AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 09 - Saturday 05 November 2022
AFC TOTTON 2
Scott Rendell 14mins; Charlie Davis 90+2mins
EVESHAM UNITED 1
Daniel Griffiths 77mins
New recruit Charlie Davis made an AFC Totton debut to remember yesterday (Saturday). The midfielder, who joined the club from Salisbury in midweek, popped up two minutes into stoppage time to strike the winning goal through a crowded penalty area to hand all three points to The Stags from a hard-fought Southern League Div.1 South encounter with Evesham United at a rain-sodden Snows Stadium.
Usually a midfielder, Adam Tomasso was shifted to right-back to make way for new signing Davis. Yemi Odubade came in for his first start since the Hampshire Senior Cup defeat at AFC Portchester. Jake Adams came back into the starting line-up, with Jireh Oyebamiji being rested in accordance with the medical guidance on concussion injuries following the incident at Redditch United last weekend. Jack Seddon dropped to the bench, while Ben Jefford was suspended.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Adam TOMASSO
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Yemi ODUBADE
8. Charlie DAVIS
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Jake ADAMS
Substitutes
14. Brett WILLIAMS
15. Harvey WOODS
16. Freddie READ
17. Jack MASTERTON
18. Jack SEDDON
The match’s first chance of note on a windy, rainy afternoon fell to the visitors with a free-kick about 25 yards from goal, to the left of the D on the edge of the Totton penalty area, when Alfie Dunn drew a foul from Adam Tomasso. Kyle Belmonte took aim, his effort sailing narrowly wide of Lewis Noice’s right-hand post.
Evesham - in red-and-white striped shirts, with black shorts and socks - got to grips with the conditions earlier than their hosts, as they shifted the ball around in midfield in search of an opening. Totton were content to sit tight, remaining compact in defensive areas and biding their time, leading to a fairly uneventful first 10 minutes. But on 14 minutes, a strong header forward from the centre-circle by Stags captain Mike Carter threatened to release Ethan Taylor in the inside-right channel, but for a timely intervention by The Robins’ giant centre-back Charlie Wise, nodding back to goalkeeper, Joshua Nicol, who had come past his penalty spot to receive the ball. With no Totton forwards in close proximity, Wise was happy to have his keeper return possession back to his feet, and the former Corby Town defender took a touch before looking up to survey his options. Inexplicably, he didn’t notice Scott Rendell tip-toeing up behind him until it was too late; Rendell stole the ball, advanced upon the Evesham goal with Nicol visibly out of position, and with a firm swing of his right-instep, Scott RENDELL put The Stags ahead with his 12th goal of the season. Wise sank to the ground with his head in his hands, no doubt wishing the rain-soaked turf would open up and swallow him whole.
RENDELL'S DIRTY DOZEN: The Sunburnt Assassin took his tally for the season to 12 goals in all competitions with an opportunistic opener against Evesham United at the Snows Stadium.
Evesham mounted an attack down their left flank, shortly after the restart. Adam Tomasso and then Charlie Davis both managed to get in the way to prevent the visitors unleashing a shot from the edge of the penalty area, as they made their way infield. Then, Yemi Odubade did well to intercept a ball pulled-back from the Evesham left-wing byline, then winning a free-kick for a foul as he protected the ball from a red-shirted challenge.
A loud contingent of travelling Robins fans, who’d made the 119-mile journey from Worcestershire, made their presence felt from behind Lewis Noice’s goal at what we will soon come to know as the Aldi end of the Snows Stadium. But Totton began to assert themselves more effectively on the pitch, with Davis and Carter hassling Benjamin Hammett into an uncomfortable pass-back that had Nicol scampering across his penalty area to stop the ball going out for a corner.
A potential counter-attack for Totton broke down when Rendell found himself too isolated in an advanced position on the right wing from Taylor’s clipped pass. But, shortly after, a quick exchange of passes between Rendell and Jake Adams then enabled Adams to play a one-two with Davis, before chipping a cross to the far post where a defender had to loop the ball over his own crossbar or risk Taylor applying a finish.
From Taylor’s high in-swinging corner from the right-hand side, Luke Hallett leapt high to head at goal. Nicol parried high enough into the air to give Hallett time to shuffle his feet and jump high again, this time a defender knocking the ball back into the air, inviting Hallett to have a third go, but The Robins defence managed to scramble the ball away - and then Taylor took one for the team, pulling his opponent’s arm in the centre-circle to disrupt a counter-attack, at the expense of a free-kick and a yellow card.
