AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUT | Matchday#25
Saturday 27 January 2024 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton | Att: 1,353
MAGRI’S MISSILE A LEVELLER FOR STAGS AGAINST GOSPORT
AFC TOTTON 1
Sam Magri 58mins
GOSPORT BOROUGH 1
Dan Wooden 33mins
SAM MAGRI STRUCK A SPECTACULAR 40-yard leveller to earn a point for AFC Totton against fellow Southern League Premier Division South promotion contenders Gosport Borough at the Snows Stadium on Saturday (27 January 2024).
The visitors had taken the lead shortly after the half-hour mark when striker Dan Wooden found himself inexplicably unmarked to head home from a Harry Kavanagh corner. Totton had the lion’s share of possession throughout a competitive encounter, which both teams created enough chances to win. But it was left to the former Malta international defender to stride forward and blast Totton back on level terms with a long-range effort that appeared to deceive goalkeeper Toby Steward on its way into Gosport’s net.
Jimmy Ball made two changes to the squad that beat Harrow Borough at the Snows Stadium last weekend, with the additions of two new signings. Former FC Barcelona youth player Joan Luque Prados, who joined AFC Totton on loan from National League South club Worthing on Friday, went straight into the starting XI. Zidan Akers, a permanent signing from Beaconsfield Town who has previously been on the books of both Reading and Heart of Midlothian, was named among the substitutes.
Former AFC Totton skipper Harry Medway was missing for Gosport Borough, having suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season. Striker Jake Scrimshaw, who scored Totton’s winning goal against Poole Town in the second home game of the season back in August, was named on Borough’s bench.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
8. Adam TOMASSO
6. Luke HALLETT
15. Sam MAGRI
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
7. Joseph OASTLER
5. Charlie KENNEDY
17. Leon MALONEY
9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.)
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Joan LUQUE PRADOS
Substitutes
12. Jordan CHIEDOZIE
14. Ben JEFFORD
18. Joseph TURNER
19. Zidan AKERS
20. Luke BENNETT
The match got underway on a slightly warmer Saturday afternoon than we have been used to of late, with Gosport wearing yellow shirts with blue trim, blue shorts and yellow socks, while Totton were in their usual home kit of all-blue with white trim, attacking towards the Calmore Industrial Estate end.
Gosport dominated possession in the opening minutes but Totton fashioned the first attack of note, when Leon Maloney took a high ball out of the sky to exchange passes with Charlie Kennedy before his cross was deflected behind for a right-wing corner. Maloney rolled the ball to the edge of the area for Adam Tomasso, who lofted it towards the far post where Scott Rendell headed wide of the left-hand post.
Jordan Ragguette reacted quickly to poke the ball back to the safe possession of Lewis Noice when Sam Magri’s defensive header from a long ball out of the Gosport defence hit the back of Dan Wooden’s head and threatened to bounce kindly for Gerson da Costa Ramos. Within a flash, Maloney was running into the penalty area at the other end to latch on to Noice’s big clearance, but two defenders closed ranks to squeeze the space and deny Maloney any further forward progress as the ball ran out of play.
HERE WE GO: Scott Rendell, Joe Oastler and Sam Magri all have their eyes on the ball as they attack from a right-wing set-piece against Gosport Borough at the Snows Stadium.
The first yellow card of the afternoon was shown to Gosport Borough captain Rory Williams, who was struggling to contain the lively Maloney on Totton’s right flank. Ethan Taylor took the free-kick, roughly level with the edge of the penalty area, towards the right-wing touchline, firing the ball low towards the front post where it was turned away by a defender.
Joan Luque came infield from the left flank to direct a diagonal pass out to Tomasso on the right, who passed down the line for Maloney to cross into the danger zone, but there were no blue shirts on-hand to convert. Then, when Tomasso was fouled, Maloney took a quick free-kick which was deflected wide for a corner off da Costa Ramos. Maloney’s corner didn’t make it past the first man but the clearance fell to Taylor, whose shot was deflected past the left-hand post. Maloney’s subsequent corner was headed over the bar by Joseph Morrison, the central defender who was until recently at Beaconsfield Town with Zidan Akers. Gosport defended the third corner.
