AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH
Matchday #35
AFC TOTTON 0
SHOLING 1
Daniel Mason 81mins
AFC Totton’s hopes of making the Southern League Div.1 South play-offs were dealt a significant blow by local rivals Sholing at the Snows Stadium yesterday (Monday), as an 81st-minute Daniel Mason winner inflicted a 10th league defeat of the season upon the Stags. The loss leaves Jimmy Ball’s men needing to win at Slimbridge next Saturday and hoping that Winchester City, whose play-off spot is already secure, do likewise at Bristol Manor Farm.
Amadeusz Skrzyniarz returned for his 15th start of the season, taking over from 16-year-old Josh Jeffries as goalkeeper in the injury-enforced absence of regular No.1, Lewis Noice. Adam Tomasso retained the captain’s armband with Harry Medway completing his two-match suspension for the red card he picked up against Evesham United, and Pascal Kpohomouh replaced Ade Olumuyiwa at centre-back, with the latter dropping to the bench. The Stags were otherwise unchanged from the starting line-up that began Saturday’s 3-0 win at Highworth Town.
There was little to separate the two sides early on in the warm sunshine of the Easter Monday afternoon, though as expected, Totton’s style of possession football was in contrast to the more robust approach favoured by Sholing, who wore their usual kit of red-and-white striped shirts with black shorts and black socks. A number of free-kicks in non-threatening positions were batted away by the Boatmen, until Freddie Read’s in-swinger from deep on the Totton left was only cleared as far as Ethan Taylor on the far corner of the penalty area. He managed to twist his way past the first defender and went down under the challenge of the second, but the Referee waved play-on amid half-hearted claims for a penalty-kick.
The strong figure of Sholing defender Byron Mason eased Hisham Kasimu off the ball, as the striker tried to connect with a through-ball played into the inside-left channel. Then, Sholing’s first meaningful attack resulted in their veteran left-back Marvin McLean forcing a smart reaction save by Amadeusz Skrzyniarz, low at his near post, after McLean displayed neat footwork to get past Callum Baughan to make space for the shot from a tight angle. The Polish goalkeeper was then called into action again, shortly after, to stop a shot from the edge of his penalty area.
From the middle of the pitch, Freddie Read played Baughan into space on the right and the full-back’s driven, low cross was turned away at the near post for a corner, which was headed away by Byron Mason, whose brother Daniel was playing at centre-forward for the Boatmen. Shaquille Gwengwe managed to win another corner by running at McLean in the 17th minute, but again, Totton were unable to capitalise. After Sholing had partially cleared the ball, Jordan Ragguette grappled for possession about 30 yards out and then took a slightly heavy touch as he advanced towards the box. Byron Mason came out to clear and Ragguette caught him late with a high challenge, which the Referee duly rewarded with the first yellow card of the afternoon for the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines international, once the inevitable pushing and shoving involving most of the players from both sides had subsided.
When play resumed, dogged defending by Ethan Taylor stopped Fatah Makhloufi in his tracks just outside the Totton area. Then, Ragguette did well to bide his time while Sholing tried to isolate him two-on-one down their right wing, tracking the run of Conor Whiteley to intercept the through-ball and tidy up with a calm back-pass to Skrzyniarz under pressure.
A well-struck diagonal pass from right-back Tomasz Gruzewski found Daniel Mason in an advanced position on the left-hand side, and strong hold-up play by the centre-forward enabled McLean to gallop onward on the overlap to drive the ball across the Totton goalmouth, earning a corner via a queried deflection. Whiteley’s cross from the right-hand side was met in the air by former AFC Totton player Robin Nicholls, but his header flew wide of the far post.
Then, a high ball down the centre was brought under control by Whiteley, with only Rob Flooks standing between him, the on-rushing Nicholls and the Totton goal. A short, sharp exchange of passes between the two Sholing players manoeuvred Whiteley into a shooting position beyond the Totton defender’s reach, but Whiteley waved his right foot at the ball when he needed to belt the leather off it, and the chance came to nothing as the ball looped harmlessly over the home side’s crossbar.
The visitors continued to apply pressure on the Totton goal. A handball decision against Gruzewski brought a premature end to one attack, but they soon won a free-kick in a dangerous position when loose passing at the back by the hosts resulted in Flooks bringing Whiteley down about 5 yards outside the box, to the left of the D. Byron Mason scored the winning goal from a similarly-placed free-kick in the previous league meeting between these two sides at the Mackoy Stadium in January, and with a five-man defensive wall to contend with, he strode up with confidence and struck his shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post, with Skrzyniarz in full flight across his goalmouth.
RECALLED: Polish goalkeeper Amadeusz Skrzyniarz was recalled to AFC Totton's starting line-up to face local rivals Sholing in the Southern League Div.1 South encounter at Snows Stadium.
