AFC Totton
EMIRATES FA CUP - Fourth Round Qualifying
Saturday 14 October 2023 | Snows Stadium, Totton | Att: 1,283
STAGS MADE TO PAY FOR MISSED CHANCES AS THE RAMS CHARGE INTO THE FA CUP PROPER
AFC TOTTON 0
RAMSGATE 1
Joseph Taylor 65mins
AFC TOTTON’S FA CUP ADVENTURE came to an end with a 0-1 home defeat to Isthmian League South East Division club Ramsgate, in front of 1,283 spectators at the Snows Stadium on Saturday (14 October 2023).
The Stags hit the woodwork, had two penalty shouts turned down and missed an opportunity to at least force a replay with a headed opportunity from eight yards, but they couldn’t find the breakthrough to peg back The Rams, for whom top goalscorer Joe Taylor had provided the lead midway through the second half.
Luke Hallett was named at right-back, with Benny Read dropping back to the bench after starting the last three games. Sam Magri and Joe Oastler restored their two-man central defensive partnership with Jordan Ragguette reverting to a conventional left-back role, as opposed to the left wing-back duty he fulfilled in the first half of last week’s FA Trophy tie with Plymouth Parkway. Adam Tomasso returned to central midfield to partner Ben Winterburn, while Alfie Stanley was given the nod to form a three-man front line with Scott Rendall and Ethan Taylor. Charlie Kennedy was on the bench, along with Italian goalkeeper Giulio Girelli who re-signed for The Stags during midweek.
AFC TOTTON
Starting XI
1. Lewis NOICE
6. Luke HALLETT
15. Sam MAGRI
7. Joseph OASTLER
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
8. Adam TOMASSO
14. Ben WINTERBURN
17. Leon MALONEY
9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.)
10. Ethan TAYLOR
16. Alfie STANLEY
Substitutes
2. Benny READ
4. Mike CARTER
5. Charlie KENNEDY
11. Matty BURROWS
12. Jordan CHIEDOZIE
13. Giulio GIRELLI
20. Owen PELHAM
Under a Guard of Honour provided by members of the AFC Totton U12s, The Stags took to the pitch in their now customary all-white cup kit. Ramsgate wore all-red with flashes of white across the shirt. The visitors had brought four coach-loads of fans from the South East coast of England, plus many more who made their own way by car, by train and some who stayed in the area overnight. Before kick-off, the two sides stood around the centre-circle to observe a minute of silence in memory of those killed in Israel and Gaza during the last week. The AFC Totton players were also wearing pink armbands in recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, while many fans had answered the call to wear pink to demonstrate their support for Stags fan Ron Atwill’s fundraising campaign.
The light rain of early afternoon had given way to bright sunshine by the time Ramsgate got the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie started, attacking the goal closest to the Aldi building site, the majority of their large contingent of fans crammed into the space between Lewis Noice’s goal and the stadium’s outer perimeter fencing.
Jordan Green made an early incursion down the left side of the Totton penalty area, before checking and going back the other way. Ramsgate shifted the ball to the opposite flank, where Benedict Bioletti earned a free-kick for a shove by Jordan Ragguette, close to the Ramsgate right-wing corner flag. Former Manchester United youth player Lee Martin sent in the cross, which was headed out by Oastler. Ramsgate forced it back into the box but Ragguette was able to clear from the edge of the area.
WELCOME TO THE SNOWS STADIUM: More than a thousand spectators watch AFC Totton goalkeeper Lewis Noice clear his box during the Emirates FA Cup tie with Ramsgate.
Green latched onto a cross-field pass to the Ramsgate left, getting into a dangerous position before his own hesitation allowed Sam Magri to knock the ball out for a corner. A short corner routine broke down and Totton mounted a counter-attack. Leon Maloney’s pass from the right was too fierce for Scott Rendell to control on his chest, allowing Ramsgate to get forward quickly, threatening to get in between Magri and Oastler until Ragguette got round on the cover to intercept.
Having been pressed back for much of the opening few minutes, Totton began to assert themselves when Oastler beat centre-forward Joe Taylor to a high ball into the centre-circle. His header was controlled by Ethan Taylor, who spread the play to the left for Ragguette to run on to, charging into the Ramsgate penalty area and earning a corner off Bioletti. Maloney’s corner was too hard but took a nick off a defender for a throw on the right touchline. The ball soon came back to Maloney on the left, whose short pass allowed Ethan Taylor and Rendell to work a tight space before goalkeeper Thomas Hadler came out to claim.
