AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH - Matchday#3
Wednesday 16 August 2023 | Snows Stadium, Totton | Att: 1,365
SCRIMSHAW OFF THE MARK AGAINST FORMER CLUB AS STAGS BATTLE TO DESERVED WIN
AFC TOTTON 1
Jake Scrimshaw 67mins
POOLE TOWN 0
EX-POOLE TOWN LOANEE striker Jake Scrimshaw chose the occasion of the visit of his former teammates to the Snows Stadium to open his AFC Totton goalscoring account, getting on the end of a Matty Burrows cross to score what proved to be the only goal in a hard-fought home win for The Stags against one of the Southern League Premier Division South’s most fancied teams, last night (Wednesday 16 August 2023).
Scott Rendell had a first-half penalty saved and the prolific Dolphins striker Tony Lee was denied a goal against one of his own former clubs by a miraculous one-handed tip-over from Stags keeper Lewis Noice, during a game in which two determined sides traded blows throughout and the home side came out on top.
Manager Jimmy Ball came into the game without the injured midfield pairing of Mike Carter and Charlie Davis, while Josh Carmichael was only fit enough to be named on the bench and Jack Masterton, who attended the match as a spectator, still someway off match fitness due to work commitments. Former Malta International Sam Magri made his first competitive AFC Totton start in central defence, with Charlie Kennedy moving into midfield. Leon Maloney kept his place and Matty Burrows was also named in the Starting XI for the first time this season. Ethan Taylor dropped to the bench. Scott Rendell took the captain’s armband.
AFC TOTTON
Starting XI
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Benny READ
15. Sam MAGRI
6. Luke HALLETT
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
5. Charlie KENNEDY
8. Adam TOMASSO
17. Leon MALONEY
11. Matty BURROWS
9. Scott RENDELL
18. Jake SCRIMSHAW
Substitutes
10. Ethan TAYLOR
12. Josh CARMICHAEL
16. Alfie STANLEY
19. Keane ANDERSON
20. Owen PELHAM
COME ON YOU STAGS: The Girls' U11s were out in force to support AFC Totton.
Poole wore their black-and-gold away shirts with black shorts and socks, and they mounted the first attack of note down their right wing, forcing Totton into two clearances in quick succession. But when Totton managed to get forward, they won a free-kick that was so close to the right corner of the penalty area, some of the men in but were claiming a penalty. Matty Burrows picked himself up and curled a well-struck right-footed shot around the defensive wall and into the outside netting just behind the near post.
Both sides had made energetic starts, the visitors no doubt encouraged by having racked up nine goals in their two fixtures of the new league season, include an emphatic 7-2 away win at Swindon Supermarine on the opening day. Winger Jack Dickson had Jordan Ragguette tracking him across the pitch, so far that it was the Totton right-back Benny Read who doubled up with his full-back partner to usher the danger away.
Luke Hallett was guilty of a sloppy pass out from defence in the 12th minute, which he immediately rectified by winning the ball back with a firm tackle before Dickson could take advantage. As Totton came forward again, Burrows won a free-kick inside his own half and then darted down the right wing to receive a pass. Having isolated the full-back, the young winger checked infield and sent in a left-footed cross shot that required Luke Cairney to help it on beyond the far post, at the expense of a corner. Leon Maloney’s delivery dropped invitingly inside the Poole six-yard box, but neither Burrows nor Charlie Kennedy could get their heads to the ball and the chance went begging.
Burrows had another sighter of goal a few minutes later, when Adam Tomasso intercepted a misguided pass in the centre-circle and rolled the ball forward for Scott Rendell. The centre-forward had the presence of mind to recognise that Jake Scrimshaw had run offside, so he switched the play out to Burrows on the right, who had space to advance and line up a right-footed effort that Cairney again had to push wide. Maloney’s cross was headed back out to him, and his second delivery from a slightly deeper position was also repelled by The Dolphins defence.
