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SOUTHAMPTON DIVISIONAL FA SATURDAY SENIOR CUP
Semi-Final


AFC TOTTON                                           2
Hisham Kasimu 69mins (pen); Shaquille Gwengwe 79mins

WINCHESTER CITY                              1
Olly Balmer 90+2mins (pen)


AFC Totton overcame local rivals Winchester City in the semi-final of the Southampton Divisional FA Saturday Senior Cup at Sholing’s Mackoy Stadium on Portsmouth Road last night (Wednesday), to book their place in the final against Folland Sports.

Despite conceding a goal from a late penalty immediately after injured goalkeeper Lewis Noice had to be substituted, with winger Ethan Taylor donning the gloves for 10-man Totton, the Stags held firm in the face of a late aerial onslaught from the Citizens to protect their slender lead and set-up a St. Mary’s Stadium showdown on Tuesday 03 May with the Planemakers, who beat Fawley AFC 2-0 at Hythe & Dibden’s ground in the other semi-final the previous evening.

Locked in a tight battle for a place in the Southern League Div.1 South promotion play-offs and with league and cup matches coming thick and fast, both managers had good reason to shuffle their packs ahead of this one. Jimmy Ball, perhaps with imminent Southern League suspensions for Ben Jefford and Harry Medway in mind, denied Rob Flooks the opportunity to face his former club by selecting Pascal Kpohomouh to partner Stags skipper Medway at the heart of the back-four. Nathan Hurst started in midfield alongside the in-form Lewis Waterfield. Shaquille Gwengwe continued his record of starting in every round of the Southampton Senior Cup this season, looking to add to the eight goals he’d already scored in the competition. Brett Williams also started with Hisham Kasimu dropping to the bench.

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Ethan Taylor carried the fight forward for Totton early on, forcing Winchester defenders back with his dribbling skills and his persistence, regathering the rebound from one blocked shot to force a save from goalkeeper Charlie Philpott with a rare right-footed effort. Nothing came of the resulting corner but from another corner five minutes later, Taylor’s in-swinging cross dropped invitingly for Shaquille Gwengwe at the far post but he diverted his header the wrong side of the upright with a defender in close proximity.

Nathan Hurst was penalised for challenging midfielder Max Smith with a high boot, mid-way inside the Totton half. Josh McCormick’s free-kick into the box floated narrowly over the heads of two incoming Winchester players and Lewis Noice was able to safely catch the ball.

A poor pass out of defence by Pascal Kpohomouh in the 15th minute, after Totton had successfully defended a high ball to their back post, had Hurst stretching and conceding another free-kick for a foul on Patrick Nolan, from which Kpohomouh redeemed himself with a strong headed clearance. Ben Jefford then had to do likewise under pressure to prevent Daniel King’s left-wing cross finding a teammate on the far side.

Pascal Kpohomouh_AFC Totton.jpg

DEFENDING AND CREATING: AFC Totton central defender Pascal Kpohomouh was heavily involved in incidents at both ends of the pitch in the first half. 

On 17 minutes, Kpohomouh relieved a short period of intense Winchester attacking pressure by clearing the ball straight down the middle of the pitch to set Gwengwe racing away with two Citizen centre-backs in hot pursuit. Leaving them both for dead, the lightning-heeled striker made an angle for himself to shoot right-footed across the keeper towards the bottom-left corner. Philpott couldn’t get near it but the ball bounced off the left-hand post and straight out to the onrushing Brett Williams, who couldn’t control his effort and skied the ball over the crossbar.

Big centre-forward Greg Peel managed to get to a through-ball before Harry Medway on the Winchester right but Kpohomouh was across quickly to dampen the threat. Then, the Citizens had to defend well to prevent Jake Adams and Gwengwe creating a chance with some clever interplay on the left wing. Clever defending by Taylor to win a goal-kick off his former AFC Totton teammate Craig Feeney in the right-back area was a testament to the added graft and discipline that appears to have entered the skilful forward’s game since the arrival of manager Jimmy Ball.