Martin’s clipped pass to the left found the troublesome Jordan Green, again. Hallett managed to divert the ball out for a throw, from which Ethan Taylor regained possession before being brought down midway inside his own half of the pitch.
Ragguette had to chase back towards his left-back corner to keep pace with Bioletti, making a strong sliding tackle to turn the winger’s cross behind for another Ramsgate corner. Jack Paxman, whose twin brother Alfie was among the Ramsgate substitutes, could only find Rendell with his delivery, with Tomasso repelling the visitors’ attempt to maintain the pressure on the Totton defence.
Oastler was the next to clear Totton’s lines, the away team having settled into the game more effectively than their hosts. Then, after standing up well to a robust challenge from Oastler close to the AFC Totton dug-out, Titan Jadam went down softly under Ragguette’s tackle to buy a free-kick midway inside Totton’s half, which was soon converted into a left-wing corner via Magri’s header. Rendell again turned defender to clear Totton’s lines, leaving Alfie Stanley to compete for a high ball just inside the Ramsgate half. Stanley managed to knock the ball down, but it fell into the centre-circle midway between defender Joe Ellul and the onrushing Ethan Taylor. Ellul got there fractionally before Taylor, but his attempted clearance rebounded off the Totton No.10 and towards the Ramsgate goal. Standing near the edge of his area, Hadler was a bystander as the ball looped over him and, unfortunately for Totton, narrowly over the bar, as well.
Shortly after, Ethan Taylor sprinted on to Rendell’s knockdown to attack from inside-left. The imposing figure of Ellul came across to make a sliding tackle. Taylor went to ground amid loud appeals for a penalty from the home crowd, but the Referee deemed Taylor to have engineered the contact. Taylor was shown the yellow card and a free-kick was awarded to Ramsgate.
RAGGUETTE RAIDER: Jordan Ragguette carries the fight forward down the Totton left.
Totton’s Taylor was soon on the ball, again, attacking from the left of the penalty area and squaring to Rendell, whose shot was charged down. Maloney picked up the loose ball, but his shot was deflected over for a corner. Once again, though, Totton’s delivery from the set piece was too fierce, and they ended up having to retrieve the ball from wide areas, rather than fashioning a chance on the Ramsgate goal. As the visitors tried to counter through the middle of the pitch, Adam Tomasso chased back and brought down his opponent, which the Referee harshly deemed to be worthy of a yellow card.
Determined defending by Oastler at Totton’s left-wing touchline put The Stags on the front foot, again. Stanley received a short infield pass and swept the ball down the wing for Ethan Taylor to chase, before curling a low, first-time cross towards Rendell, which was cut-out before it could reach the big centre-forward.
Just as Totton appeared to be getting to grips with the game, they shot themselves in the foot. A loose pass in midfield presented the ball to the feet of Joe Taylor, who played Jordan Green in with a measured pass that forced Luke Hallett to chase back towards his own goal. As Green dribbled into the penalty area, Hallett tried to make a sliding tackle, but he got his timing all wrong and brought Green down inside the box. The Referee pointed to the penalty spot, to the delight of the Ramsgate fans behind that goal. Joe Taylor, who already has four successful penalties to his name this season, stepped up to take the spot-kick. His shot was surprisingly timid; Lewis Noice dived to his right and, almost apologetically, saved the shot with ease.
It was a let-off for Totton, and they appeared to heed the wake-up call. A throw-in from the right led to a bundle of players competing for the ball just outside the Ramsgate area, until it fell for Tomasso to hit a snapshot that dropped narrowly wide of the far post. Both Noice and Hallett made important interceptions to prevent their opponents scampering through on-goal. Then, the AFC Totton management team was given a talking to by the Referee, who took offence at their response to him not noticing a hand-ball from Bioletti, as he tried to charge down Ragguette’s pass up the line.
Swift passing between Bioletti and Jack Paxman enabled them to manoeuvre their way around Ragguette, leaving Paxman in a position to deliver a high cross into the box from the right-wing, which Noice did well to take one-handed, despite the close presence of two attackers. Then, Rendell did enough to help Magri’s high diagonal on its way to Ragguette in space on the left. But by the time Ragguette had advanced into the area, Ramsgate had plenty of bodies back to defend their six-yard box.