Charlie Davis conceded a free-kick with a late tackle on Belmonte, 30 yards from the Totton goal in a central position. Evesham failed to capitalise, the unfortunate Wise triggering an offside flag from Jordan Lymn’s delivery. Wise was involved again shortly after, clearly grappling and tugging the arm of Ethan Taylor in the middle of the Evesham half, the Referee somehow allowing play to continue. Then, the visitors tried to build the play through the middle, until an agricultural clearance from Jordan Ragguette put a stop to that.
During a break in play mid-way through the first half, Totton manager Jimmy Ball instructed some positional changes that shifted Adam Tomasso into midfield and Yemi Odubade to right-back, giving Charle Davis license to get further forward. Odubade was quickly called into action in his new position, executing a well-timed sliding block to prevent the ball reaching Alfie Dunn in an advanced position on the Evesham left wing. The Robins did manage to get the ball into the Totton box shortly after, but the sliding Lymn couldn’t reach far enough to divert it at goal.
Lymn and Ragguette were engaged in an interesting personal battle along the touchline in front of the Wessex Heartbeat Stand. First, Ragguette had to scamper back into his left-back berth to stop a diagonal pass finding the Evesham No.16 on their right wing. Then, when Ragguette went forward for Totton, it took Lymn and his teammate Hammett to stop the St. Vincentian freight train chugging through their defensive lines.
LEFT-WING THREAT: Jordan Ragguette came close for AFC Totton with two angled strikes from the left-hand side.
A speculative 25-yard effort from Rendell was comfortably dealt with by Joshua Nicol in the 34th minute. Then, a minute later, The Stags thought they should have had a penalty. Cool defending by Hallett enabled Totton to work their way out from the back via Tomasso, Noice, Odubade and Carter before the skipper threaded a precise through-ball into the path of Taylor, who out-paced his marker into the inside-right channel with Nicol rushing out to meet him. Taylor opted to round the keeper, and went down as though tripped. It was impossible to tell from the other side of the ground - though that didn’t stop loud penalty appeals from the Totton fans - but the Referee deemed there to have been no contact and awarded a goal-kick. A risky move by Taylor, if indeed it was a dive, given that he was already on a yellow card.
Taylor was pressed into defensive action soon after, making a perfectly-judged sliding tackle inside his own penalty area to dispossess Daniel-Ray Djurovic and prompt a Totton counter-attack, from which good hassling by Davis resulted in a corner for Totton on the right. Taylor sent his high in-swinger to the near post area where Hallett was up well again, heading narrowly over the crossbar.
Evesham responded to their manager’s instructions by going forward, trying to force the issue as half-time approached. Totton were able to cope without too much trouble, until an innocuous free-kick was conceded just inside the home team’s half. Lymn floated the ball just beyond the penalty spot where Wise found himself with the freedom of the New Forest to pick his spot, his header flashing across the goal and wide of the far post to the relief of Totton’s defence, who immediately held an impromptu enquiry as to how the tallest player on the pitch could have been left unmarked at a set-piece.
A swift attack down the Totton left put Jake Adams into space. A couple of stepovers seemed to slow the attack down, but it also enabled Ragguette to get forward and overlap on the wing. His cross was turned away by a defender but Totton quickly regathered possession and fed the ball out to the left flank again. This time, Ragguette’s low cross found the feet of Rendell, who laid back for Adam Tomasso to drive in a low shot that arrowed narrowly wide of the left-hand upright.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 1
EVESHAM UNITED 0
Evesham Manager Mike Ford sent on forward Owen James in place of midfielder Ben Hammett as the second half got underway.
Odubade and Rendell engineered a raid down the Totton right wing, which came to an end with a poor pass selection from Odubade, for which he immediately redeemed himself by chasing back into midfield to win the ball, as Carter tussled with an opponent nearby. Taylor and Tomasso played their way out of a tight area in front of the AFC Totton dugout, allowing Tomasso to curl a cross into the penalty area where Davis met it with a header, but he was unable to wrap his neck muscles around it and the ball flew high and wide.
Newcomer Owen James received a yellow card for a fairly tame shove in the back of Tomasso, 25 yards out on the right-hand side. The diminutive Tomasso then found himself challenging in the air for Taylor’s delivery, but defender Elliott Keightley stood firm to clear Evesham’s lines. The Tomasso cameo continued as the Totton Terrier threw himself into a strong block tackle to prevent Evesham escaping on the counter-attack, and as the ball popped loose for a second opponent to take up the running, Tomasso got stuck in again to keep the door firmly shut on The Robins’ attacking ambitions.
