AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 26 - Saturday 04 March 2023
AFC TOTTON 1
Tommy Wright 45+2mins
BASHLEY 0
A TOMMY WRIGHT STRIKE ON THE STROKE of half-time gave AFC Totton a valuable home win over New Forest neighbours Bashley at the Snows Stadium yesterday (Saturday), as Jimmy Ball’s Stags made it five consecutive Southern League Div1. South victories on a day when the league leaders Sholing dropped points again to leave the title race wide open.
The Boatmen’s goalless stalemate at home to Wimborne Town means that Dave Diaper’s side are without a win in their last three league games, while The Stags lurk behind them in second place in the table, currently trailing by six points with four matches (a potential 12 points) in-hand.
Injury and suspension, respectively, denied Totton boss Ball the services of Jordan Ragguette and Ben Jefford at left-back. Club stalwart Jack Masterton, who usually plays in midfield, is no stranger to the No.3 shirt, though, having been a regular left-sided full-back early in his career. New signing Josh Carmichael, who completed his move from Salisbury on Thursday, came straight into the team to partner his long-time friend and carpool companion Charlie Davis in midfield. Adam Tomasso was rested, having been in the thick of the muck and bullets during The Battle of Cullompton last Saturday, so second-year scholar Owen Pelham was named among the substitutes.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Benny READ
3. Jack MASTERTON
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Charlie DAVIS
8. Josh CARMICHAEL
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14. Marcus DAY
15. Matty BURROWS
16. Freddie READ
17. Owen PELHAM
18. Jake ADAMS
Their first league encounter of the season ended goalless at the GlenMex Stadium in October, but both sides started brightly enough to suggest there would be goals in this return fixture. Attired in the traditional gold-and-black of Bashley, striker Jack Lovell made his presence felt early on, charging down an attempted clearance by Lewis Noice from outside his penalty area. The ball rebounded back towards the Totton goal, beyond the reach of the goalkeeper, but Jack Masterton, with the coolest head in SO40, trotted back to take possession of the loose ball and remove the danger.
Four minutes into the game, a long diagonal pass clipped from midway inside the Bashley half found Charlie Davis making a run into the inside-right channel, from where he aimed a controlled volley across goal for Scott Rendell to stretch out one of those rubber limbs a few yards out, but alert defending caused the ball to ricochet wide for a right-wing corner. Masterton took it short and received a return pass from Taylor, before curling a cross towards Charlie Kennedy at the far post. A combination of Samuel Jackson and ex-Totton goalkeeper Ross Casey bundled the Stags centre-back to the ground while also claiming possession for the visitors.
FOOTBALL FRIENDS: New signing Josh Carmichael (left) and his midfield partner Charlie Davis (right) have been mates since boyhood and their time together in AFC Bournemouth's Academy.
Totton debutant Josh Carmichael appeared to settle into his new team with consummate ease, using his considerable height to good effect when necessary and stretching the Bashley defence with a curled cross from the right-hand side that had Sam Davidson stooping to head clear from around the penalty spot with Ethan Taylor threatening to connect from just beyond his left shoulder.
The home side hit their rhythm early. Taylor’s high diagonal in the eighth-minute was knocked down from the right corner of the penalty area by Rendell, putting Tommy Wright in to take aim with a well-struck snapshot that forced Casey to react smartly at his near post.
Finding themselves pushed back into their own half, Bashley still carried counter-attacking threat but often the gap between the Totton defence and their goalkeeper left too little room for the New Foresters to work in.
A strong block by Mike Carter five yards outside the Totton box was matched moments later by Ethan Taylor getting back to put the kibosh on a right-wing cross, albeit at the expense of a corner. Masterton headed the cross away at the near post and Totton were able to sweep forward. Then, a crisp one-two between Carmichael and Rendell on the right-hand side enabled the new man to deliver a dangerous cross that was turned away before a blue shirt could connect.