Taylor had the chance to shoot in the 33rd minute, after Gwengwe won a corner on the left. Adams pulled his delivery out to the edge of the penalty area, but Taylor’s strike was closer to becoming the first football on the moon than the opening goal in the Southampton Senior Cup semi-final.

Ethan Taylor-1_AFC Totton vs Bideford AFC_SLD1S_26Mar22.jpg

INFLUENTIAL: Ethan Taylor was a creative force for the Stags in their cup semi-final with Winchester City, before finishing the game as a makeshift goalkeeper.

Totton continued to dominate the first half. Williams controlled a defensive clearance on his chest near the half-way line, spun around and looped the ball into the opposition half. Dan Walster had one eye on the high bouncing ball and the other on Shaquille Gwengwe darting in from behind him. A moment’s hesitation from the tall defender was almost fatal, enabling Gwengwe to shove him off the ball and advance into the penalty area but covering defenders managed to rush the striker into poking his shot rather than really getting hold of it, and Philpott was able to get his body in the way.

Nathan Hurst was testing the Referee’s patience with persistent fouling in the midfield. Callum Baughan headed out from another Winchester free-kick then stood-up well to deny Smith the chance to direct the ball back into the box from their left, enabling Taylor to come across and take the ball away along the Totton right wing, progressing far enough to line up a shot until a decisive late intervention from a Winchester defender sent the ball into touch. Taylor looked up for the game, tussling with Max Smith in midfield before getting the ball under control and turning away from his opponent to feed Adams on the left who in turn released Gwengwe towards the byline, but the striker couldn’t get around the covering defender.

Gwengwe’s persistence almost created openings, first for him and then for Taylor, but the sheer number of bodies in the box forced Totton back. Waterfield took a heavy touch under pressure and then Hurst finally exceeded the Referee’s tolerance with a fourth foul to earn the first yellow card of the evening.

Just before half-time, Taylor volleyed the ball out to Adams on the left, before joining Williams and Gwengwe in the box in anticipation of a cross. But the usually quick-witted young playmaker took too long dancing over the ball in front of the defender and the chance went to waste, the cross, when it did come, too high for Taylor to get any meaningful connection from a standing position.


HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON                                                0
WINCHESTER CITY                                   0


Having had the better of the first half without anything to show for it on the scoreline, Jimmy Ball introduced top scorer Hisham Kasimu for the second half, with Brett Williams making way. The Stags created the first shooting chance of the second period when Noice’s drop-kick was knocked down with a controlled volley by Gwengwe into the path of Adams, whose low shot from about 25 yards went wide to the left.

Ben Jefford, who will shortly begin a three-match suspension after his straight red card against Evesham United at the weekend, was spoken to by the Referee for punching the ball over the main stand as it bounced out of play with Winchester potentially in a position to launch a quick counter-attack from the throw-in, which only contributed to the mutual lack of affection between the two sides. Totton, for their part, complained that Winchester players were going down too easily under the slightest contact to claim soft free-kicks, while the Referee seemed unaware of anything untoward.

Baughan made a late challenge on Feeney in the centre-circle but the Referee allowed play to continue as the forward attacked the right side of Totton’s defence, until Kpohomouh came across to get in his way and shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick. Then, Totton had the chance to counter-attack at pace but their own poor pass selection slowed the move down and enabled Winchester players to get goal-side and fill up the space.

A Winchester free-kick from deep on the left-hand side presented Henry Brook with a headed chance but he directed the ball wide of the far post with Medway challenging. Then, King stretched out his leg at just the right moment to prevent Hurst’s cross-field diagonal releasing Kasimu into the inside-right channel with space for him to exploit. But Kasimu did manage to get in behind the defence in the 55th minute, after good work in midfield by Waterfield and Taylor enabled the latter to slide the ball into his path. Gwengwe was also chasing the ball but both forwards were beaten to it by Walster as Philpott came crashing out, taking out all before him. The other Winchester centre-back Joe Haywood then had to intervene to stop Kasimu going through again, as Winchester continued to defend with a high line despite the pace of the two strikers they were up against.