Ramsgate left-back Jack Partel got forward to overlap beyond Green, forcing Magri to come across and concede a throw-in on the Salisbury Road side of the ground, before Noice was called into action again to catch a high in-swinging cross among a cluster of bodies at the edge of his area. He tried to release Ragguette on the Totton left with a quick throw out, but Lee Martin clattered Ragguette with a late challenge to earn himself the game’s next yellow card. Before he could take the free-kick, Noice was surprised to see Stags physio Andy Hanley coming on to treat him - until he realised that Jimmy Ball had some tactical instructions to impart to his team, as they gathered around the dug-out. The Referee eventually cottoned on to what was happening, and hurried proceedings along.
Ragguette was penalised for being stronger than Jack Paxman, when the Ramsgate midfielder tried and failed to stop the St. Vincent and the Grenadines U21 international stampeding down the left wing. And the senior match official added further to a growing sense among the Totton contingent that the visitors were being given the benefit of the doubt with a lot of soft decisions when the Hulk-like figure of Ellul went down under Rendell’s aerial challenge.
HERE IT COMES: Ethan Taylor tries to pick out Scott Rendell with a low centre, as Ramsgate defenders race back to intercept.
Long clearances up and down the pitch from either team contributed to a scrappy period in the game, before Ellul demonstrated his strength and genuine defensive prowess with a well-timed sliding tackle to prevent Ragguette exploiting open acreage on the Totton left wing. From the resulting throw-in, Stanley had a brief sight of goal as he traversed the edge of the Ramsgate box, but he laid the ball off and Totton’s occasional tendency to over-play had them going all the way back to their own half. Then, a poor pass gave the ball to Ramsgate in the centre-circle, and they responded by employing the ever-willing pace of Green down their left flank. He checked back and Ramsgate worked the ball back into the middle, with Abdul Anidugbe squaring for Paxman to line-up an effort from 20 yards, which flashed over Noice’s crossbar.
Tomasso tracked back diligently to stop Ramsgate getting in at inside-left. From the resulting corner, Ellul got his head to the ball at the far post, but couldn’t direct it at goal. Shortly after, Noice came out of his box to clear down the Totton left. The ball fell for Ethan Taylor, who was unceremoniously dumped to the ground. The Referee decided that was not enough physical contact to warrant a free-kick, so play continued.
During three minutes of first-half stoppage time, pressure from Rendell and Stanley on the Totton left forced Ramsgate back. An attempted clearance deflected to the feet of Ben Winterburn about 20 yards out. He tried to drive in a shot but it took a heavy deflection off a defender and left Hadler with a comfortable save, diving to his left.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
RAMSGATE 0
When the teams came out for the second half, Benny Read replaced Luke Hallett at right-back for The Stags, who attacked straight from the restart. Maloney advanced into space on the right flank and sent over a high cross towards the back post, where Rendell had to stretch to get his head to it, but he couldn’t keep his effort down.
On a day when the weather just couldn’t make its mind up, we had wind, rain and bright sunshine all at the same time, as Magri strode forward in possession from the halfway line and tried to feed Read into the inside-right channel, but a heavy touch from the full-back sent the ball bouncing out of play.
Jack Paxman intercepted Rendell’s pass towards Ragguette on the Totton left. Ramsgate then got forward and shifted the ball around the perimeter of the Totton box, from the right byline and back to the edge of the area, before attacking the left-wing byline, where a combination of Read and Magri managed to smother the ball out for a corner. From the cross, Anidugbe went down in the area, appealing for a penalty as Tomasso cleared. Then, Anidugbe stayed forward to see his shot blocked by Rendell. Anidugbe took advantage of a rather flat-footed Totton defence to regain possession, before trying to squeeze in a shot from the edge of the area, which went wide to the right. Then, Martin tried his luck when he received the ball about 25 yards out, but his shot was too high.
Ethan Taylor had his shirt pulled as he was chasing the ball back into his own half. The Referee played the advantage as Taylor took a throw-in, sending possession back to Lewis Noice. But as the ball approached the Totton keeper, it bounced up awkwardly and, unable to handle it, he struck his clearance directly into Joe Taylor’s torso. Fortunately for the home team, the visiting centre-forward had no time to react and the ball bounced out of play.
GO, GO, JOE: Stags defender Joe Oastler in action during the FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying tie at home to Ramsgate.
