AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH - Matchday#20
Tuesday 26 December 2023 | Snows Stadium, Totton | Att: 1,164
STAGS CRUISING TO VICTORY UNTIL DISASTROUS FIVE-MINUTE DISPLAY
AFC TOTTON 2
Leon Maloney 38mins;
Scott Rendell 50mins (pen)
BASINGSTOKE TOWN 2
Daniel Rowe 66mins;
Marcus Johnson-Schuster 69mins
A FUNNY FIVE MINUTES during the second half of AFC Totton’s Boxing Day Southern League Premier Division South encounter with Basingstoke Town saw The Stags give up what appeared to be a comfortable two-goal lead, with Jimmy Ball’s men having to settle in the end for a single point at the Snows Stadium.
Charlie Kennedy came into midfield in place of Adam Tomasso from the goalless draw at Hanwell Town two days before Christmas. Alfie Egan returned in place of Reece Grant, who picked up a knock at the Powerday Stadium.
AFC TOTTON
Starting XI
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Benny READ
6. Luke HALLETT
15. Sam MAGRI
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
7. Joe OASTLER
5. Charlie KENNEDY
14. Alfie EGAN
17. Leon MALONEY
9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.)
18. Joe TURNER
Substitutes
11. Matty BURROWS
12. Jordan CHIEDOZIE
16. Alfie STANLEY
20. Luke BENNETT
21. Harvey HUGHES
Basingstoke Town were forced into a change during the warm-up, with the goalkeeper originaly listed as No.1, Mark Scott, having to be replaced by the experienced former Hungerford Town and Hartley Wintney ‘keeper, Paul Strudley. The visitors wore their changed kit of orange-and-black striped shirts, black shorts and socks, and they found themselves on the back foot early on, when Turner won the ball on the right and whipped in a cross that Rendell headed straight at Strudley from six yards.
Read pressed high up the pitch to win possession back for Totton midway inside the visitors’ half. He slipped the ball infield to Maloney before continuing his forward run to receive a pass from Egan on the right corner of the penalty area, from where the full-back fizzed the ball across the goalmouth and narrowly wide of the far post.
Basingstoke responded with an attack down their right. D’Andre Brown skipped past one challenge before Hallett intervened with a clearing header. Then, Hallett and Turner combined to play Maloney in down the right to win a corner, which ‘Stoke cleared before Magri could pull the trigger when it dropped near the penalty spot.
Totton’s bright start continued. Benny Read exchanged passes with Maloney on the right and drove another low cross-shot past the far post. Then, Read received a lay-off from Turner from which he fired a snapshot over the bar from just outside the box.
Magri got the ball stuck under his feet with ex-Stags striker Stefan Brown lurking with intent. Hallett read the situation well and stepped in to take control of the situation. Read took possession on the right touchline and sent Maloney away down the flank. His cross to the near post presented Rendell with a good chance to head Totton into the lead, but he directed his effort wide to the right.
Basingstoke’s contingent of travelling fans were in solid voice, despite their team’s rather shaky start to proceedings against hosts keen to avenge the 2-3 defeat at the Winklebury Sports Complex back in August.
Hallett swept the ball forward. The defender misjudged it to leave Maloney in a foot race with Strudley, which the goalkeeper won to collect the ball at the edge of his area. Then, Rendell fed Turner on the left corner of the area, who held the ball up enough for Ragguette to overlap and cross from the byline but Rendell’s shot was blocked.
The energetic Read swapped passes with Hallett to manouevre himself out to the right flank and cross to the near post, where two defenders were required to complete the clearance. Maloney intercepted on the right and from his cross, Rendell headed over.
Hallett and Magri both made important tackles to keep the visitors at bay but Totton were soon on the front foot again, with Read finding Maloney in space to deliver a high cross that Turner headed against his marker before Basingstoke hacked it away. Totton regained the ball quickly and found Ragguette in space on the left, whose floated cross was met by Maloney with a looping header that beat Strudley only to bounce back off the crossbar, with Rendell’s follow-up header claimed by the ‘keeper.
Totton continued to apply pressure on the Basingstoke goal. Ragguette and Turner combined down the left and, when their path was blocked by several defenders, Egan joined in to switch play to Read on the right, whose low cross-shot was well claimed by Strudley diving at his near post. Then, Rendell and Egan created a chance for Turner, who was called up for a foul before he could apply a finish.
Basingstoke winger George Reid almost got a sniff of the Totton goal from Magri’s back-header but Noice was quick to come out and claim the ball at the edge of his area. A sliced clearance by Read from a Basingstoke throw-in caused a moment of concern but Noice was alert to it.
Read intercepted Basingstoke left-back Massimo Giamettei’s pass. He clipped the ball up towards Maloney who headed on for Egan, and from his pass Read was able to force a right-wing corner. Strudley got a solid fist to Maloney’s cross and although Totton came back to win another corner on the left, the visitors dealt with the subsequent delivery.
Totton took a deserved lead in on 38 minutes. Noice came out to the left side of his area to catch an over-hit pass and quickly threw it out to Hallett, on the Totton right. He played a long, straight ball forward that dropped over the head of Giamettei, who had misjudged the flight of the ball. Leon MALONEY sprinted in behind the full-back and, with a centre-back coming across to cover, managed to get the ball down on the right of the six-yard box to fire past Strudley at his near post for his ninth goal of the season.