YOU'RE ALL HANDS: A Poole Town defender gets up close and personal with Jake Scrimshaw.
Poole attacked down their right in the 18th minute, but Kennedy was quickly across to not only halt the offensive but also win a throw-in for his team. Totton got forward when Ragguette put his foot through the ball from his left-back position and Burrows ran in behind, with one eye on the high looping ball and the other on the defender trying to stick with him. As the up-and-under bounced into the Poole penalty area, with Cairney well off his line, Burrows was pulled to the ground. Scrimshaw played on and struck the loose ball into the back of the net, but the Referee had already awarded the penalty. Scott Rendell stepped up and Cairney saved the spot-kick, reacting quickly to spring back to his feet to divert Scrimshaw’s follow-up shot away, too. Totton tried to retain their composure and launch another attack straight away, but Ragguette’s cross from the left arced across goal and wide on the far side.
Hallett came across to Totton’s left-wing touchline to put a stop to one Poole attack, but his back-pass to Lewis Noice was too hard and resulted in a corner for the visitors. The spring-heeled centre-back met Cameron Murray’s cross to flick the ball away, Magri and Read completing the defensive clearance.
Then, Magri conceded another corner on the same side which Murray sent over. Man-marking an opponent who made a dash towards the back-post, Kennedy got there first and thumped the ball wide for another corner on the opposite flank, which Murray this time hit too hard, enabling Ragguette to clear.
Poole bundled forward again, as an awkward bounce momentarily had the Totton defence on the back foot. An offside flag relieved the pressure for the home team, whose fans were being out-sung by the travelling red-and-white contingent behind Noice’s goal. Then, Magri stuck to his task well to prevent Tony Lee getting in at the right-wing byline. A long throw-in and a follow-up cross had Totton steadfastly defending their near post shortly before the half-hour mark, until a punt out of defence had Burrows leading a counter-attack, which ended as swiftly as it had begun with Scrimshaw running offside from Burrows’ through-ball.
Hallett swept away Lee’s swinging cross from Poole’s right, but when Totton tried to counter, their passing was too frantic and the move got away from them, the ball running out of play at the other end of the pitch.
Centre-back Will Spetch received the first lecture in what proved to be an ongoing dialogue between him and the Referee, when he went through the back of Matty Burrows near the halfway line. Spetch’s timing was much better a few moments later when he executed a last-ditch sliding tackle in the middle of the Poole D, just as Scrimshaw was about to pull the trigger.
Burrows was finding some joy up against Harry Hutchinson in the Poole left-back position, wriggling his way past him and another defender to test Cairney with a near post shot that the keeper could only push into the air before it dropped in front of his goal. Skipper Jamie Whisken, another ex-Totton player, got to it and cleared before Tomasso could convert.
Jimmy Ball was shown his second yellow card of the season in the AFC Totton dugout; it wasn’t made clear why. As the first-half moved into its last 10 minutes, the game was decidedly even with both teams posing a threat; Totton were doing more defending but they usually had the requisite numbers back to cope with whatever Poole could throw at them, while the visitors had to deal with fewer attacks but were being stretched more often.
Spetch put in another agricultural challenge during an aerial duel with Scott Rendell, the defender escaping without a yellow card despite his earlier indiscretion on Burrows. The young winger whipped the ball into the Poole box looking for the head of Hallett. Whisken managed to knock it wide for a corner. Maloney tried a short corner with Burrows but the move broke down and the latter was called up for pulling an opponent’s arm, before Leon Maloney was booked for kicking the ball away.
GET THE MOTOR RUNNING: Jordan Ragguette launches a left-wing attack for The Stags.
Hallett was soon back in defence, heading out a Poole free-kick from just behind the halfway line. Scrimshaw took a kick in the back of the calf as he tried to complete the clearance by hooking the ball away over his own head.