Kennedy pounced on a loose touch by da Costa Ramos in midfield, enabling Joe Oastler to hook the ball forward. An awkward bounce required some concentration from Toby Steward in the Borough goal, with Luque closing in at pace, but the ‘keeper got there first.
Oastler got caught in the face by a high boot from da Costa Ramos, who was making a genuine attempt for the ball when the former Havant & Waterlooville man appeared from behind to try and nod the ball into his own possession. The ball was played out to the right-hand side, and Maloney arced in a cross that appeared to have Luque briefly contemplating an overhead-kick. He thought better of it, though, and laid the ball back to Taylor, who was muscled off the ball by a defender. Steward booted the ball upfield and Billie Busari threatened to set off on a run through the middle of the pitch, until he was closed down by a combination of Magri and Luke Hallett.
Totton were pressing high up the pitch when a loose pass by Kennedy gave Bradley Tarbuck the chance to bring the ball into the home side’s half and play full-back Harry Kavanagh in behind Ragguette. He rolled the ball towards the penalty spot but before it got there, Busari fired over the bar under pressure from Oastler.
OLÉ: Spanish winger Joan Luque Prados, making his Stags debut on-loan from Worthing, threatens the Gosport Borough goal from the Totton left.
Hallett won the ball in the centre and passed to Luque, who carried it forward with Taylor making a run ahead of him. Luque held on to the ball, causing Taylor to check his run. When he did receive Luque’s pass, Taylor returned the ball to the Spaniard, who shifted it to his right foot and struck a low curling effort towards the bottom-right corner of the Gosport goal; Steward was equal to it.
A foul by Oastler, chasing back towards his own goal, gave Gosport a free-kick in a dangerous position, to the left of the D. Tarbuck went for a low shot, which bounced back off Totton’s defensive wall, and when the ball was sent into the Totton box from Gosport’s left flank, it flew too long and too high for da Costa Ramos to reach.
Maloney quickened the pace of the game with a sharp one-two with Rendell on the edge of the Borough box, before going down under the defender’s challenge. The Referee was unperturbed. Then, a long ball going the other way had Noice racing off his line to claim at a forward’s feet.
Totton created their best chance of the game so far when Taylor received possession in the middle of the park and played an incisive diagonal pass between defenders to free Ragguette to attack the left-wing byline. With Luque and Rendell both arriving in the middle, Ragguette flashed in a low cross-shot that narrowly eluded them both and missed the far post by a fraction, before going wide.
Tomasso and Maloney earned another corner on the right wing. Taylor’s low cross picked out Rendell on the near corner of the six-yard box, and his first-time shot was parried over the bar by the sharp reflexes of Steward. From the next corner, Busari’s defensive header went up rather than out, and fell to Tomasso. His short pass found Luque with his back to goal and a marker behind him; he spun and struck left-footed, pulling a smart reaction save from Steward, low to his right.
But just as Totton were warming to their task, Gosport hit them with a 33rd-minute sucker punch. A long ball into the inside-left channel forced Hallett to concede a corner. Kavanagh crossed high to the edge of the six-yard box where Dan WOODEN leapt unopposed to head past Noice. Ragguette tried in vain to head off the line, only succeeding in diverting the ball against the underside of the crossbar and into Totton’s goal.
Totton went straight on the attack from the restart but Rendell’s eagerness to retrieve Maloney’s cross from the right that ran too long got the better of him and resulted in a free-kick to the visitors in their own penalty area.
A mix-up between Noice and Hallett while trying to pass out from the back was rectified by the central defender blocking Wooden’s attempted long-range effort, as Noice scrambled back into position. Then, the Referee’s decision to award a free-kick to Totton over by the far touchline for a foul on Kennedy had the Gosport bench up in arms, causing the senior match official to come across and engage in a lengthy conversation with Manager Pat Suraci.
A clever turn on the ball by Corey Jordan showed Luque a clean pair of heels, but the winger showed terrific determination to get back and halt his progress at the expense of a throw-in close to the AFC Totton dug-out. A foul by Ragguette gave Borough a free-kick close to the right-wing corner quadrant, from which the cross was headed out by Magri.
THE MANAGEMENT: Assistant Manager Paul Masters (left) and boss Jimmy Ball (right; arms folded) practice their hundred-yard stares while substitutes keep themselves warm.