Rendell had cause for complaint after being taken out from behind near the centre-circle. Then, Oastler made a typically robust challenge to knock the ball out for a Basingstoke throw-in on their left, which Hallett headed away. ‘Stoke got the ball out to their right wing and the cross was headed into the air by Bradley Wilson, giving Noice the chance to grab the ball before Stefan Brown could take advantage.
During four minutes of first-half stoppage time, Rendell got a brief sight of goal from a long ball that had snuck between defenders but Strudley reacted well to punch clear. Then, a passage of crisp, on-the-deck football involving Oastler, Rendell, Read and Maloney cut through Basingstoke, the move ending with Joe Turner taking aim from the back post, where he shot high and wide from a tight angle.
The Stags came within a whisker of doubling their lead on the brink of half-time. Kennedy picked out Read on the right and he fed Maloney, who forced a corner. From his cross, Oastler knocked on and Magri headed at goal, only to see his effort cleared off the line by a Basingstoke defender.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 1
BASINGSTOKE TOWN 0
There were no changes during the break. Totton had some early second-half defending to do, Read having to chase back to block a cross and then Noice came out to clear a through-ball at the edge of his area.
Oastler released Maloney to attack the right byline, but his low cross found the penalty area devoid of any boys in blue.
Five minutes into the second half, Read played a pass infield to Egan who exchanged a quick one-two with Rendell before finding Turner in the middle with space open to his left, which was soon filled by the overlapping Kennedy. Turner gave him the ball and as he advanced into the penalty area, he was bundled over from behind by a retreating defender. The Referee pointed to the spot and Scott RENDELL made no mistake to take his tally up to 21 goals for the season.
Hallett and Oastler defended Totton’s right-hand side, as the visitors tried to find their way back into the game, before a promising attacking move from The Stags broke down due to an over-hit pass, prompting Basingstoke boss Dan Brownlie to make a double-substitution on 57 minutes.
Maloney and Read, constantly creating down the Totton right, carved out a chance for Rendell to head home from six yards but The Sunburnt Assassin guided his effort over the top.
Basingstoke won a corner on their left, from which D’Andre Brown’s shot was turned behind by Magri for another corner. A high, in-swinger was punched away by Noice. The visitors then won a free-kick on their left for a foul by Egan. Totton cleared but ‘Stoke came back and won another free-kick 22 yards out, to the right of centre. Before it could be taken, Bradley Wilson was shown a yellow card for complaining about the placement of Totton’s defensive wall, and Rendell was also booked for not being 10 yards away. When the free-kick was finally taken, the ball hit the wall to prompt a penalty box scramble. Noice saved with his foot at his right post before a follow-up header was cleared off the line by Magri.
Totton’s reprieve was short-lived. Bradley Wilson made an overlapping run past Marcus Johnson-Schuster on the Basingstoke right and crossed to the far post where Daniel ROWE ghosted in to head across goal and into the net.
It was a poor goal to concede but worse was yet to come. A yellow card was shown to Oastler for a foul in the middle of the Totton half on Anthony Cheshire. The free-kick was sent high into the Totton box. Magri headed out, and Rendell had to do likewise from the follow-up. The ball came back into the box and Marcus JOHNSON-SCHUSTER forced it home to level the scores at 2-2 on 69 minutes.
Totton thought they should have had a second penalty when Maloney got the right-wing byline and left his marker for dead with some fancy footwork, only to be pulled back at the waist. The Referee had a long, hard look but waved play on.
The home side were visibly shaken by the sudden two-goal turnaround, with some clumsy-looking clearances making it clear how unsettled they had suddenly become. Jimmy Ball sought to arrest that development by sending on striker Alfie Stanley in place of Egan, signalling a change in formation.
Hallett had to boot one clear in agricultural fashion. Then, Read conceded a corner from which William Upton got up well to head down, but his teammate couldn’t twist sharply enough to convert the chance at the far post.
Having bossed the game for two thirds of its duration, Totton were now finding attacking space hard to come by. Read, Maloney and the newly-introduced Stanley tried to force the issue down the Totton right, but Basingstoke were content to fall back and fill up the space in and around their penalty box.
A foul on Read resulted in a Totton free-kick on the right, 25 yards from the goal line. Maloney crossed to the far side and Magri headed, but couldn’t hit the target. Then, Read had a cross deflected and cleared. Rendell took the ball down and forced it out to Maloney to the right of the area, whose cross was deflected out as far as Oastler. He attempted a side-foot finish, which hit a defender to take the weight off it and Strudley gobbled up the ball before Turner could get there.
The board went up to indicate a minimum of four minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game. Totton tried to mount another attack from the left-hand side. Ragguette carried the ball infield from the wing before slipping Turner in down the side of the area but his cross fell short of the blue shirts in the middle, enabling Basingstoke to clear their lines.
Hallett and Magri both pushed forward, as Totton resorted to a series of long balls in the dying seconds. Maloney took a free-kick from the left-wing touchline, which Magri headed wide. There was yet more controversy when Kennedy played Maloney in on the right, who cut inside and went down under Cheshire’s challenge. The home crowd’s demands for a penalty went unheeded by the Referee again, though, shortly before he sounded the final whistle.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