On the half-hour mark, the Stags were forced into an early substitution when Jake Adams went down suffering pain on his right side, a consequence of a heavy but fair challenge earlier in the contest. He was replaced by the more defensively-minded Nathan Hurst, prompting a change of shape for the home side.
Hisham Kasimu’s willingness to press the Sholing players and goalkeeper instilled chaos amongst the visitors’ defensive ranks, the ball falling to Taylor on the edge of the box, where he turned his marker by shifting the ball onto his right foot, his shot taking a deflection that sent the ball narrowly wide of the far post with Ryan Gosney rooted to the spot in the Sholing goal. Freddie Read’s corner from the left caused a brief scare at Sholing’s near post, with Hurst getting his head to it, but they scrambled the ball clear.
Gosney did well to beat Gwengwe to Hurst’s threaded pass through the centre to clear from outside his box, with the striker having got the better of his marker in a straight foot race. Then, Byron Mason - who ought to be sanctioned by FIFA for wearing the No.8 shirt while playing at centre-back - got across to stop Kasimu exploiting space on the Totton left wing, before leaving it to his brother to flick Read’s in-swinging corner away from the near post.
Just as both teams seemed to have dropped off to sleep, there was a sudden flurry of activity a couple of minutes before the break. One-touch control and a sharp turn by Makhloufi enabled him to play Daniel Mason in between the Totton defenders, taking the ball under control on the right before drilling it dangerously across goal. Nobody was there to apply the finish but McLean retrieved the ball on the far side and teed up Charlie Wagstaffe to shoot from the edge of the area, only the torso of captain Adam Tomasso, throwing himself into the line of fire, took the ball over the frame of the goal at the expense of a corner, which the Stags defended successfully.
As the first-half ticked over into its indicated minimum of three minutes’ stoppage, Taylor found Gwengwe in space on the right and the former Worthing striker picked out Kasimu with a chipped cross to the far side that the Frenchman took on the volley from 16 yards, Gosney responding by parrying the ball to the right with two strong hands, before his defenders got it away. And Skrzyniarz ensured the teams remained level at half-time by beating Daniel Mason to a high-bouncing ball after Owen Roundell’s strong header from half-way prevented Ragguette making progress down the Totton left.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
SHOLING 0
Totton began the second half by making their second substitution of the match, with Shaquille Gwengwe making way for Ade Olumuyiwa.
The Stags’ right-back Callum Baughan scored one and contributed to another with intelligent off-the-ball running at Highworth on Saturday, and he took aim at the Sholing goal from 30 yards out for the first meaningful action of the second period, his shot flying narrowly high and wide to the right, but it was certainly worth a go.
There was a stop in play while a Sholing player received treatment right in front of the away dugout, during which the air was filled with the sound of the Totton drum being loudly beaten in Mally’s Corner, in what was otherwise a quiet start to the second half.
Daniel Mason almost got behind the Totton defence from a long kick by his goalkeeper, but Nathan Hurst read the situation and made a crucial sliding tackle to slam that particular door. Then, Pascal Kpohomouh committed a foul throw on the left-wing touchline, handing possession back to the opposition. Shortly after, the ball was flashing across the Totton goal from the Sholing right, after Gruzewski got the ball back from Byron Mason.
THREAT: Jordan Ragguette's ability to run with the ball posed problems for the Sholing defence.
Freddie Read hit a cross-field diagonal to put Ragguette in a position to run at the defence from the left-hand side. He dragged the ball infield to beat Gruzewski and made his way into the penalty area to shoot with his left foot, but his effort lacked power and Gosney was able to clutch the ball to his midriff.
Ethan Taylor got barged over from behind by Wagstaffe as he brought Ade Olumuyiwa’s high pass under control, midway inside the Sholing half. He then aimed the free-kick for Rob Flooks on the far side of the huddle of players in the box, but a red-and-white head managed to force it out for a throw on the Totton left, before Brett Williams was sent on to replace Freddie Read for the Stags - leaving Totton with no more substitutes with 30 minutes to go.
Williams was immediately into the game, playing short passes to shift the ball quickly among Totton’s more defensive players until space opened up for Taylor to attack the right-wing byline, winning a corner in the process. As Taylor’s high cross was in-flight, Kpohomouh ran around a clutch of players and headed across goal. An attempted Sholing clearance went up rather than out and Olumuyiwa forced it towards goal, but Gosney was well-placed to make the catch.
Krusewski briefly threatened to let rip from the inside-right area but Kpohomouh’s calmness and control enabled him to take the ball and move Totton up the pitch, shortly before the Sholing right-back was replaced by the more attack-minded Bradley Targett, the brother of former Southampton player, Matt.
By the hour mark, it had become a scrappy game, with neither side really getting the bit between their teeth in the manner that a local derby with the promotion hopes of one of them at stake should guarantee. Persistent fouling by both sides constantly disrupted the flow of the game and presented the only incidents worth getting excited about in the mid-portion of the second half. A late foul by Charlie Wagstaffe on Nathan Hurst near the half-way line had Totton players and management alike enquiring with the Referee how that was any better than the one that had garnered a booking for Ragguette in the first half. Then, Rob Nicholls kicked out at Ethan Taylor to prompt further handbags and, this time, a flash of the Referee’s yellow card for the former Stag.