Lee threatened to get through in the inside-left channel from a flick-on down the middle of the pitch, but Hallett stretched to block his path and remove the danger. Then, a misplaced pass by Kennedy allowed Poole to come forward again, moving the ball out to their right flank. When the cross came in, Hallett’s clearance struck Kennedy and rebounded into the left-back area where Ragguette was able to gather.
A few moments later, though, Ragguette was caught in possession as he tried to maraud down Totton’s left flank. Incensed at losing the ball, he chased back and managed to block Murray’s attempted cross, at the cost of a corner. Murray took it again, and Kennedy only half-cleared with his header; Spetch completed the job by smashing the loose ball miles over the bar with a wild volley.
Totton nearly edged ahead after two minutes of stoppage time were indicated. Read played the ball forward from the right of the Totton defence, finding Rendell on halfway who controlled the ball and hooked it down the line on the volley to release the fleet-footed Burrows. Cairney came rushing off his line but Burrows was always going to get there first; he tried to lob the keeper but struck the ball a little too hard, sending it arcing over the crossbar at the far post. It was an encouraging end to the first half, and both teams went in to appreciative applause at the break.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
POOLE TOWN 0
The AFC Totton Girls’ U11s, managed by Martin Kerr and Ben Macaulay, who are also responsible for the Women’s team, were in attendance and in good voice, helping to drown out the songs of the visiting fans who had started the match the more boisterous.
Poole made a change before the restart, with Corby Moore coming on in place of Harry Hutchinson. They won a free-kick from a Leon Maloney foul, which they quickly converted to a right-wing corner. Lewis Noice took the cross cleanly but was then left remonstrating with his teammates in response to the lack of attacking options for him to throw the ball out to.
Benny Read and Matty Burrows tried to combine down the right-hand side, winning a throw-in and then trying again. When the attack broke down, Read found his name being taken by the Referee for tugging Dickson back at the intersection of the halfway line and touchline. Given what Spetch had already been allowed to get away with, Read’s visible grievance was understandable. Cairney came a long way out of his goal to take the free-kick. Totton defended it and Harvey Wright was the next name in the book as he mistimed his challenge while trying to keep the attack alive.
Totton appealed for another penalty in the 54th minute, when Kennedy was bundled into from behind inside the box, after Ragguette had played Maloney to the left-wing byline for a pull-back cross that had Totton’s No.5 within shooting range. The Referee wasn’t interested and play continued. Poole tried to mount an attack, the momentum of which stalled as Totton got men back. A loose pass enabled Hallett to stab the ball to Scrimshaw, who was kicked by Wes Fogden in his attempt to win it back, earning himself a yellow card.
A CACOPHONY IN THE CORNER: Ron Attwill leads the chanting from Mally's Corner.
A rare heavy touch from Burrows from a looping Lewis Noice long kick enabled Toby Holmes and Jack Dickson to work their way down the left wing for Poole, with Dickson then laying on a shooting chance for Holmes from inside-left. The ball bounced on its way across Noice, the keeper watching it carefully and clutching it safely to his chest as he dived to the left.
Poole managed to halt Burrows’ forward progression down the Totton right, until Tomasso returned the ball with interest and the winger won a corner. Poole half-cleared it, and then Burrows had the ball with his back to goal about 25 yards out when Spetch’s forearm raked across the back of his neck. The free-kick was given but there was still no yellow card for the frequently-fouling defender.
A Sam Magri diagonal almost put Burrows in on the right corner of the penalty area, but his low cross was blocked. Then, Dickson made rapid progress through the middle of the pitch, dribbling past two blue shirts before trying to slip the ball towards the left flank. Read intercepted but the ball bounced up and struck his arm, resulting in a hand-ball call against him. Poole wasted the free-kick by straying offside as the ball was sent into the Totton box.
A well-timed sliding tackle by Whisken prevented Ragguette attacking the left-wing byline. Then, Rendell and Tomasso both won aerial duels to knock the ball down to Burrows, who turned on the ball and hit a low shot that was straight down the goalkeeper’s throat.
