AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH
Matchday #27
AFC TOTTON 1
Sam Griffin 68mins
LARKHALL ATHLETIC 2
Alex Lambert 65mins; Josh Jones 90+3mins
An injury-time headed winner from captain Josh Jones, despite his side finishing the game with only 10 men, enabled Larkhall Athletic to snatch all three points at the death of their Southern League Div.1 South encounter at the Snows Stadium yesterday afternoon (Saturday), while inflicting a seventh defeat of the season on the promotion-chasing Stags.
The Larks had already put a dent in AFC Totton’s season by dumping Dan Sackman’s men out of the Buildbase FA Trophy in an ill-tempered battle at their idyllic Plain Ham ground the week before Christmas, though the Stags had taken all three points from the league encounter at the same place a fortnight earlier. Larkhall are renowned for their size and physical style of play, which encouraged the selection of Ade Olumuyiwa at right-back in favour of Callum Baughan. Ben Jefford returned at left-back for his first start since mid-January. Jake Adams continued in midfield with Ethan Taylor returning to the right side of the attack, with Jack Hoey making way. Hisham Kasimu also came back into the team, with Shaquille Gwengwe dropping to the bench, alongside new loan signing, Joe Rabbetts. The Larkhall goalkeeper Shaun Semmens passed a late fitness test to take his place between the sticks for the visitors.
Larkhall got the match underway on a cold day with a light wind, sporting their away kit of red shirts, black shorts and red socks. And they began the better of the two sides. First, a cross from the right-hand side by Daniel Demkiv had Lewis Noice backpedaling to catch the ball under his crossbar. Then, the Stags goalkeeper had to save at his right-hand post when Ethan Hill got forward from left-back to receive the ball on the corner of the Totton penalty area, before dropping a shoulder to escape Ade Olumuyiwa and driving in a low shot with his right-foot, to earn his side a corner.
With several large bodies in the box, Larkhall tricked Totton with a short corner by pulling the ball back to Josh Jones, who had bent his run from the back-post to just behind the penalty spot. Adam Tomasso read the situation and threw his body in the way of the Larks skipper’s shot to deflect it over for another corner on the opposite flank, which Totton scrambled away after a couple of attempts, the Stags looking decidedly uncomfortable during the early exchanges.
CLOSE ONE: AFC Totton's Adam Tomasso (No.4) deflects a Josh Jones effort over the crossbar.
An excellent first touch from Demkiv to control an angled pass out to the right wing enabled him to run at Ben Jefford, but the left-back did well to divert an attempted driven cross behind for another corner, which was headed out at the near post and, despite regaining possession, Larkhall couldn’t capitalise on their territorial advantage.
A spot of head tennis broke out on the Larkhall left, just in front of the Totton penalty area, until Owen Humphries got the ball down, side-stepped Olumuyiwa and sent in a cross-shot that Rob Flooks, making his second appearance since his return to the Snows Stadium from Winchester City, headed away before it could trouble Noice.
Larkhall’s robust approach to the game, although familiar by now to AFC Totton, was preventing the home side from playing their own brand of football, while they allowed themselves to be drawn into petty spats and wrestling with the opposition for the ball rather than playing around them. But the Larks certainly know how to make life difficult, as the experienced Jack Camm demonstrated when chasing back towards his side’s right-back area to strong arm 19-year-old Jake Adams away from Harry Medway’s long pass, taking the ball and putting Larkhall back on the front foot.
By the 21st minute, the match had become similarly ill-tempered to the pre-Christmas cup tie. Hisham Kasimu won a free-kick when Dan Restorick, perhaps wary of the fact that the livewire striker scored all three of Totton’s goals in those two December games, bundled him over near the right-wing touchline. Ethan Taylor’s in-swinging free-kick had to be caught on the line close to the near post by Shaun Semmens, though it was crying out for somebody to make the near-post run to get a decisive touch.
Ade Olumuyiwa was shown the yellow card for pulling Humphries back, as Larkhall mounted an attack down their left-wing. With players lined up in the box for a high delivery, the free-kick was taken short to Restorick, just outside the area. Jefford made a lunging tackle to smother the shot and caught Restorick’s ankle, to concede another free-kick inside the D, a step away from the 18-yard line. Dale Evans tried to strike his shot under the Totton defensive wall, but the Stags stood firm, the ball eventually coming back out to the Totton right from where Olumuyiwa booted it into a tree alongside Salisbury Road.