Tackles flew in around the centre-circle, with the Referee keeping a close eye on proceeding but allowing play to continue. Kavanagh found space on Gosport’s right, but Magri cleared his cross from the edge the six-yard box. Taylor latched on to it and was brought down for a free-kick, which Luque took quickly to put Taylor in at the left-hand side of the Gosport box. He centred for Rendell but a defender managed to toe-poke the ball away before The Stags centre-forward could strike on goal.
With two minutes of added time indicated, Totton came forward again and won a corner on the right. It was taken short but Taylor was dispossessed before he could get the ball across the box, having to make do instead with a throw-in next to the right-wing corner flag. Gosport scrambled the ball away and Oastler had to put in a strong tackle to prevent da Costa Ramos sprinting clear, shortly before the Referee’s half-time whistle.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
GOSPORT BOROUGH 1
Neither side made any changes at the break. Kavanagh picked up a loose ball after Kennedy was unfortunate with a ricochet from his tackle in midfield. His cross was headed away by the covering Hallett. Then, Tarbuck did well to evade Tomasso and curl in a high cross that Noice took well under pressure.
Rendell used his strength to knock on a high ball for Taylor, who slipped it to Luque at inside-left. The on-loan Worthing man turned away from his marker and fired into the side-netting, causing several fans on the opposite side of the ground to begin celebrating what they thought was an equalising goal.
Tomasso’s sliding tackle prevented Tarbuck’s left-wing cross, but Gosport retained possession and moved the ball across the edge of a packed Totton penalty area before Magri was able to clear upfield. The Stags galloped forward on the counter-attack, only to be pulled back by an offside against Ethan Taylor that brought an audible groan of derision from around the Snows Stadium, aimed at the Referee’s Assistant rather than the Totton winger.
Busari wriggled past Tomasso’s challenge on the Gosport left-wing touchline and cut infield to the edge of the box, but then let Totton off the hook by getting his cross all wrong. Then, Hallett swept the ball forward down the right-hand side for Taylor and Maloney to combine to work their way into the box via a couple of one-twos, which Steward interrupted by snatching the ball up before Taylor could get a shot in.
Adam Tomasso was booked for a foul close to Gosport’s advanced left-wing byline, but the delivery from the free-kick failed to trouble Totton’s goal, shortly before the home side drew level in unexpected circumstances. Luque moved the ball out to Ragguette in space on the left, the full-back’s attempted forward charge interrupted by da Costa Ramos putting the ball out for throw-in. Ragguette retrieved the ball and took it quickly, and the ball was playing infield to Magri, who stepped out of defence and began to advance into the Gosport half. Whether he saw the goalkeeper off his line or just thought “Why not?”, Sam MAGRI stunned the Snows Stadium crowd with a 40-yard screamer that appeared to catch Toby Steward unawares, the goalkeeper getting his right hand to it but unable to prevent the ball flying past him and into the back of the net.
HOW'S THAT?: Sam Magri takes the plaudits after his 40-yard wonderstrike brings AFC Totton level in the Southern League Premier Division South match at home to Gosport Borough.
Dan Wooden lived up to his name by making his way into the Totton penalty area and then immediately planking; the Referee awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area, which was curled high and wide of the top-left corner of Noice’s goal. Then, Magri returned to his usual defensive duties by heading away an in-swinging cross from the Gosport left that had reached Totton’s six-yard box.
Busari found himself surrounded by Totton defenders in the Totton box, driving in a shot that was deflected wide for the first in a succession of Gosport corners. A goalmouth scramble led to a Totton counter-attack; Luque held the ball up at half-way and Maloney took over to move the ball forward. Oastler advanced to the penalty spot, where he received the ball and laid it off to Rendell in space to the left with just the goalkeeper to beat. Usually deadly from that sort of range, Rendell hesitated for a moment and then shot at Steward, who gratefully pushed wide for a corner on Totton’s right. Rendell met Taylor’s cross with a header at the near post, but it lacked the power to beat the goalkeeper.