Poole won another free-kick for a sliding foul by Hallett on Dickson, about 35 yards out on their left. But again, the black-and-gold striped shirts moved too early and were flagged offside before the ball landed in the danger zone.
The visitors replaced Harvey Wright with striker Luke Pardoe in the 66th minute but just a minute later, they fell behind. Noice sent a long kick forward, to which Rendell rose high and flicked on, releasing the energetic Burrows into the space between the penalty area and the right-wing corner flag. Burrows sprinted onto the ball and had time to survey the situation in the middle before picking out a teammate with a low pass to set-up Jake SCRIMSHAW to sweep the ball home into the centre of the goal from 10 yards for his first AFC Totton goal.
YOU BEAUTY!: Striker Jake Scrimshaw runs to celebrate with his teammates after sweeping home his first AFC Totton goal since joining the club in the summer.
Poole responded by getting forward straight from the restart, and they moved the ball with pace and purpose without actually hurting the Totton defence. Destiny Ojo, a forward on loan from Portsmouth, was sent on in place of Toby Holmes. He was greeted by the Girls’ U11s revelling in a chorus of “Let’s go, Totton! Let’s go!”
Jimmy Ball then made a change of his own, withdrawing Leon Maloney to send on Ethan Taylor. Poole won a free-kick on the right-hand side, which they crossed into the box. Noice punched it away and Ojo’s cross from the left was too long.
Spetch finally reached the magic number of fouls to persuade the Referee to take his name, when he slammed into Rendell from behind as a high ball came towards them near halfway. Hallett’s high diagonal from the free-kick was defended by the visitors.
Burrows managed to win another corner on the right. Taylor played it short to Burrows, and after a bit of shuffling between them, Burrows found Kennedy with a cross, but he was pulled up for pushing.
Poole had their clearest sight of the Totton goal when they pumped a free-kick from close to halfway into the box. Lee managed to get it under control and turned one defender, only to find another in the way of his shot. The rebound fell to another Poole player, but three sets of arms and legs belonging to Totton players desperately converged upon him and the home side managed to scrape the ball away. Then, as the match entered its last 10 minutes, Ethan Taylor raced in from the left flank to track his man who was trying to dart onto the ball through the middle, performing a well-timed sliding tackle to block the shot.
Totton were falling back, enabling Poole to collect possession whenever the ball came past the halfway line, although the triple threat of Burrows, Taylor and Scrimshaw prevented them from just pouring forward. A clearing header from Hallett found Whisken in splendid isolation in the centre-circle. Poole worked the ball to the right, from where it was whipped in low for Tony Lee to flick at goal with his right foot. With lightning-fast reactions, Lewis Noice leapt in the middle of his goal and tipped the ball over the crossbar to make his second match-winning save of the season (after his stoppage time denial of Excellence Muhemba at Harrow Borough on the opening day, just moments before Charlie Kennedy and Matty Burrows sparked mayhem with their late goals to turn a 0-1 deficit to a 2-1 win in London).
IN FULL FLIGHT: Matty Burrows attacks down the right wing during the second half of the match between AFC Totton and Poole Town at the Snows Stadium.
From the resulting corner, Noice caught the cross and bowled the ball out to Scrimshaw on the right. He tried to play Burrows in with a chipped pass, which prompted the Assistant Referee on the near side to raise his flag, to the astonishment of the home crowd.
Poole were reduced to 10 men when Burrows and Fogden chased the ball towards Totton’s right-wing touchline, close to the halfway line. Fogden, already on a yellow card, shoulder-charged the comparatively lightweight figure of Burrows into the advertising hoarding, causing him to whack his head. It was an unnecessarily reckless foul that gave the Referee no choice but to produce a second yellow card and give Fogden his marching orders. In the ensuing kerfuffle, a member of the Poole Town backroom staff was also sent packing alongside his team’s No.19.
