere in the Southern League Div.1 South, from Totton’s point-of-view. Leaders Cirencester Town lost for only the third time this season, going down 2-3 to a hat-trick from Slimbridge’s Edjidja Mbunga despite taking a 4th-minute lead through defender Shayne Anson. A 17th-minute strike by Christopher Peck won the Match of the Day for Frome Town at Sholing, as the Robins closed the gap on the Centurions to two points, with a game in-hand. Winchester City moved up to 3rd with a 3-1 home win over Cinderford Town, leaving Totton in 4th, two points behind the Citizens with two matches in-hand. Bristol Manor Farm’s 2-0 win at home to Paulton Rovers keeps them in 5th place and in contention for a play-off spot, but Sholing and Plymouth Parkway both have too many games in-hand to rule them out of the picture.
The Stags’ next competitive action will be at the Snows Stadium on Tuesday 22 February, when they take on Hedge End Town in the 3rd Round of the Southampton Senior Cup. Kick-off will be 7:45pm. League action resumes on Saturday 26 February with the visit of Willand Rovers, as Totton continue a run of seven consecutive home games between mid-February and the end of March.
To finish, a note about the children of Springhill Catholic Primary School, who were guests of the Club. Their behaviour was impeccable and they sang their hearts out from beginning-to-end. It was a shame there were no goals for them to cheer but they were a pleasure to host and they are welcome back at the Snows Stadium anytime.
Match Report by Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