The contest’s first yellow card was shown to Jack Lovell in the 17th minute for a late tackle on Carter, close to the centre-circle. When the ball came forward, Rendell held it up and laid it back for Carmichael to cultivate a beautifully-curled cross over the defenders and into the path of Taylor to the left of the D. But the winger was unable to sort his feet out quickly enough to burst away from his marker and ended up scuffing his shot into the arms of Ross Casey.
When Charlie Kennedy got caught pushing out from Totton’s defensive line to repel one Bashley attack, Carter was there to run interference behind him, disrupting the player in possession enough to prevent him finding a forward passing option, which forced him into an error and won the ball back for the boys in blue via a throw-in. Kennedy was soon back in position to head away a cross from the Bashley right. The ball came back in again after a throw-in, and this time Cameron Beard climbed well among a ruck of players in the centre but could only prod his header over Lewis Noice’s crossbar.
The visitors continued to exert pressure on the home side’s defence. A push by Rendell gave them a free-kick close to their right-wing touchline, just a few yards further back than the corner of the penalty area, but a one-handed punch by Noice was enough to remove the threat posed by a dangerously in-swinging cross, despite all the bodies around the Totton keeper. As the ball travelled out of the Totton box, a sharp turn from Wright left his marker for dead and he was away on the counter attack, with Charlie Davis sprinting to provide an option on the left-hand side. Wright timed his pass well but over-hit it slightly, pushing Davis further wide than the momentum of the move required. Davis retrieved the ball on the left corner of the penalty area and tried to curl a shot towards the far post, but his effort was blocked and while Masterton tried to keep the move alive, Totton had to settle for retaining possession back in their own half.
NUTMEG, ANYONE?: Ex-Stag Billy Lowes (Bashley's No.10) presents Totton goalscorer Tommy Wright with an offer he can't refuse.
Rendell, Carmichael and, on occasions, Wright were all winning their aerial battles, as Bashley found themselves frequently pressed back into their own territory. A clever combination between Davis, Rendell, Wright and Benny Read in the 28th minute freed the full-back down the right edge of the penalty area, but his right-footed cross was turned away. Luke Hallett took up possession near halfway and strode forward, before picking out Taylor on the left. Bashley full-back Jamie Webber was in quickly to prevent Taylor utilising the space ahead of him.
The hard-working Davis won the ball back for Totton high up the pitch, and although the subsequent move didn’t come off directly, it led to an impressive interchange of passes instigated by Rendell to bring Read and Wright back into game down the right-hand side. Wright fizzed the ball across from the byline and Taylor, darting towards the near post, knocked it wide with his left thigh, before dropping his head into his hands in recognition to a good chance gone begging.
At that point, for all their defensive solidity, Bashley were in danger of being played off the park. A high bounce caused the ball to loop over Rendell on the Totton left, but Taylor nipped in behind him to nod it past Webber and attack the left-wing byline, winning a corner for The Stags. Davis crossed and Samuel Jackson rose well at the near post to head firmly clear.
With Totton on top before a bumper home crowd, children from the Springfields School in Milton Road, Southampton (directly opposite where The Dell used to be) were in good voice, cheering The Stags on to continue their attempts at breaking down Bashley’s stubborn resistance. Rendell was aggrieved to not get the decision when he felt his opponent clattered into the back of his neck during an aerial challenge near halfway. Bashley came forward down their left but dogged defending by Benny Read put the home side back on the front foot, earning a throw-in further up the line that gave Rendell the opportunity to query the Assistant Referee’s view of what just happened.
Totton won another corner on their left, when Davis improvised a back-heel to complete a one-two from which Masterton was able to earn the set-piece. Davis swung his delivery towards the near post, where Hallett tried to flick it on but the defender right behind him got the block in and cleared. Davis was involved again soon after, linking up with the ever-ready Benny Read, burrowing his way to the right-wing byline, via an intricate exchange with Wright, to force a corner from that side. Masterton again took it short, getting the ball back from Read before curling a cross towards the near post area where Bashley skipper Bradley Morris could only head the ball up and over his own crossbar. When Davis lined up to take the subsequent corner from the opposite flank, every Bashley player was inside their own penalty area. Kennedy challenged in the air but couldn’t force it goalward; when it dropped, Read tried to hit one but the ball wouldn’t sit for him and Bashley were able to chase it out.