Hisham Kasimu takes on Shayne Anson_AFC Totton vs Cirencester Town_SLD1S_12Mar22.jpg

OPENING GOALSCORER: Hisham Kasimu's 69th-minute penalty put the Stags on the path to reaching the Southampton Senior Cup Final.

Erring on the side of caution, Jimmy Ball sent on midfielder Adam Tomasso to replace Nathan Hurst to ensure the former Lymington Town captain wouldn’t pick up a second yellow card. And within a few minutes, Taylor brought the ball down on the right-hand side and fed the run of Shaquille Gwengwe, who ran through on goal only to be brought down from behind for a penalty. Hisham Kasimu quickly grabbed the ball but a combination of on-field treatment for Gwengwe, who banged his hip against the ground when he was fouled, and some gamesmanship involving the Citizens’ physio making her way into the centre-circle to merely stand over Nolan before accompanying him off the pitch to be replaced by Jamie Barron, kept the striker waiting. Josh McCormick was booked for dissent and, after a full five-minute delay, the Referee finally blew his whistle. Charlie Philpott stood significantly to his right, suggesting he knew where he thought the spot-kick was going to go, but knowing it and stopping it are two different things. With the calmest head in Hampshire on his shoulders, Hisham KASIMU stepped up and drove his shot into the open side of goal, leaving the keeper with no chance to put the Stags ahead.

Inevitably, Winchester injected more energy into their performance and a miss-kick by Medway as he attempted to play out from the back enabled Brook to attack down the right wing and send over a cross, which floated narrowly over Noice’s crossbar.

Gwengwe had a chance to double Totton’s lead after Waterfield and Taylor managed to charge the ball down in midfield to force it through to the striker, but he couldn’t sort his feet out in time to beat Philpott. Then, McCormick was presented with a long-range shooting opportunity but scuffed his effort straight into the grateful arms of Lewis Noice. And, back up the other end, Taylor spurned a long-range chance of his own after Kasimu stole the ball from the Winchester left-back King and squared it to him about 30 yards out.

Winchester City manager Craig Davis, who used to play for AFC Totton, sent on his top goalscorer Olly Balmer, who notched five goals in the 11-0 thrashing of Millbrook in the previous round, for the last 15 minutes. Thanks to their inability to stay on their feet, the Winchester players were able to make progress up the pitch throw a series of free-kicks, until eventually winning a corner. Waterfield half-cleared but Smith regained possession and charged down the Winchester right, until he was tripped just outside the penalty area, close to the byline. Despite the tight angle, the left-footed Balmer went for goal, hitting Waterfield for another corner which he took himself. Harry Medway read the flight of the ball well and executed a firm clearing header.

In the 79th minute, Pascal Kpohomouh coped well with a difficult bounce to find Taylor in midfield. His incisive forward pass released both Kasimu and Gwengwe, with only two red-and-black striped defenders between them and the goal. With Kasimu in possession, Gwengwe made an intelligent run from the centre to the left, encouraging Kasimu to drive infield to criss-cross with his strike partner, enabling them to shake off one defender and isolate the other, before Kasimu flicked the ball to his left into Gwengwe’s path. Taking the ball into the penalty area from the left of the D, Shaquille GWENGWE took one touch to steady himself and another to clip the ball beyond Philpott’s dive into the bottom-right of the goal to extend the Stags’ lead and take them one step closer to the St. Mary’s Final in May.

Shaquille Gwengwe-4_Brett Williams-1_AFC Totton vs Cirencester Town_SLD1S_12Mar22.jpg

LOVE SHAQ: Shaquille Gwengwe completed an excellent attacking move to put Winchester City 2-0 down at Sholing's Mackoy Stadium in the Southampton Senior Cup semi-final.

