AFC Totton
SOUTHAMPTON FA DIVISIONAL SENIOR CUP
3rd Round
AFC TOTTON 12
Shaquille Gwengwe 5mins, 27mins, 57mins (pen), 75mins; Jack Hoey 11mins, 22mins, 55mins, 86mins; Woody Angell 20mins; Jordan Ragguette 46mins; Jake Adams 59mins, 83mins
HEDGE END TOWN 0
Dan Sackman’s AFC Totton dished up another Southampton Senior Cup dozen to breeze past 3rd Round opponents Hedge End Town from the Premier Division of the Southampton Saturday Football League at the Snows Stadium last night (Tuesday).
After mauling Durley 13-0 in the 2nd Round, the Stags made it 25 goals in two games in this competition to book their place in the Quarter-Finals of a competition they haven’t won since 1982, courtesy in large part to four goals each from striker Shaq Gwengwe and Jack Hoey, enjoying a more advanced role than usual.
The terms of Amadeusz Skrzyniarz’s loan at Blackfield & Langley allow him to play for Totton in this particular competition, so he was drafted in to give Lewis Noice a rest. Freddie Read came in for Adam Tomasso in the defensive midfield role. On-loan Aldershot Town midfielder Woody Angell came in to make his Stags debut, while Jake Adams got his first start after coming on as sub against Barnstaple Town 10 days earlier. Both players lined up in midfield with Jack Hoey taking the right-wing slot with Shaquille Gwengwe leading the line as the No.9. Ethan Taylor was named among the substitutes and Hisham Kasimu was rested.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Amadeusz SKRZYNIARZ
2. Callum BAUGHAN
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
4. Freddie READ
5. Harry MEDWAY (Capt.)
6. Pascal KPOHOMOUH
7. Jack HOEY
8. Woody ANGELL
9. Shaquille GWENGWE
10. Jake ADAMS
11. Sam GRIFFIN
Substitutes
12. Lewis WATERFIELD
13. Lewis NOICE
14. Brett WILLIAMS
15. George BRITTON
16. Ethan TAYLOR
Hedge End came into the game as massive underdogs and, decked out in black-and-white striped shirts, black shorts and socks and supported by an impressive band of fans, including many young children sporting hats and scarves in the club’s colours, they soon found themselves on the back foot when Shaq Gwengwe ghosted in behind the right-back to attack from the left-wing byline, requiring two defenders to deal with him and shepherd the ball out of play.
But the in-form Stags striker was not to be denied for long. Totton built an attack along the right wing in the 5th minute and Jack Hoey found himself in space to deliver a pinpoint cross towards the penalty spot where Shaq GWENGWE met the ball with a stooping header that flashed past Josh Bessant in the Hedge End goal on its way into the roof of the net.
Jake Adams looked lively whenever he received the ball, always looking to play penetrative passes for the forwards to run onto. Sam Griffin latched onto one angled pass out to the left-hand side before encountering a crowd of black-and-white shirts to win a corner. Freddie Read and Hoey worked a short corner routine that resulted in a low cross to the near post being repelled behind for another corner. Read’s cross from the second set-piece was inches too high for Kpohomouh at the back post and Hedge End managed to smuggle the ball away on the far side.
Totton were already dominating the ball and they increased their lead in the 11th minute. Read picked up possession in the middle of the park and drove forward through the visitors’ midfield, taking on three opponents simultaneously. He spotted the overlapping run from the right-hand side and laid the ball into the path of Jack HOEY who buried a low, fiercely-struck angled shot into the bottom-left corner.
HOEY, THE LADS: Jack Hoey doubles AFC Totton's lead at home to Hedge End Town in the 3rd Round of the Southampton Senior Cup.
Hedge End were no doubt aware of what happened to Durley on this same pitch just last month, and were determined not to go the same way. Elliott Knight’s competitiveness temporarily got the better of him when he made a lunging two-footed tackle on Woody Angell, as the debutant showcased some impressive dribbling skills to exploit space on the left wing. A harsher referee might have produced a card of either colour but Knight got off with a warning. Read sent the free-kick into the box and, with Gwengwe lurking, Bessant flapped the ball away unconvincingly.
With Griffin often taking narrower positions to provide an extra option during the midfield build-up, there was room for Jordan Ragguette to get forward from his left-back berth to offer a constant threat from the wing. A clever piece of interplay between the two of them in the 20th minute enabled Ragguette to fire in a low cross from the left-wing byline that Bessant had to parry like a shot, his defenders scrambling the ball out for a corner before Gwengwe could pounce. From the corner, the ball came out to Hoey on the right-hand side and his driven cross was flicked on by the right boot of Woody ANGELL from about 10 yards out, into the far bottom-left corner to make it 3-0 with a goal on his AFC Totton debut.