A few minutes before the break, there was the bizarre sight of Casey in the Bashley goal playing for time, standing with both hands behind his back and the ball at his feet, defiantly refusing to do anything until Rendell would come and challenge him to pick it up, while his manager Matt Tubbs eagerly encouraged him in this madness from the sidelines. It was the sort of thing you usually only see when a team is deliberately trying to run the clock down to secure a win or a valuable point; it’s a very rare thing to see before the half-time interval.
Totton came forward, again. Taylor crossed from the left but the ball eluded the reach of Carter in the middle. Bashley countered swiftly but Hallett took control of the situation to keep the back door firmly closed.
As the first half was gently rocking itself to sleep, Carmichael injected some adrenaline with an arrowed pass from centre-field to Wright, just off the right corner of the penalty area. With swathes of gold and black between him and the opposition goal, Wright took the ball back infield, moving horizontally to the penalty box, side-stepping one challenge and hurdling another before laying the ball off to Masterton and then receiving it back to feet five yards left of the D. With a shuffle and a flourish, Tommy WRIGHT evaded another defender as he crept into the box and drilled a low, left-footed shot across Casey and into the bottom-right corner of the net. It was the striker’s third goal since joining AFC Totton on loan from Havant & Waterlooville.
There was barely time to restart the match before the Referee blew the half-time whistle, but there could not have been a soul within a thousand miles of the Snows Stadium who would claim that Totton didn’t thoroughly deserve their first-half advantage.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 1
BASHLEY 0
Early second-half pressure from The Stags had Casey launching the ball over the conifers and onto Salisbury Road. From the throw-in, Benny Read and Carmichael worked enough space for the new man to send in a high cross towards Rendell, but the veteran centre-forward was adjudged to have pushed an opponent at the expense of a free-kick.
Jack Lovell had a brief sight of Totton’s goal when he received the ball from a left-wing throw-in, while lurking at the corner of the penalty area. Given enough room to get his shot away, after twisting away from Carter, his effort lacked conviction and missed the target to the left. Then, Frankie Monk, wearing the No.17 shirt despite having started the match, latched onto a pass from the left-wing touchline and shook off the attentions of Benny Read by jinking this way and that, but with the penalty area filling up rapidly, rather than try to pick out a teammate in the middle, he tried to squeeze a low shot in at the near post; bread-and-butter for Noice.
Former Lymington Town forward Harry McGrath was the next to lead a raid on the Totton goal, trying to get on the end of an up-and-under before Masterton nipped in to swipe the ball away. Then, Rendell knocked the ball on for Taylor about 25 yards out, with defenders in his way. He played it square to Wright, who decided to go the long way around the defender in front of him to get to the right-wing byline, before trying to feed Rendell’s dash to the near post. Casey got something on it to poke the ball out for a corner, from which Totton failed to capitalise.
ATTACKING THREAT: AFC Totton winger Ethan Taylor takes on Bashley full-back Jamie Webber during the Southern League Div.1 South encounter at the Snows Stadium.
Ethan Taylor was shown the yellow card in the 53rd minute for a late challenge, and while his victim was receiving treatment, Bashley made a double substitution. The foul resulted in a Bashley free-kick within shooting range of the Totton goal, so the introduction of Olly Balmer - the player who scored with two similarly-positioned free-kicks for Winchester City on his last visit to the Snows Stadium, early last season - caused a sharp intake of breath from many Stags fans. Balmer’s first touch of the ball was a sweet left-foot strike over the wall, which the fully alert Lewis Noice caught with two strong hands, diving to his left.
In the 63rd minute, Totton almost scored a spectacular goal that would have been a virtual recreation of a famous Robin van Persie strike for Manchester United against Aston Villa. Cast in the role of Wayne Rooney, Josh Carmichael had the ball on the right-hand side, just inside the Bashley half, with the time to look up and hit a pinpoint diagonal to the far side where Ethan Taylor took it on the full, glorious volley, firing narrowly over the crossbar. File that one under: “What a goal that would have been!”