Read did well to match Green’s movement from The Rams’ left into the centre, as he tried to make an angle for a shot on goal. Read did enough to shut the opportunity down, but more sloppy passing in midfield put The Stags under immediate pressure, again. Oastler was beaten to a square pass midway inside his own area. He and Ragguette both chased back but before either of them could get back to block, the ball was centred for Joe Taylor who tumbled rather theatrically with Magri in close attendance. The visiting fans screamed blue murder as Taylor himself raised his arms in disbelief of the Referee not awarding another Ramsgate penalty, while the Totton contingent tried in vain to elicit the man in the middle’s explanation as to how that was any less deserving of a yellow card than Totton’s Taylor taking a similar tumble in the first half.
Winterburn interrupted the next Ramsgate attack before feeding Maloney further forward. His short pass found Read on the right, whose through-ball enabled Stanley to spring the offside trap and advance into space, with Ethan Taylor closing in at the far post. Stanley’s low cross was prevented from reaching Taylor by defender Daniel Johnson’s sliding clearance.
Stanley and Read attacked from the right, again, forcing a corner. Maloney crossed towards the near post where Rendell met the ball with a glancing header that Hadler pushed away his right hand. The ball stayed in play and was half-cleared into midfield, where Winterburn took control before running into the Referee. At that point, the Referee should have stopped play and awarded a drop-ball to AFC Totton, but he waved play on and Winterburn was unable to capitalise upon having possession.
On the hour, Jimmy Ball sent on Matty Burrows to replace Alfie Stanley. No sooner had he done so than the game had to be stopped again for Titan Jadam to receive treatment for a head injury sustained in an aerial duel with Oastler. Shortly after play resumed, Totton created their best chance of the cup tie so far. Rendell picked the ball up in the middle and hooked it over the defence to give Ethan Taylor a route to the left-wing byline. The winger held the ball up long enough for Rendell to get forward and when the cross came to the right of the penalty spot, Rendell chested the ball down for Maloney to shoot. Hadler saved sharply to his right, and when the rebound came out, Burrows was beaten to it by a quick-witted defender’s sliding clearance.
Ramsgate made a substitution in the 64th minute, bringing off Jordan Green in favour of Alfie Paxman. Play resumed with Hadler kicking long from a placed goal-kick. The ball dropped between Magri and Oastler, with neither of the two experienced central defenders making a motion towards the ball. Ramsgate’s leading goalscorer didn’t need a second invitation; as Noice came rushing out to the edge of his area, Joe TAYLOR hooked the ball over his head and watched it drop into the empty net to send the 250-or so fans behind that goal into rapture, many of them throwing their empty plastic pint containers on to the pitch.
The Referee came to the touchline to consult with his Assistant and Fourth Official before Totton could restart the game. A red card was shown to a member of the Ramsgate coaching staff, though it was not made clear as to why. The stoppage lasted even longer, as a Totton steward collected up the empty containers and scurried away from the playing surface.
Ethan Taylor and Matty Burrows linked up to attack the left-wing byline, but impressive strength from Joseph Ellul kept Totton out. Then, Joe Oastler made a late tackle during a Ramsgate attack. While the Referee played the advantage in the moment, when the attack broke down he called Oastler over and showed the former Havant & Waterlooville man the yellow card.
Ben Winterburn was then withdrawn by Totton boss Jimmy Ball, who sent on striker Jordan Chiedozie for his AFC Totton debut, ironically against the last team he represented, having played for Ramsgate in August 2022 before getting injured. Burrows got his first chance to run at the Ramsgate defenders, taking them back towards their own box before eventually having the ball nicked off his toe.
Totton were beginning to take the lion’s share of possession, but Ramsgate looked dangerous on the counter with The Stags pushing high up the pitch. Maloney passed infield to Burrows, who trod on the ball, enabling a defender to poke it into midfield. Maloney went after it and got there first, but was immediately brought down by Jack Partel, who was booked for his trouble. Ethan Taylor took the free-kick from midway inside the Ramsgate half. He floated his delivery to the left of the penalty spot, where Magri stole in on the goal-side of his marker and directed his diving header towards the right-hand post. Rendell stretched out a long leg but couldn’t reach it, and the ball squirmed agonisingly wide.
Magri then instigated a move down the Totton right. Burrows found Rendell with a neat back-heeled volley, and the centre-forward slipped the overlapping Read in down the wing to curl a cross towards the near post, where Jordan Chiedozie arrived together with Hadler and a defender, the ball ricocheting out for a corner, which Ellul headed away. Tomasso intercepted about 25 yards out and hooked back into the box. Rendell knocked it down and Chiedozie improvised a volley with the outside of his right foot, which Hadler was equal to.