There was no let up for the visitors. Two minutes later, Hoey went down under a clumsy challenge just inside the D on the edge of the penalty area. Taking a moment to compose himself before lining-up the free-kick, Jack HOEY curled a beautiful right-footed shot over the defensive wall and into the top-left corner, despite Bessant’s valiant attempt to save it to make it 4-0 to the Stags.
The referee’s patience was being firmly tested by Hedge End players frequently making late tackles and when 19-year-old Jake Adams took the brunt of Aaron Cousens’ hack, the No.77 was shown the first yellow card of the evening. But the young playmaker was not remotely deterred, taking possession in the centre-circle in the 27th minute to run at the Hedge End defence and pass into the feet of his main striker. With a shimmy to the right, Shaq GWENGWE made space for himself on the edge of the penalty area and curled his shot low and hard, under the dive of Bessant to the goalkeeper’s left.
Sam Griffin, who took a heavy challenge in the first few minutes of the match, came off just after the half-hour mark as a precaution. Brett Williams came on to replace him on the left side of Totton’s attack. The Stags veteran was quickly into the action when Adams intercepted a pass within the Hedge End defence and laid the ball out to the right for Hoey to cross to the far side. Williams brought the ball down under pressure and shot for the near post area, gaining a corner via the outstretched foot of a defender. The set-piece didn’t come to anything but shortly after, Adams was gliding past Ethan Knight in the visitors’ midfield before driving a low shot that goalkeeper Bessant was able to smother.
With Ragguette offering the extra width from the left, Williams was able to leave the flank and become a second striker whenever Totton attacked down the right-hand side, which Hoey and Callum Baughan, ably supported by the passes of Adams and Read, were able to do often. But Adams was the next to threaten the Hedge End goal with a 20-yard left-foot rasper that dipped narrowly over the crossbar.
FLY LIKE AN ANGELL: On-loan Aldershot Town midfielder Woody Angell enjoyed a goalscoring debut at the Snows Stadium.
Woody Angell was also enjoying himself in the middle of the park, aiding Ragguette’s raids down the left-hand side whenever the two of them were able to link up. Ragguette managed to get to the byline and send in another low cross that had the Hedge End defence scrambling. Then, into first-half stoppage time, neat play between Baughan and Adams freed Hoey to the right-wing byline and his driven cross was diverted over the crossbar by Bessant’s shin.
The Hedge End fans got briefly excited when their side won a free-kick midway inside the Totton half, presenting an opportunity for Ethan Knight to deliver into the box. Amadeusz Skrzyniarz gathered the slightly overhit free-kick at the back post and within seconds, Gwengwe was through on goal at the other end but Bessant was out quickly and bravely to claim the ball at the edge of his area.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 5
HEDGE END TOWN 0
Head Coach Dan Sackman revealed after the match that during the half-time team talk, he had challenged his team to win the match 10-0. And his charges came out for the second half with every intention of meeting their boss’s demands. An attack from the right-hand side appeared to have broken down when the ball came out to the far side of the D. As the defender tried to complete the clearance, Jordan RAGGUETTE charged the ball down, took two steps forward and struck a left-foot belter across the keeper and into the right-hand corner.
In all the excitement, we had almost failed to notice that Freddie Read was replaced at the break by Lewis Waterfield.
Ragguette was on the attack again, just a couple of minutes later, making his way from the touchline to the byline and playing the ball across goal but Hoey couldn’t reach it at the back post. Then, Jack Hoey had another chance from a free-kick just outside the area when Angell was brought down. This time, though, Hoey’s low shot evaded the wall but was well-dealt with by Bessant.
Totton went 7-up 10 minutes into the second half. As an attack swept forward from the left to the centre, Gwengwe came short to collect the ball but then left it to allow Angell to pick out the overlapping run of Callum Baughan, who got to the byline with Bessant trying to narrow his shooting angle. The Stags right-back had the presence of mind to bypass the keeper by pulling the ball back to Jack HOEY in the centre, who thumped it into the top-right corner beyond a covering defender on the goal line to complete his hat-trick.
Hedge End centre-forward Keith Bailey made an enterprising run down the left flank, with Medway and Kpohomouh both monitoring the situation closely. Isolated from the rest of his teammates, Bailey eventually showed too much of the ball to Pascal Kpohomouh who shoved him aside and took the ball away, dribbling past two other contenders before being cynically taken down by David Helps, who became the second name to go into the referee’s notebook. Kpohomouh carried on playing but the heavy landing from the foul had clearly hurt his shoulder, as he tucked his arm into his body in a manner reminiscent of Franz Beckenbauer.