Charlie Kennedy did well to turn the ball away from a dangerous area in the 52nd minute, after neat feet on the ball gave James the chance to cross from the Evesham left. Then, Taylor ran through on goal from the Totton right. Nicol came out of his area to challenge and seemed to step over the ball, leaving it behind him. Some spectators thought the goalkeeper had handled the ball outside his area, but the Referee saw nothing wrong. Taylor was unable to get hold of the ball to take advantage of the stranded keeper, though.
SOLID AT THE BACK: Charlie Kennedy led the defensive line well for The Stags.
Mike Carter was booked for delaying an Evesham free-kick in the centre-circle. Then, the Totton skipper found himself having to sprint back towards the right-back area with Odubade temporarily out of position. Belmonte looked to exploit the space, advancing into the left side of the penalty area and crossing low, only for Luke Hallett to swoop in with a full-body block that brought rapturous applause from around the ground, and the cheers got louder when the follow-up cross was headed out by the resolute Kennedy, enabling Adams and Tomasso to relieve the pressure with a foray down the Totton right wing.
Owen James was struggling to make his presence felt in the game. Tomasso dispossessed him as he tried to cross from the left wing, Then, he was on the wrong end of a late tackle by Odubade, as the two No.7s clashed near the half-way line.
Rendell wrestled with two Evesham defenders to win a free-kick just in front of the Totton dugout on 59 minutes. Taylor’s cross looped over the defence and dropped just in front of Hallett, who stretched out his left foot but couldn’t get the decisive touch before the ball bounced up into the grateful palms of Joshua Nicol.
A loose back-pass from near the half-way line by Evesham captain Christopher Knowles almost caught Nicol out of position at the threat of an own goal, but The Robins’ keeper managed to get across to the ball before it reached the goal line.
Davis was giving a good account of himself on his first AFC Totton outing. His link-up with Adams on the Totton left created a crossing opportunity for Taylor, a diving defensive header preventing the ball reaching Rendell in the middle. Then, as Belmonte tried to progress down the right-hand side for Evesham, Davis was back there defending and winning the ball back for Totton.
Jordan Lymn was withdrawn for the visitors in the 63rd minute, with Charlie Johnson coming on to replace him.
Midway through the second half, Odubade and Adams combined on the Totton right. Odubade’s high cross found Rendell at the far post, whose knockdown bounced up for Taylor to strike on the left-foot volley, Keightley getting his body in the way to deflect the ball wide for a corner. The delivery was partially cleared and then sent back into the Evesham box, where Rendell knocked the ball past Nicol for Taylor to score, although both players knew at that point that the offside flag was up.
IN FROM THE START: Yemi Odubade was on the winning side for AFC Totton at home to Evesham United at the Snows Stadium.
On 66 minutes, Jack Masterton stepped off the bench to take the place of Yemi Odubade. Then, Totton won a free-kick on the right of the Evesham penalty area when Wise shoved Rendell to the ground, after Taylor’s headed flick-on. From the free-kick, Taylor spotted the goalkeeper slightly off his line and curled his effort onto the crossbar, the ball rebounding out of play behind the goal.
Taylor instigated a swift attack from the half-way line that progressed via Masterton and Adams to the overlapping Ragguette, whose cross was caught by Nicol with Rendell lurking nearby. Then, Charlie Wise was finally booked for tugging the livewire Taylor back as he tried to latch onto Rendell’s headed flick-on. There was some confusion on the terraces as to why Wise didn’t then immediately receive a red card, fans believing the massive defender had already been booked. Taylor sent in a low, curling delivery. Knowing that it was on-target, Adams opted to jump over it but a defender hacked it clear.
Evesham’s attempts to mount meaningful attacks on the Totton goal were being undermined by a poor final ball but it was apparent that Totton needed a second goal to put the match to bed. Then events took a decidedly left turn on 77 minutes. Dunn won a soft free-kick for a minor infraction by Davis on the Evesham left, about 10 yards from the corner of the penalty area. Belmonte took the kick, sending in a curling right-footed in-swinger that bounced in the penalty area for Daniel GRIFFITHS to head home unopposed at the back post, stunning the home crowd into silence as the away fans went bananas at the other end of the ground.
The visitors carried the ball forward down their right wing and the pass into the box caused a scramble that Totton eventually managed to survive by hacking the ball away. Then, Owen James returned it with interest from the Evesham left, the ball flying across goal with two red shirts struggling in vain to make a decisive contact.