Joseph Ellul was constantly thwarting Totton’s attacking ambitions with his strong tackling and aerial prowess. But it was his headed half-clearance that presented Rendell with a chance to bring the ball down on his chest and volley at goal from the right corner of the penalty area, his effort flying over the bar.
A brave challenge by Read won the ball back for Totton near the halfway line. He found Burrows further forward, whose low cross was turned away. Read took up the ball again and curled a cross into the area; Chiedozie dived in but could only get a glancing touch with his header. The ball deflected up off a defender and Ethan Taylor waited for the ball to drop before trying a volley, but in the time it took for the ball to sit down, Taylor was put under pressure and he skewed wide.
Magri conceded a corner at the other end. Totton tried to run the ball out of the area but it fell to Martin, whose shot outside the box pulled a save from Noice. Then, when Totton carelessly coughed up possession in midfield, Jadam cut in from the left and drove another attempt at the Totton goal, which Noice saved low to his left.
As the game reached its last 10 minutes of normal time, a ball into the box briefly threatened Ramsgate but Burrows was forced wide. He clipped the ball back into the middle where Chiedozie brought it down, only to have it cleared off his toe before he could shoot. Then, Jack Partel left the field to be replaced by Medy Elito for Ramsgate.
PICK THE LOCK: Leon Maloney tries to unlock the Ramsgate defence.
Lee Martin read Read’s pass well enough to prevent Taylor getting through the defensive line. Then, Magri’s curled right-wing delivery towards the penalty spot was crying out to be finished but Rendell was half-a-yard too far back to connect with it.
Benedict Bioletti was then replaced by Freddie Olner for the visitors. Ellul, increasingly influential in the centre of Ramsgate’s defence, repelled Ethan Taylor’s attempt to feed Rendell, before Maloney was tripped by Anidugbe about 30 yards out, on the Totton left. Maloney bent the ball on to the head of the unmarked Matty Burrows who, from eight yards out, could only glance his header wide of the right-hand post, the young winger then lying prone on the turf in disbelief.
With Magri now operating as an additional centre-forward, Totton threw what they could at the Ramsgate goal. Ragguette received the ball on the halfway line and sent a crossfield delivery to Magri at inside-right. His flick on fell to Burrows, who stood the ball up into the middle for Rendell to head at goal, the ball striking the crossbar at the top-left corner. The rebound fell within reach of The Stags centre-forward, but he couldn’t contort his body quickly enough to direct it back towards the goal.
The board went up to confirm that AFC Totton had six minutes to save their FA Cup lives. Burrows tried to dribble his way through the massed ranks of the Ramsgate defence; the ball popped loose, so Maloney and Read took over. The cross went long but Ethan Taylor retrieved the ball and laid it back for Ragguette to cross, Maloney connecting with a header but unable to keep it down. Then, Magri found himself the furthest Stag forward, rushing to close down Hadler as he received a back-pass and cleared upfield.
As Ramsgate sat back, reduced to punting for yardage, Lewis Noice became permanently employed as a sweeper-keeper, receiving the ball in the middle of his own half and sending back towards the visitors’ box, although Maloney was twice called upon to tackle back to get Totton facing the right way, again. Maloney’s pass had Chiedozie chasing into the box, but Hadler hacked clear.
Maloney went back again to hook the ball forward down the left, and Ethan Taylor kept it in play at the touchline, with Jack Paxman and Freddie Olner both in close attendance. Taylor managed to squeeze the ball between them, via a deflection, to the feet of Chiedozie, before racing into the inside-left channel to receive the former Ramsgate striker’s return pass. Taylor knocked the ball past the incoming Lee Martin, whose shoulder charge challenge sent the winger sprawling. Rendell’s arms were spread wide, appealing for a penalty; Taylor, upon realising the Referee was not impressed, was apoplectic with rage.
The final whistle followed soon after, confirming Ramsgate’s victory and prompting jubilant scenes among the travelling fans and players, while The Stags were left to rue what might have been.
Next Up: SHOLING vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#10 | Imperial Homes Stadium, Portsmouth Road SO19 9PW | Tuesday 17 October 2023 | Kick-Off at 7:45pm
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of John Duncalf
