AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY #04 - Monday 29 August 2022
AFC TOTTON 0
SHOLING 1
Lee Wort 67mins
As they did at the end of last season, Sholing made the short trip from the other side of the Itchen Bridge to ruin AFC Totton’s Bank Holiday Monday at the Snows Stadium by frustrating their hosts’ attacking ambitions for large periods of the game before plundering a second-half winner on the counter-attack.
AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball made only one change to the starting line-up that took all three points at Frome Town on Saturday, with Freddie Read dropping to the bench and Jack Masterton slotting into the midfield.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Yemi ODUBADE
3. Adam TOMASSO
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Jordan RAGGUETTE
8. Jack MASTERTON
9. Jireh OYEBAMIJI
10. Scott RENDELL
11. Ethan TAYLOR
Substitutes
14. Brett WILLIAMS
15. Jake ADAMS
16. Freddie READ
17. Michael GREEN
18. Pascal KPOHOMOUH
The game got underway on a pleasant, sunny but breezy afternoon with AFC Totton in their usual blue-and-white, while Sholing wore red-and-white striped shirts with black shorts. The eagerness of all concerned to gain an early advantage over their local rivals was palpable. Sholing’s Lee Wort had an overhead kick blocked in the box in the first minute, then the former AFC Portchester striker just failed to reach Dan Mason’s head-on from a Marvin Mclean cross from the left-hand side.
Jireh Oyebamiji led Totton’s first attack of note in the 10th minute, raiding into the inside-right channel to go past one defender and then strike across goal, firing narrowly wide of the far post. Then, space opened up for Luke Hallett, bringing the ball forward from the centre-circle, to hit a long-range effort that was charged down on the edge of the Sholing box. Jordan Ragguette picked up the loose ball, attacked the left-wing byline but his centre was turned away. Jack Masterton collected and worked his own way to the left of goal before feeding the ball into the near post area where Oyebamiji nicked his shot into the side-netting.
AFC Totton midfielder Jack Masterton.
On 14 minutes, a move involving Yemi Odubade, Scott Rendell and Ethan Taylor swept from the left to the centre, where Taylor received it on the edge of the D, flicked the ball up with his left-foot, then volleyed towards the bottom-right corner, goalkeeper Ryan Gosney producing a fast reaction save to push the ball away, out of reach of the incoming Oyebamiji. Two minutes later, the Boatmen were forced into an early substitution with Byron Mason coming off with a suspected hamstring injury to be replaced by Owen Roundell-Prince.
Hallett had to be alert at the back to win two aerial challenges in quick succession. Then, sheer weight of numbers in the Totton defence enabled Taylor to bring the ball out and hit a diagonal pass to Oyebamiji on the right wing. A heavy touch appeared to present possession back to the substitute Roundell-Prince, until Oyebamiji hassled him back towards his own goal line and won a corner off his shins. Masterton’s delivery lacked accuracy but tricked Miller into stabbing the ball behind for another go. The second attempt was much better, though it eluded the forehead of Rendell in the 6-yard box and flew across the goalmouth without interference.
Totton captain Mike Carter took a whack in the face as he tracked the flight of a high ball while running towards a Sholing player. The physio came on but he was back on his feet in no time and raring to get back into the action. An incisive pass from defence by Bradley Targett in the 21st minute released Daniel Mason at inside-right, and with defenders scrambling to get to him, Mason angled a low shot across Lewis Noice, who stuck out his right leg to divert it away, with Wort unable to gather the rebound.
The home side looked the more energetic in midfield, getting about their opponents and harrying them out of possession. A combination of Taylor, Carter and Masterton pressed the visitors back into their own third, before garnering a free-kick for a foul about 25 yards out, left of centre. Taylor struck the free-kick but the familiar face of Rob Flooks, who played for AFC Totton during the final months of last season, popped up to head the ball away from within the Sholing defensive wall.
AFC Totton striker Jireh Oyebamiji.
Oyebamiji tried to instigate another Totton attack; Targett had other ideas, intercepting the forward’s pass to put Sholing on the counter, but then Charlie Kennedy stepped across to take the ball back for the Stags and feed the run of Taylor, via a deflection, into the inside-left where Gosney had to rush out to block his progress. Shortly after, Odubade tried to slip Oyembamiji in but overhit his pass. Then, another Sholing attack was crowded out, enabling Taylor to bring the ball forward. Flooks tripped him near the half-way line and the two former teammates briefly squared up to one another.
Totton were on top and stretching the Sholing defence. Rendell’s cross-field pass for Oyebamiji on the right touchline was cut-out by Roundell-Prince, stretching to divert the ball out of play on the far side from the Wessex Heartbeat Stand. Then, Tomasso went down heavily and needed treatment for an aerial collision with Daniel Mason.
Carter and Kennedy partnered up to win the ball back for Totton deep in their own half, then released Ragguette down the left with two defenders in hot pursuit. He delayed slightly to position himself a little wider then whipped in an inviting cross for Ethan Taylor to connect with a flying left-foot scissor-kick that he drove into the ground with Gosney catching it from the bounce.