The Stags won a penalty in the 57th minute when Gwengwe was taken down from behind in the inside-left channel. Never one to pass up a goalscoring opportunity, the striker was quick to claim the ball to ensure he would take the spot-kick himself. And with a stuttered run-up, followed by a firmly struck right-footed shot down the left of centre that sent Bessant the wrong way, Shaq GWENGWE scored to join Jack Hoey on a hat-trick apiece.
SHAQ ATTACK: AFC Totton striker Shaquille Gwengwe completed his hat-trick with a penalty-kick against Hedge End Town in the Southampton Senior Cup.
Before the match restarted, Pascal Kpohomouh was withdrawn with George Britton going to right-back and Callum Baughan shifting into the centre of defence alongside skipper Harry Medway.
Britton was straight into the thick of things, scampering down the right wing to latch onto Angell’s pass and cross for Gwengwe to head at goal, but the ball looped up kindly for Bessant to catch. Another looping deflection was not so kind to the Hedge End goalkeeper in the 59th minute, though, when Jake ADAMS picked his way through a crowd of black-and-white striped defenders on the edge of the penalty area to shift the ball onto his left foot and let fly with a shot that struck a defender and arced over Bessant into the right-hand side of the goal to make it 9-0 to the Stags, with Adams’ first goal for the club on his full debut.
It was a well-deserved goal for a player who had demonstrated skill in possession and accuracy in the pass throughout the cup-tie. And Hedge End’s inability to live with the young maestro’s raw ability was underlined just a minute later when he stole the ball again on the left, made his way infield while twisting the blood of two defenders, and crashed a ferocious effort against the crossbar.
A George Britton cross from the right was flicked over his own crossbar by Helps and from the resulting corner, Harry Medway almost latched onto it but Bessant was able to push the ball away. Then, Ragguette made another surging run from deep on the left, finding Williams with an infield pass, the striker shooting narrowly wide of the near post.
Williams came close again with a thrashed shot from the edge of the area that seared over the bar, after Lewis Waterfield had danced his way into a crowded penalty area and laid the ball back for the shot.
Totton hit double figures in the Southampton Senior Cup for the second time this season in the 75th minute, when Jack Hoey found himself in space on the right flank and crossed into the centre, where Shaq GWENGWE met the ball with a side-foot volley to register his fourth goal of the match.
Bessant made a smart save with his feet at his left-hand post to prevent Jake Adams adding to the tally - but not for long. Waterfield played Britton in down the right-wing in the 83rd minute and he squared the ball into the penalty area where Jake ADAMS took control, worked the ball onto his left foot and curled his low shot inside the bottom-left post beyond the outstretched hand of the beleaguered Bessant.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: 19-year-old midfielder Jake Adams caught the eye with an all-action performance on his full AFC Totton debut.
Adams, now hat-trick hunting, took aim again shortly after, receiving Gwengwe’s pass to the left of centre to shoot over from just outside the box. Then in the 86th minute, Adams took a firmly hit pass on the turn to immediately release Waterfield through the middle. The midfielder took on the goalkeeper to the left, his shot deflecting high off Bessant and falling kindly for the incoming Jack HOEY to help himself to a fourth goal with a controlled finish high into the goal to make it 12-0 to the Stags.
Hedge End came close to scoring at the death. Midfielder Josh Hill found himself in space mid-way inside the Totton half and let fly with a well-hit shot that Skrzyniarz could only parry. As the substitute known only as Phlex descended on the keeper to convert, Skrzyniarz proved his determination to maintain a clean sheet by throwing himself into the ball and, with boots flying, pushing it behind for a corner, which Hedge End were unable to capitalise upon. In fact, from the clearance, Totton were suddenly on the counter-attack with 4-vs-1. Jordan Ragguette charged forward down the inside-left with Gwengwe, Hoey and Williams all keeping pace with him for a cross. The wide man decided to go alone and shot for Bessant’s near post, the keeper diverting the ball wide with his feet.
Ragguette was involved again into stoppage time, dribbling infield from the left to set-up Jake Adams for a last chance to complete his hat-trick, but his shot was too high. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic individual performance within a solid overall team display.
Totton will go into the hat for the Quarter-Finals together with the other favourites, Winchester City - who have overcome Downton 5-0, Sholing 3-0 and Romsey Town with a 5-1 win last night - and Millbrook, who benefitted from a bye in the 1st Round before beating QK Southampton 3-1 and thumping Sway 7-0. There are still some 2nd Round ties to be completed before all of the remaining Quarter-Finals can be played. You can keep up with the progress of the competition via the Wessex League’s website.
JOB WELL DONE: Jordan Ragguette and Shaquille Gwengwe reflect on a comprehensive AFC Totton victory in the Southampton Senior Cup.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