With a one-goal and one-man advantage, Totton began looking for ways to run the clock down, Taylor twice taking the ball towards the left-wing corner flag to frustrate the Poole defenders. On the second occasion, they managed to stab the ball forward but Scrimshaw intercepted and passed infield to Rendell, who in turn tee’d up Benny Read for a low rasping shot that Cairney had to watch through the legs of two defenders before parrying away from the incoming Rendell.
A slip by Ragguette enabled Poole to win a corner on their right. Rendell did a captain’s job, back in his own six-yard box to belt the ball upfield. The mere presence of Burrows, with his abundance of pace, was enough to frighten the remaining Poole defence into slicing the ball out of play, rather than lumping it back down the pitch or bringing it under control to build another attack.
Four minutes of stoppage time were indicated by the Referee, which began with Tomasso winning a free-kick in front of the Totton dugout after being charged into from behind by Ojo. Burrows clipped the ball into the box, where Rendell was beaten to it and Tomasso’s follow-up header drifted wide of the left-hand post.
Poole launched the ball into the Totton box from deep on the right-hand side. As the ball came over, Lee took a theatrical dive that the Referee simply laughed off, not even bothering to book the striker for simulation. From Noice’s goal-kick, Rendell was able to flick on to prevent Poole clearing forward again, the final whistle sounding as a defender was scampering back towards his own corner flag in a vain attempt to launch a final attack for the defeated Dolphins.
After the match, AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“We’ve had two games where we didn’t perform in the first half, which, I’ll be honest, I haven’t been able to put my finger on as to why. But we were much better tonight. We knew this was going to be a tough one and the lads really stepped up and gave a proper performance and have come away with a deserved win. I’m not surprised. I know these lads have that in them and I expect them to turn up like that week-in, week-out, and put in a real shift. And when they do that, more often than not, they come off the pitch at the end of the game with a win. You can’t play for half-a-game at this level, but tonight they were on it from the first whistle and they got to grips with a very talented side and, I thought, we were good value for the win.
“If the Referee had waited 10 seconds, then we don’t get a penalty in the first half; we get a goal. But he was too whistle-happy and we were denied a goal. Scott Rendell usually buries it from the penalty spot but the keeper has made a good save. Scott didn’t let it affect him, though, and neither did the rest of the team. They just carried on working hard, defending when they had to and trying to create chances whenever possible, and Scott was an integral part of that, as you’d expect from a player of his experience.
“Matty Burrows was lively. We’ve had to nurture him back from injury through the summer, so he’s been a bit behind the other lads in terms of game time. But he won the penalty tonight and kept his composure to provide the assist for the goal. It was his first 90 minutes for quite a while, but he did really well and continued to pose a threat late in the game. It’s fantastic to see Jake Scrimshaw get off the mark with his first goal. He deserves that, for his work rate and all the running he does playing off Scott’s flick-ons. He took it well and I hope it’s the first of many goals to come.
“Lewis Noice has that ability to come up with big saves in crucial moments. He’s brave at coming out and getting himself between the bodies to claim the ball at set-pieces and put us on the front foot. He thoroughly deserves his clean sheet and I’m sure he’ll sleep well, tonight.
“We were calm under pressure, all over the pitch. We fought hard to get an advantage and then hold onto it. When things were getting a bit fraught towards the end, we didn’t lose our cool or get involved in anything stupid. We kept the emotions in check - ice in the veins, if you like - and saw the job through in a very professional manner.
“It will be another tough one at Winchester City on Saturday, but I’m pleased to be going into it with a second win of the season under our belts and I think we have every reason to go there with confidence and try to impose our game upon them. We will need the support of our fans, so please get along there and make your voices heard.”
Latest Southern League Premier Division South table
Next Up: WINCHESTER CITY vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#4 | Charters Community Stadium, Hillier Way, Winchester SO23 7SR | Saturday 19 August 2023 | Kick-Off at 3:00pm
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