Ragguette had the bit between his teeth. Kennedy spread the play to the left-wing and the St. Vincentian slipped inside his marker, advanced upon the Sholing goal and struck a low shot from the edge of the area that rebounded off a defender for a corner. Odubade’s cross was well-taken by Gosney.
Having been pinned back for a while, Sholing had the chance to attack the Totton goal from a free-kick on their left-hand side, from Masterton’s foul. But Fatah Makhloufi’s cross was overhit, and bounced out beyond the far post. Then, when Mclean tried to attack the Totton goal from the left, Odubade stood strong despite a couple of shoves to make the clearance into touch.
Shortly before half-time, Sholing managed to move the ball across the pitch from the left to play Targett into space on the overlap on the right. With Hallett steaming in, Targett struck from a tight angle, forcing Noice into another save with his legs, Carter beating Makhloufi to the rebound on the left side of the penalty area when the Sholing forward briefly looked like the favourite to get there first.
From the throw-in, Carter wrestled back possession and found Ragguette on the left, whose short pass was initially lost by Kennedy in the middle, but Odubade nicked it back and drove forward down the middle until being taken down by Charlie Wagstaffe, who was shown a yellow card for his trouble. The free-kick was a little more than 25 yards out. Masterton stepped up to curl a left-footed shot for the top-right corner, sending the ball narrowly past the upright with Gosney a helpless spectator.
The Boatmen got forward at the end of the first half, Hallett and Odubade teaming up to deny access to the byline in Totton’s right-back area.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
SHOLING 0
The Stags went straight on the attack in the second half, Ragguette forcing a corner on the left. Odubade’s cross reached beyond the far post where Kennedy managed to head on target but Gosney made a comfortable catch by the post.
Hallett made an important block on Makhloufi’s shot, after Wort and Mason both flicked the ball on for the Sholing No.10. The visitors then made their second substitution with the earlier sub Owen Roundell-Prince having to come off to be replaced by Joshua Batt.
The industrious Ragguette fired a low shot past the left-hand post after working some space for himself within the penalty area, in the 51st minute. Then the roving wing-back sprinted forward on the overlap to latch onto Taylor’s high pass over the Sholing right-back, Targett. Ragguette sent a low cross across the edge of the 6-yard box with Oyebamiji and Rendell both closing in, but Miller read the situation well to get his foot in and turn the ball away.
As one Sholing attack broke down, the Assistant Referee on the Salisbury Road side of the ground flagged to indicate something off the ball between Ragguette and a Sholing player, resulting in a free-kick for the visitors from their right, mid-way inside Totton's half. Makhloufi’s cross found Flooks near the penalty spot but Rendell did enough to put him off, the defender directing his header wide to the right.
Jimmy Ball sent on Freddie Read in place of Jack Masterton in the Totton midfield. Sholing briefly threatened from their left wing, with Mclean following-up to Carter’s defensive header but overhitting his ball into the box. Then at the other end, Odubade received Rendell’s pass at the right-wing byline. Taylor was nudged off his stride as he attempted to connect with Odubade’s cross. Read gathered the ball but strayed out to the left-wing corner flag, before laying it back to the repositioned Taylor whose first-time cross eluded Rendell in the middle.
AFC Totton midfielder Freddie Read.
Read won the ball just inside the Totton half, enabling Carter to loft the ball forward towards the left-wing touchline. Ragguette brought it under control and moved infield to bypass Targett, shifting the ball onto his right foot and shooting from the edge of the area, his effort smacking the crossbar. The Referee awarded a corner, which the home side failed to capitalise upon.
Yemi Odubade was then withdrawn to make way for Jake Adams, who made a match-winning contribution as a late substitute against Frome at Badgers Hill on Saturday. But, operating as a right wing-back, Adams was immediately pressed into defensive service by the marauding Marvin Mclean after Oyebamiji and Taylor had overplayed in close proximity to the Sholing defence. Mclean made his way into the Referee’s notebook, shortly after, for dissent following a foul by a Totton player that led to a Sholing free-kick in the centre-circle.
Robin Nicholls, another former Stag in the Sholing team, went down in a heap from Oyebamiji’s shove as he chased down a long ball towards the right-wing byline. The Referee approached with a look of some concern, only to see Nicholls spring back to his feet.
In the 67th minute, the Boatmen took the lead with a carbon copy of the goal they scored at the Snows Stadium last season. With his team sat back, successfully soaking up pressure and looking for the chance to counter-attack, Makhloufi received the ball in the centre-circle and threaded a pass beyond Tomasso and Kennedy into the path of Wort, to the left of centre. As the Sholing No.7 scampered into open space on his way to Totton’s goal, the Assistant Referee on the far side made a point of keeping his flag down to indicate he was onside. Lee WORT maintained his composure and slotted the ball left-footed past Lewis Noice, into the net.