Craig Feeney tried to halve the deficit against his former team, picking up possession from a misplaced defensive header to run at Medway, dragging the ball infield from the right-hand side and firing a low, powerful shot that Noice had to get down quickly to parry away from his near post. Skipper Medway again cleared the corner with a strong header to repel the Winchester attack. Jefford then had to concede another corner on the Winchester right but this time, it was wasted with a delivery straight into the side-netting.

Two goals down, the Citizens were pressing hard for a way back into the game. After stealing 10 yards from a left-wing throw-in, they took advantage of Totton being distracted by their own complaints to the Referee to work the ball from left to centre, where Feeney drove in another low effort that Noice gathered. Then, Taylor played Gwengwe through again, but this time Philpott came out to collect and got there first, drawing a foul from Gwengwe as he arrived fractionally late. Noice then demonstrated a similar willingness to come and claim the ball as Kpohomouh nullified an attack from Winchester’s left by shepherding it back to his keeper.

Winchester were by now dominating possession and forcing Totton back. So, Jimmy Ball took Gwengwe off and sent Freddie Read into the midfield. Jake Adams then received the ball on the left-wing touchline, mid-way inside the Winchester half. He attacked the corner and then checked infield to take on two defenders, firing the ball beyond Philpott and across the 6-yard box where it struck the heel of the covering defender and bounced out.

With the match clock ticking over into stoppage time, Winchester attacked the Totton penalty area from the left-hand side. Once again, Kpohomouh opted to shepherd the ball back to his goalkeeper. But this time, Noice wasn’t quite on the same wavelength, coming out a little later to make a low, sliding challenge with his body as a Winchester forward came crashing in from the other direction. The forward got there fractionally ahead of the Stags keeper, who took a whack to his collar bone. The ball bounced harmlessly away but the Referee pointed to the penalty spot. Noice stayed flat on the ground and, after receiving treatment for a few minutes, he had to be helped off the pitch.

Lewis Noice_AFC Totton vs Evesham United_SLD1S_09Apr22.jpg

TAKEN OFF: AFC Totton goalkeeper Lewis Noice had to be taken off late in the match after colliding with a Winchester forward during a frenetic last few minutes of the semi-final.

Totton had already made all three of their permitted substitutions, so Ethan Taylor volunteered to take the goalkeeper’s jersey and gloves, as the Stags went down to 10 men. Olly BALMER’S well-struck penalty flew high into the top-right corner, despite Taylor guessing the correct way, to set-up a desperate last few minutes of an injury-extended period of stoppage time, with the Citizens needing one more goal to take the tie straight to a penalty shoot-out.

From the kick-off, Kpohomouh just booted the ball as far downfield as his tired legs would allow. Winchester launched an aerial assault on the Totton half but Harry Medway made two important headed clearances, and Taylor was equal to the only further attempt on-target the opponents could muster. Substitute Tyrell Mitford had a late half-chance on the Winchester right but the ball took a high bounce in front of him that caught him out, and he could only divert the ball wide, prompting the Referee to finally call time on the contest and confirm Totton’s passage to the Final.


The AFC Totton first team became the third side within the club’s set-up to reach a cup final in a matter of weeks. As already stated, Jimmy Ball's men will take on Folland Sports at St. Mary’s Stadium in the Southampton Saturday Senior Cup on Tuesday 03 May. Then, a week later, newly-crowned CoSSFL Div.1 Champions AFC Totton Sunday will look to complete the league and cup double by beating Empire FC at the Snows Stadium in the final of the Southampton Sunday Senior Cup, the game having been moved to Tuesday 10 May to facilitate use of the stadium, with the full agreement of Empire. And, the AFC Totton Under-15s have made it a hat-trick of Stags teams in cup finals by reaching the Tommy Traynor Trophy final at Stoneham on Sunday 15 May, when they will face Hamble Royals.


Match Report by Ben Rochey-Adams

Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography

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