Olumuyiwa was left writhing in pain a few moments later, when Jones appeared to kick him in a delicate area, stoking the fires of aggression surrounding the match that little more.
LET'S GO: AFC Totton winger Sam Griffin launches an attack, ably supported by returning left-back Ben Jefford.
A bit of football suddenly broke out when Sam Griffin took control inside the Larkhall half and set off on a diagonal run from left to right, playing a quick one-two with Adams before teeing up Olumuyiwa for a cross to the penalty spot that Jones did well to turn away before it could reach Kasimu. Taylor took the resulting corner on the right, sending an in-swinging cross to the back post but there was no angle for Rob Flooks to direct his header when he got to it.
Despite the general feistiness of the game, the Referee was trying to let things go wherever he could, which the Larkhall right-back Jack Goodall took full advantage of by crashing into Ben Jefford from behind after the ball had gone. Incensed by the non-award of a free-kick, Jefford took matters into his own hands by hacking Goodall from the ground as he ran back past the Totton No.3, sparking a melee involving several players from both sides that ended with Jefford and Larkhall’s Alex Lambert both getting booked.
Goodall then picked up the booking he should have received a minute or two earlier for bringing down Kasimu, as the Frenchman spun past him to latch onto Tomasso’s pass, but Freddie Read’s free-kick delivery was headed away. Then, when Totton came forward again, Dan Restorick showed his strength to prevent Kasimu turning past him with space to run into on the way to goal, shortly before the Referee brought a welcome end to a frustrating first half for the Stags.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
LARKHALL ATHLETIC 0
Totton looked lively at the start of the second half, Jake Adams getting on the ball in midfield and instigating one-twos with Jefford and Griffin to work himself into a crossing position on the left-hand side, but Larkhall smothered the ball away at the far post.
There was plenty of pushing going on whenever either side tried to mount an attack, but too often the free-kick delivery wasn’t up to standard and what might have been a goalscoring opportunity faded to nothing. Olumuyiwa did well to head away a Dale Evans free-kick from a dangerous position on the Larkhall right.
Adam Tomasso was in his element in midfield, throwing his bodyweight into physically larger opponents in need of a lesson about underestimating shorter guys, and it was his header that released Taylor down the right-hand side to take on the Larkhall defence. Adams dummied to create space for Taylor to cut onto his left foot and bend a low shot from outside the box but Semmens was well-positioned to save. Tomasso then took a whack to the face that required treatment, but he was soon back in the action to combat Larkhall’s anti-football mission to frustrate and immiserate.
The Larks managed to take flight down the left wing to mount a promising attack, causing Jefford to stretch and divert a cross to an area 30 yards from goal in a central position. The on-rushing Jack Camm couldn’t resist the opportunity to try a long-range blaster, but his wayward swipe posed a greater threat to the local wildlife than to Lewis Noice’s goal.
In a move that would foreshadow the game’s opening goal, Humphries received possession in space midway inside the Totton half and clipped the ball over the defence for Lambert to run onto and control with an excellent first touch. But, clean through on Noice’s goal, his shot lacked conviction and was parried away by the Totton keeper. A messy spell of play immediately followed that had Totton defenders scrambling back to fill the space while Larkhall rushed the chance and ultimately shot well-wide.
MIDFIELD TUSSLE: Larkhall Athletic's experienced midfielder Jack Camm gets to grip with AFC Totton starlet Jake Adams.
Goodall was allowed to carry the ball a long way into the Totton half, enough to tempt him to try a long-range effort that had the force taken off it by a deflection off Medway, enabling Noice to gather. Then, Restorick again got the better of Kasimu in a wrestling match when Taylor’s pass had almost freed the striker into the inside-left channel.
Dan Sackman decided to make a positive, attacking change by bringing off midfielder Freddie Read and sending on striker Shaquille Gwengwe. It soon became apparent that Taylor had dropped into midfield with Adams moving into a deeper position, and Kasimu was moved to the right flank, with Gwengwe leading the line through the centre.
Adams began to assert more influence over the game from that deeper midfield role, showing tremendous skill to flit between two Larkhall midfielders and release the ball to Kasimu on the right wing to run at the full-back and win a corner. Larkhall managed to clear and counter-attack but it was Adams who got back to intercept a square pass on the edge of his team’s area.
The young player’s increasing influence on the game didn’t go unnoticed by the visitors, so inevitably he was soon dumped to the ground rather unceremoniously in the 65th minute, and as Totton players appealed for a free-kick, Humphries fed that same pass over the defence and into the path of Alex LAMBERT who ghosted in behind Flooks with a short diagonal run from the centre to the inside-left, controlled the ball and fired it past Noice’s right shoulder to put the Larks ahead.