A strong block tackle on half-way presented the ball to Adams, who attempted an audacious lob with Nicol off his line, but he didn’t get enough power on it and the ball was comfortably intercept by the Evesham goalkeeper.
Rendell flicked the ball into the side-netting behind the Evesham left-hand post, after clever approach play from Adams and Ragguette produced a cross from the Totton left. Then, Ragguette took the more direct approach in his next foray forward, firing high and wide at the near post with blue shirts available for a well-placed cross in the middle.
Totton’s attacking pressure penned the visitors back into their own left-back area. Even when they managed to clear, a long kick from Noice in the Totton goal put the ball back into that area of the pitch. Then, a game of head tennis broke out between players of both sides, eventually coming to an end when the hapless Wise produced his umpteenth foul of the game with a push on Taylor. The Totton winger took it himself, but not before Jimmy Ball sent on Brett Williams in search of a winning goal, with Jake Adams making way. Taylor’s free-kick was high, towards the back post, where the ever-willing Rendell competed for aerial supremacy against the considerably larger figures of Wise and Keightley, the ball eventually dropping wide of the post.
As time ticked on, Totton’s attacking efforts became more urgent and increasingly agonising. Ragguette’s cross from the left was headed out. Taylor retrieved the ball outside the box and gave it back to him; Ragguette charged forward and blazed over at the near post.
Three minutes of stoppage time were indicated on the sidelines. Totton huffed and puffed and tried to blow Evesham’s house down. After much toil, Rendell and Masterton played Davis into the inside-right channel and his low cross was diverted behind for a corner on the Totton right. The initial delivery was headed partially away, Davis bringing it under control joust outside the D. But with a red shirt blocking his forward path, he shifted the ball sideways and into the Referee, allowing the Evesham player to clear the ball. The Referee called the play back and, much to the chagrin of the away side, restarted with an uncontested drop-ball in Totton’s favour, that was effectively a free-kick from about 22 yards out, in a central position. Davis clipped the ball into the box where a defender beat Hallett in the air. The ball came out to Jack Masterton, who shaped to shoot before dropping his left shoulder to go past his man at inside-left and chip a cross into the over-crowded middle. Williams’s header was blocked, the ball bouncing out to Charlie DAVIS whose first-time thump blazed a path through the various outstretched limbs trying to block it, into the back of the Evesham net for a dramatic injury-time winner on his AFC Totton debut.
The new man peeled away, with multiple Stags chasing after him, to perform a knee-slide worthy of Torville & Dean’s Balero in front of the rapturous ovation of Mally’s Corner.
There was still a minute left to play. As they prepared to restart the game, Evesham’s formation resembled the Hail Mary that losing teams sometimes deploy in the final seconds of an NFL game. The ball was played backward to signal that all the red shirts should pile forward, with the aerial bombardment following just a second later. Hallett, Tomasso, Kennedy and Davis all got body parts in the way during the dying seconds to ensure The Robins flew home with nothing.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“We earned it today, no doubt about that. It wasn’t our best performance in terms of the football we played - in fact, other than Hamworthy away, it might be the worst we’ve played all season - but, when we needed to dig in and fight for it, we did so and we have come away with the three points, and that’s what matters.
“What was really pleasing was that when the going got tough, the players found a way to win. We didn’t manage that against Wimborne, when we went down to 10 men, and we didn’t manage it as Bashley, when their goalkeeper won Man of the Match. But we did it today, and that’s a significant step forward as far as I’m concerned. It’s also a testament to the players’ ability to keep going, keep working and never give in.
“Even putting his goal aside, I thought Charlie Davis put in a really good performance on his debut. There will be more to come from him as he gets up to speed with the team’s cohesion, but he showed good personality throughout the match, getting forward looking to create or score goals, and then getting back to stop them at the other end. He’s an experienced player with bags of ability, who’s played with Carter and Kennedy before.
“The atmosphere from our crowd was fantastic today, and I know the players all enjoyed the support and encouragement. To turn up in those sort of numbers in the kind of weather we had today and all last week is excellent. They backed us to the very last kick, and I’m delighted we managed to give the fans the win they deserve. Now we look to next Saturday for the visit of Westbury United, when we’ll do it all again - hopefully with a similar result!”
NEXT UP: AFC TOTTON vs WESTBURY UNITED
Southern League Div.1 South | Matchday 10
Snows Stadium | Saturday 12 November 2022 | Kick-Off 3:00pm
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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