The travelling Sholing contingent went bananas, while Totton’s eagerness to restart the match was frustrated by an impromptu water break among the visitors. When the match did resume, Ragguette sent in a cross that Rendell knocked down. Taylor took a touch before unleashing his effort but that gave Miller the second he needed to force his body in the way. Oyebamiji was then sent forward in pursuit of Adams’s searching pass. It looked as though he was going to get the better of Miller, but the giant defender reached out his right leg and managed to poke it out of the former Forest Green man’s reach, Gosney diving full length well out of his goal to catch, having come out in anticipation of having to clear.
Evergreen Marvin Mclean got the better of Adams to arrow a cross into the Totton box, Kennedy stabbing the ball away at the far post in untidy fashion. Then, as Totton regained attacking possession, their attempts to penetrate the Sholing back line were increasingly airborne, where Gosney had command of the skies.
Rob Flooks picked up a yellow card, although for what exactly was not entirely clear. Then a Totton throw from the left found Oyebamiji who shrugged off his marker and laid the ball to Ragguette. He muscled his way into a more central position and hit another right-foot effort, this time sending the ball soaring over the crossbar.
AFC Totton forward Ethan Taylor.
Ethan Taylor’s refusal to give up a loose ball earned a corner from Mclean on the Totton right, which Taylor took. Again, Gosney was assertive, catching the ball cleanly under pressure in a crowded area.
Adams dribbled across the edge of the Sholing box from the right towards the centre. His left-footed shot was underpowered but rebounded off a defender into the path of the rapidly incoming Freddie Read, who put more strength behind his attempt but sent it over the bar towards the left-hand post.
The bustling Dan Mason had a penalty shout in the 83rd minute when he turned sharply in the Totton area and appeared to have his shorts pulled by Hallett. The Referee didn’t see it and when the ball was diverted to the corner of the box, Adams won a free-kick to relieve the pressure and allow his team to go forward, once more.
Ragguette played a short pass to Taylor on the left of the Sholing box. His sharp turn gave him a yard to clip a cross towards the near post, where it was turned back by the Sholing defence. Then, Rendell took a whack to the ankle to the right of the D on the edge of the Sholing area, presenting Taylor with a free-kick that he curled past the top-left corner of Gosney’s goal.
As the last five minutes approached, Totton continued to press for an equaliser. Taylor received a throw-in from Adams on the right and was then bodychecked for a free-kick. Taylor sent in an in-swinging cross that Daniel Mason flicked away in the centre with Tomasso poised to head at goal just behind him. Then, a short, sharp passing move on the edge of the crowded Sholing area presented Oyebamiji with a shooting chance from close to the penalty spot, Miller throwing his body on the line again to deflect the ball wide for a corner. Taylor’s cross was headed out and Makhloufi was able to hold off Adams long enough to eat up more seconds, even if there was little interest from this teammates in joining the counter-attack at that point.
Jimmy Ball sent on Brett Williams in place of Adam Tomasso, as four minutes of stoppage time were indicated. Sholing were committed to holding on resolutely to their one-goal lead while Totton became increasingly frantic, trying to find someway in, but too often the cross was too long or Gosney and his defenders were able to intercept and clear. Gosney was shown a yellow card for time-wasting, while he queried the correct location of a Sholing free-kick. And when Adams and Hallett tried to mount one last hurrah on the Sholing goal, Gosney gathered the ball before the roving defender could reach it, shortly before the Referee’s final whistle confirmed Sholing’s continued 100% record from the opening four league games of the season.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“This happens sometimes. But you have to take your chances. We created enough chances in the first half; they had one early on but other than that, we dominated. So, it’s disappointing to lose but we switched off for a second and you can’t do that. You have to stay focused. They didn’t create as many chances as us but when it mattered, they took it very well, so you have to doff your cap to them.
We have to learn to be more ruthless, we can’t always walk the ball into the net. There’s a lot of work to do - we’re not a long way from getting there, so we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but we switched off and we got punished. They are the best team in this league, I wasn’t being cute or underhanded when I said that on Saturday, I really do think they are the team to beat in this division. They’ve been together a long time and they demonstrated that toughness, unity, grit and togetherness that we have to take a look at and try to emulate.”
Elsewhere in the Southern League Div.1 South…
Hamworthy United go 2nd in the table behind Sholing, courtesy of Sam Griffin’s 46th-minute goal at Bashley, while 3rd-placed Exmouth Town lost for the first time this season by a single goal at Willand Rovers, scored by Douglas Camilo.
Frome Town recovered from Saturday’s home defeat with a 4-0 drubbing of Larkhall Athletic at the idyllic Plain Ham, Luke Hopper scoring at least two (though the Southern League website’s info is incomplete for that match).
Edward Butcher scored a hat-trick for Paulton Rovers in their 5-2 thrashing of Westbury United. Wimborne Town also scored five, Lymington Town finding themselves on the wrong end of a heavy defeat, despite Callum Stratton’s late consolation goal, leaving Lymo at the foot of the Southern League Div.1 South table.
View AFC Totton’s fixture list for the 2022/23 season
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