Totton surged forward, again. Masterton fed the ball into the left of the area for Carmichael, whose cross-shot looped onto the top of the net behind the crossbar. Then, Jimmy Ball made his first substitution of the match, withdrawing the goalscorer Tommy Wright and sending on the fresh legs of Marcus Day.
CLEAN SHEET: Stags goalkeeper Lewis Noice made a smart save from an Olly Balmer free-kick to keep Bashley at bay at the Snows Stadium.
Lovell showed good strength to take the ball under control while flanked by Totton defenders to his left and right. He managed to bustle himself enough room to unleash a shot, which Noice, having come out to narrow the angle, appeared to deflect wide with his chest. The corner was only half-cleared but as Bashley substitute Antonio Diaz tried to line himself up for a left-footed drive from outside the box, Charlie Davis hurled himself, fully prone, into the ball’s path to block. The ball rebounded to Cameron Beard in a wider position, but Noice was happy to splay his arms wide and let the big defender’s effort strike the advertising hoarding beyond his right-hand upright.
Charlie Davis left the pitch to a warm reception on 70 minutes, as Jimmy Ball set his stall out to hit the away team on the counter-attack with the pace of Matty Burrows. But it was Taylor who carried the fight as The Stags charged forward again at a stretched Bashley defence, who nevertheless managed to deflect Taylor’s attempted pass away from Burrows to enable Casey to intercept.
Casey had to be alert again to get to the ball before Rendell about 10 yards outside the Bashley box. The Referee provoked the ire of the home crowd when he awarded Bashley a free-kick for an innocuous push inside the centre-circle. The ball was delivered high into the Totton area where Samuel Jackson found himself with half-a-yard of freedom, but he could only head meekly wide.
That was the first of several free-kicks given to the visiting team that had Totton players and their dug-out questioning the Referee’s decision-making. But The Stags stuck to their defensive task, reinforced by the height and strong aerial prowess of Carmichael, who was being pushed back from midfield into the defensive line, almost as a third central defender. Harry McGrath had two chances to deliver some quality from the Bashley right, but first Carmichael and then Kennedy got heads in the way, before Taylor went down in dubious circumstances to buy some respite for his team.
Another push by Rendell gave Bashley the chance to launch the ball forward, but this time Totton knocked it straight out and Matty Burrows raced away down the right flank, with Cameron Beard giving chase and eventually earning himself a yellow card by taking the winger down near the touchline. Taylor’s cross was lofted to the back post, where Casey did extremely well to take it under pressure from both Rendell and Kennedy.
Bashley were warming to their task of trying to snatch at least a late equaliser, while Totton were - uncharacteristically for them - struggling to retain possession of the football. A mistake by Masterton near the intersection of the halfway line and left-wing touchline gave the visitors a chance to launch a raid down their right and into the penalty area. Among a cluster of chasing blue shirts, Masterton atoned by getting his foot in to prevent Lovell shooting. The ball popped to the edge of the six-yard box, in the middle of the Totton goal, where Benny Read had the bare-faced audacity to take a touch before clearing to safety.
EVER-READY BUNNY: Benny Read runs at the Bashley defence.
Into the last 10 minutes, the game and the points were still up for grabs; Bashley in the ascendency while Totton clung on to their slender lead, backs-to-the-wall style. Lovell continued to be a nuisance, forcing his way into the Totton box from the Bashley right, until Carter intervened by clearing into touch. Antonio Diaz hurled the ball into the area. It dropped over a Bashley head into the Totton six-yard box. Luke Hallett prodded it across and away from goal, while Masterton scampered to scrape it from the byline to concede another throw-in rather than a corner. Diaz tried again, but Mike Carter thumped the ball away with that unmistakable bald pate, before loudly demanding continued strength and resilience from his teammates.
Totton’s rearguard action was further enhanced by the vocal encouragement of the Springfield School Choir, Mally’s Corner also piping in with occasional bursts of The Totton Chorus. Marcus Day found himself on a pressing brief, trying to disrupt the Bashley defenders in possession before they could play the ball forward. He forced an error to win a throw-in on the left-hand side, from which Totton were able to edge forward and run down the clock.