CREATIVE FORCE: Ethan Taylor was AFC Totton's most creative player, taking on responsibility as other attacking players had to be substituted.
A pass down the right-hand side by Baughan found Taylor near the touchline. He shifted the ball onto his left foot to force Marvin McLean to turn, allowing him to drive infield and line-up a curling shot towards the far side of the goal, until the head of Byron Mason repelled the ball with a firm defensive header. Then, Rob Flooks stuck to his defensive task well to deny Makhloufi a shooting chance from Gosney’s long clearance down the centre of the pitch.
Adam Tomasso and Kpohomouh linked up to play Williams down the left edge of the penalty area, where he was tripped to win a free-kick. Taylor’s cross went all the way across goal without being diverted towards it. Tomasso retrieved the ball but Totton couldn’t find a way past the visitors’ defence.
A burst of attacking energy turned Totton back towards their own goal around the 75th minute, but the eventual cross from the right-hand side looped over the frame of the goal. The strength of Ade Olumuyiwa got the better of Daniel Mason on two occasions in quick succession, twice wrestling with the Sholing forward to take the ball off him. Then, substitute Bradley Targett had to be substituted himself due to an injury to his left foot. Dean Frampton came on to replace him.
Taylor received a low forward pass from Tomasso on the right-hand side and played it square to Hisham Kasimu in the centre, with a defender between him and the goal from the edge of the area. He worked the ball onto his left and advanced into the box, but he rushed his shot due to the presence of the tracking defender and could only waft the ball in Gosney’s general direction, making for an easy save.
With nine minutes remaining, Kpohomouh received Tomasso's pass and charged forward, looking to link up with Ragguette on the Totton left. But his pass was intercepted and the ball quickly despatched to Nicholls, near half-way. A clipped diagonal played his team’s centre-forward in on goal, a strong shrug of the shoulder ensuring Flooks couldn’t catch him, as Daniel MASON ran through to beat Skrzyniarz with a calm finish with the inside of his right foot into the bottom right-hand corner, putting Sholing ahead.
Totton responded by attacking down the right-hand side. Baughan crossed to the far side and Williams headed down for Kasimu to volley, but Byron Mason got in the way, again, diverting the ball out to Hurst on the edge of the area, whose side-foot volley was caught by Gosney.
ACROBATICS: Pascal Kpohomouh's overhead kick was as close as Totton came to scoring against Sholing in a match the Stags needed to win to keep their play-off hopes in their own hands.
Even Ethan Taylor’s trickery on the ball couldn’t conjure up a parting of the red sea of Sholing defenders, but when Callum Baughan took possession to instigate a second-wave attack and crossed into the box, a defensive header only reached Hurst who knocked it forward to enable Pascal Kpohomouh to attempt an acrobatic overhead kick which he caught with some power, sending the ball towards the top-left corner of the goal before Ryan Gosney’s right hand pushed it over the bar.
When the board went up to indicate four minutes of stoppage time, Totton threw everything forward. Ragguette’s high delivery from deep on the right was headed at goal by Williams, but Gosney dealt with it comfortably. Then, Sholing managed to get forward and work an opportunity for Makhloufi to shoot from distance, his effort taking a deflection for a corner. It was taken short and then Olumuyiwa was penalised for tugging Daniel Mason’s shirt. Sholing were content to eat up the remaining seconds of the game by keeping the ball in the corner. When Totton eventually got the ball back and sent it long upfield, that was the signal for the Referee to call time on the match - and, barring a helping hand from Winchester next week, AFC Totton’s promotion hopes, as well.
Elsewhere, Plymouth Parkway’s 4-0 victory at Barnstaple Town means they only need a point from their last game of the season at home to Cinderford Town to win the Southern League Div.1 South title and claim the only automatic promotion slot. Frome Town’s 2-1 win at home to Paulton Rovers keeps them in with a slight chance of upsetting the Parkway party, if they can achieve a nine-goal swing next Saturday, when the Robins visit Lymington Town.
Cirencester Town have qualified for the promotion play-offs; they beat Highworth Town 1-0 at home. The Easter Monday round of fixtures was Bristol Manor Farm’s turn to take a rest in the 19-team division, which enabled Winchester City to overtake them into 4th place with a 5-1 thrashing of Lymington, courtesy of a hat-trick from Simba Mlambo.
Barnstaple Town and Mangotsfield United were both already set to be relegated before today’s matches. Cinderford Town will take part in a promotion/relegation play-off, potential geographical and other administrative changes to be imposed by the Southern League notwithstanding.
The latest Southern League Div.1 South table
Match Report by Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