The home side’s protests about a possible foul went unheeded, but it didn’t take them long to get back into the game. Olumuyiwa took the ball off the toe of Humphries on the edge of the Totton area and played it forward to Kasimu near half-way. He spun away from his marker and advanced down the right wing. Gwengwe made a diagonal movement toward the flank, prompting a quick one-two, Gwengwe’s return pass a clever back-heel that shifted Kasimu infield on his left foot. He let fly from just outside the area; Semmens got both arms behind the effort but could only shovel the ball into the air, allowing Sam GRIFFIN to move in and head home from 8 yards to equalise for AFC Totton.
GET IN: Jake Adams helps Sam Griffin celebrate his equalising goal for AFC Totton vs Larkhall Athletic at the Snows Stadium.
Totton had the bit between their teeth and Goodall was lucky not to be embarrassed when Griffin stole the ball off him inside the Larkhall area with Taylor also pressing the full-back, only for the Referee to call a foul against Taylor for a trip. Gwengwe’s presence in the front line was unsettling the Larkhall defence, particularly in his link-up play with Kasimu coming in from the right flank, where the Frenchman couldn’t be blatantly manhandled by hulking centre-backs every time the ball came near him.
Jefford intercepted the ball in the left-back position and passed to Adams, who worked the left-hand side with Griffin to feed Gwengwe in the inside-left area. He tried to go past the defender before falling theatrically in a half-hearted attempt to win a penalty. Then, Taylor received the ball from a throw-in on the left and ran wide with it to make an angle for a cross that had Semmens concerned until it dropped narrowly wide of the far post. The Larkhall goalkeeper looked much more confident with the ball at his feet a moment later, out-foxing Kasimu’s press with a neat drag-back inside his own 6-yard box before calmly playing it out to his left-hand side.
With 10 minutes to go, the match took a bizarre turn. Lambert tried to latch onto a through-ball that would have put him in behind the Totton defence again, but moved too early and was flagged offside. Having already been booked for his involvement in the first-half squabbles, he nonchalantly kicked the ball over the fencing alongside the path that leads to Testwood Lakes. It was an obvious attempt to waste time, leaving the Referee with no option but to show a second yellow card and send the Larkhall goalscorer off the pitch.
OFF YOU GO: Larkhall Athletic's Alex Lambert sees red after picking up a needless second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
A series of substitutions followed, with Larkhall trying to shore up their defence to battle their way to a point, while Ade Olumuyiwa and Ben Jefford, the two Totton full-backs, were withdrawn to make way for the more mobile Callum Baughan and Aldershot Town-loanee Joe Rabbetts, making his AFC Totton debut at left-back.
Larkhall retreated into two banks of four, with just one player left forward. Totton tried to move the ball quicker, shifting the play from left to right to find a way in or through the visitors’ defence, but they couldn’t create a meaningful chance. Baughan and Griffin both had crosses turned away and Taylor tried to burrow his way through the centre before hitting a brick wall.
With the game into 5 minutes of stoppage time, Semmens delayed his goal-kick before sending the ball forward, where Dan Demkiv was able to take it into the far corner before whacking the ball into the shins of Rabbetts to win a corner. Larkhall chose to leave more defenders back than they had typically done for their other set-pieces and it looked as though they were going to keep the ball in the corner and play for a point. But they decided to use the opportunity to mount one last attack on the Totton goal and the ball was sent high, beyond the penalty spot. The substitution of Olumuyiwa had significantly lowered the average height of Totton defenders and Josh JONES was able to out-jump two of them to loop his header over Lewis Noice and into the back of the net for a remarkable smash-and-grab winner for the Larks.
As some fans poured out of the Snows Stadium in distaste, Totton tried to launch a final assault on the Larkhall goal but couldn’t connect with anything significant, the Referee’s whistle finally confirming their seventh league defeat of the season.
Elsewhere in the Southern League Div.1 South, Frome Town retained top spot despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Evesham United. Cirencester had the weekend off, while Winchester City missed out on the chance to overtake the Stags by letting a two-goal half-time lead slip at home to Paulton Rovers; Craig Feeney opened the scoring in that match. 5th-placed Bristol Manor Farm drew 1-1 at Slimbridge, while Sholing were beaten at home by two late goals from promotion play-off hopefuls Plymouth Parkway.
Match Report by Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