Bashley did manage to come forward again, though, with Jackson isolating Read on their left wing. By the time he delivered his cross, Burrows had got back to send the ball out of play on the far side. Soon after, Burrows was set free to run with the ball from halfway, to give his defenders some rest, but he couldn’t make it as far as Casey’s goal before Bashley managed to erect enough roadblocks to take possession back.
With three minutes of the 90 to go, Ethan Taylor came off to be replaced by Freddie Read. Bashley responded by sending on forward Adam Grange in place of defender Jamie Webber.
A No.8 on No.8 foul by Carmichael on Morris gave Bashley another free-kick in the Totton half, but the delivery was poor and Burrows was able to clear it. Scott Rendell had gone back to defend the free-kick, so was ideally positioned when the ball came flying back towards the Totton box. He got enough on it to keep it out of the danger zone, and Kennedy showed his experience by trying to run the ball out of the box before going down at the merest hint of a touch from Lovell to claim a free-kick.
Five minutes of stoppage time were confirmed by the officials. Bashley hurled the ball into the Totton box, again, trying to pit Lovell up against the comparatively shorter Jack Masterton. Noice monitored the situation closely and was off his line in a flash to grab the knock on.
Freddie Read tried to take the ball to the left-wing corner flag, but was dispossessed in the attempt. He compromised by kicking the ball out of play, and then kicking it away again before Bashley could take the throw. The Referee took umbrage and showed him the yellow card.
Strong hold-up play by Rendell on halfway was followed by a short pass back to Masterton, who arced a high ball up and over the Bashley defence. Burrows judged its trajectory and positioned himself at its landing site. In an attempt to control the ball and simultaneously move inside the covering defender to his right, so he could run around him, Burrows tried to volley the ball infield. Casey read the situation and came out to intercept, but the defender diverted it to the keeper’s right. Casey thrust out his right hand to swipe it to the ground, while Burrows tried to extend his leg through the defender to poke it past the keeper; Casey snatched the ball up before the Totton winger could make meaningful contact.
Freddie Read ran into a gold and black cluster outside the Bashley box, but before they could clear their lines, his brother Benny nicked it back and went clean through in the middle of the Bashley area. Casey came out and Benny Read skipped to his right and tried to chip the keeper to wrap things up for Totton. However, his finish lacked power and direction, dropping wide of the right-hand upright. At that point, the Referee took one last good look at his watch and called time on the whole affair.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“That certainly wasn’t our prettiest or most polished performance of the season, But let’s get it right; we have beaten a very good side here, today. We’ve shown this season that we can play football and put in expansive team performances, and we can also fight and win ugly, like we did today. I’ve got no problem with that at all - in fact, you need that if you want to be successful at this level of football and above. You almost have to enjoy it; love defending and getting stuck in and keeping the other team at arm’s length. You can see that in players like Kennedy, Carter and Hallett, and the whole team is becoming better at working as a stubborn unit to see ourselves over the line when we have to.
“We had a few knocks and bumps hanging over from last week, so it was good to be able to bring Josh Carmichael straight in for his first game, and I was very pleased with what I saw from him. He can pass the ball from anywhere, he has a real presence about himself on the pitch and he helped us to stay organised when Bashley were pushing hard for an equaliser. He’s going to help us massively going into the run-in, certainly if that performance is anything to go by.
“Bideford come here next week. They made us work for it at their place last time, we had to go right to the wire just to get a point. But as I always say, there are no easy games in this league. So, we’ll focus on that one now, get the players rested and back up again for next Saturday and just keep taking it one game at a time. I don’t want to know about results elsewhere or about what other teams are doing. I’m fully focused on what we’re doing, and the senior players are doing their part to ensure the whole squad retains the attitude that it’s up to us to maintain our own high standards right to the very end of the campaign. I’m very fortunate to have proper men in this team, who I can trust to approach it properly and get the job done.”
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View AFC Totton’s fixture list for the 2022/23 season
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