Adam Tomasso was replaced by Jordan Chiedozie, as Jimmy Ball looked to add more firepower to his front line, The Stags appearing to shift to a 5-3-2 formation with Leon Maloney operating from right wing-back. Ragguette made a well-timed tackle to stop da Costa Ramos’ progress into Totton’s box. There was then confusion when the Referee tried to play on while Totton were protested about a push on Maloney, only to bring the play back for the free-kick and to show Charlie Kennedy a yellow card, seemingly for dissent.
Chiedozie was making his presence felt on the right of Totton’s attack, pressing the Gosport defence into mistakes and then hitting a cross on the turn that was knocked out for a corner, although Taylor’s cross sailed high and wide of the massed ranks of blue shirts in the penalty area.
Gosport showed impressive composure to move the ball past the press of Rendell and Luque and into midfield, before trying to put Tarbuck in behind Maloney to attack the left corner of the penalty area. Noice read the situation and came out to claim the ball. Then, Magri headed out a high diagonal towards the Gosport right and Ragguette had to stretch to block the follow-up cross from that side, before Noice again took possession by claiming and high cross.
Maloney received the ball close to the intersection between the half-way line and the right-wing touchline, and passed forward to Chiedozie. With his back to goal, Chiedozie flicked the ball round the corner to Taylor and set off for a return pass into the inside-right channel, for which Taylor duly obliged with a clever back-heel. Chiedozie shouldered Tarbuck out of the way to set himself for a left-footed shot, which Steward parried away to the left. Luque hooked the ball back into the area for Rendell to head at goal; Steward was back on his feet to push wide for a left-wing corner, which Totton failed to capitalise upon.
RAGGUETTE RAIDER: Jordan Ragguette whips in a cross-shot.
Ragguette’s swashbuckling run down the left flank was ended by a hefty boot into Salisbury Road, but the left-sided raider was soon back on the ball and swinging a high cross into the box that arced over Rendell’s head and dropped at Tarbuck’s feet inside his own six-yard box. Chiedozie tried to block the clearance but Tarbuck got the ball clear.
Gosport moved the ball through the middle of the pitch, with substitute Antonio Diaz passing to da Costa Ramos, whose shot from the edge of the area was high, wild and not so handsome. Ethan Taylor was then replaced by Joe Turner, while Gosport sent on former Stags striker Jake Scrimshaw in place of da Costa Ramos. Turner got involved straight away, carrying the ball forward and finding Rendell who shifted the ball to Chiedozie on the right. His in-swinging cross was headed away. Then, Gosport’s Daniel Hollands was shown the yellow card, which judging by the Referee’s gesticulations, was due to a number of infractions that included dissent.
Luque dribbled his way to the left-wing byline and cut the ball back to the edge of the area. Turner tried to keep it alive and managed to work the ball wide to the right for Maloney, whose high, looping cross briefly threatened to drop over Steward and inside the far post, but arced narrowly wide.
Good defensive work from Jordan Chiedozie saved Hallett’s blushes from a misplaced pass. Then, Magri showed his experience in the centre of defence when he found himself isolated by two Gosport forwards with a high ball dropping almost on top of him, the big defender seeing the ball safely back to Noice.
Hollands was able to turn away from his man and attack the Totton box, only to find Oastler slamming the door in his face with a firm sliding tackle. Then, a free-kick to Gosport on their right saw the big men come up from the back, but the ball into the box was low, enabling Ragguette to hack clear.
Charlie Kennedy was replaced by Ben Jefford, shortly before the board was displayed to confirm five minutes of stoppage time. Hallett’s defensive header fell to Sam Hookey in space in the centre-circle, but Totton rallied well and kept the visitors at bay. Luque and Turner progressed up the left wing to earn a corner. The cross was headed upward and fell for Turner at the edge of the box, who caught it full on the volley. The ball was on target but it struck a defender, and Gosport cleared upfield to launch a counter-attack, which Ragguette terminated with a strong sliding tackle at the edge of the Totton box.
Gosport pushed for a late winner and had a couple of speculative shots from outside the box, to which Totton stood firm; Magri twice got in the way of goal-bound efforts, and then substitute Lucias Vine was gifted a late half-chance that he headed wide after having to wait for the ball drop out of the dull, evening sky. The Referee called time on the encounter, and the points were shared.
Latest Southern League Premier Division South table
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
