AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#20
Saturday 28 December 2024 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton | Att: 1,594
TOTTON LEFT TO RUE MISSED CHANCES AS DOLPHINS TAKE A POINT
AFC TOTTON 2
Tony Lee 45+2mins, 81mins
POOLE TOWN 2
Tom Hewlett 23mins;
Da Costa Ramos 73mins
POOLE TOWN AVOIDED a second Southern League Premier Division South loss to AFC Totton in the 2024/25 season despite, in the opinion of Totton boss Jimmy Ball, The Stags creating “enough chances to win three matches” at the Snows Stadium (on Saturday 28 December 2024).
Only the woodwork and some excellent goalkeeping by Poole’s Ben Taylor prevented Totton taking an early lead and The Stags paid for their profligacy when Tom Hewlett scored on the counter-attack to put The Dolphins ahead midway through the first half. Tony Lee fired home against his former club on the stroke of half-time to sent the two sides in level at the break, but Poole edged ahead once more when substitute Gerson Da Costa Ramos converted a right-wing cross with 17 minutes to go. Lee struck again from a 25-yard free-kick to make it two-two, and despite creating a few chances near the end to make Ben Taylor really earn his corn, that’s how it remained.
In his 150th competitive match in charge since taking the AFC Totton job in March 2022, illness, injury and suspension forced Jimmy Ball’s hand in making several changes to the team that won 4-1 at Winchester City on Boxing Day. Luke Hallett dropped out to make way for Sam Magri in the heart of defence, while Ben Jefford was replaced by Luke Bennett at left-back with Charlie Kennedy continuing to operate on the right side of the back four. Adam Tomasso’s suspension meant Roddy Collins was the only holding midfielder in the starting line-up, with AFC Bournemouth loanee Ashley Clarke slotting into a strongly offensive unit that also featured Tom Blair, captain Scott Rendell, Tony Lee and Ethan Taylor.
AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER; 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Sam MAGRI; 7. Ashley CLARKE; 9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.); 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 16. Luke BENNETT; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR. Substitutes: 1. Max EVANS; 3. Ben JEFFORD; 12. Leo TAYLOR; 14. Toby STEPHENS; 20. Tega AGBERHIERE. Substitutions: AGBERHIERE for BLAIR (90mins). Yellow Cards: BLAIR (Dissent); BENNETT (Foul).
POOLE TOWN: 13. Benjamin TAYLOR; 2. Oakley HANGER; 4. Joshua STAUNTON (Capt.); 6. Billy LOWES; 17. Harvey SLADE; 11. Thomas HEWLETT; 10. Ezio TOURAY; 15. Harry THOMAS; 19. Tyrique CLARKE; 20. Adeoye OLUMUYIWA; 18. Christos BATZELIS. Substitutes: 5. Jamie WHISKEN; 9. Gerson DA COSTA RAMOS; 7. Dario SESAY-DE LUCA; 12. Luke NIPPARD; 14. Jack HOEY. Substitutions: SESAY-DE LUCA for BATZELIS (46mins); DA COSTA RAMOS for HEWLETT (62mins); HOEY for T.CLARKE (62mins); NIPPARD for HANGER (68mins). Yellow Cards: STAUNTON (Foul); OLUMUYIWA (Dissent); TOURAY (Time-Wasting); B.TAYLOR (Time-Wasting).
It took three attempts due to players moving before the whistle was blown, but AFC Totton eventually got the match underway in their home kit of all-Royal blue with white trim against a Poole Town team decked out in red-and-white halved shirts with reds shorts and socks.
Charlie Kennedy sent a high cross-field ball forward which was cut-out by Poole right-back Oakley Hanger before Ashley Clarke could run onto it. The ball fell to Ethan Taylor, whose 20-yard effort flew over the crossbar. Hanger was quickly involved again to prevent Clarke latching onto a pass from Tom Blair, although the AFC Bournemouth loanee briefly looked to have got the better of the former Wimborne defender. Then, Blair got to the right-wing byline and clipped in a cross that Ben Taylor punched out. Ethan Taylor chested it down for Scott Rendell but a defender got his foot in before the centre-forward could pull the trigger.
NO FRIENDS IN FOOTBALL: Ethan Taylor takes on his former AFC Totton teammate Ade Olumuyiwa during the Southern League Premier Division South match with Poole Town.
Up against his former club, Lee had a clear sight of goal in the fourth minute when Blair picked him out from the right wing to leave him with a gilt-edged chance from close to the penalty spot. He appeared to do everything right, losing his marker and firing past Ben Taylor only to see the ball bounce back off the foot of the left-hand post.
Ex-Stags defender Ade Olumuyiwa conceded a corner on the Totton left. Blair’s in-swinging cross found Ethan Taylor in the six-yard box but he couldn’t get enough power behind his header to beat his namesake in the Poole Town goal, who did well to catch the ball with Lee sniffing for scraps. Hanger then conceded another corner on the same side from Kennedy’s deep cross. Blair played it short to Clarke this time, who smashed the ball across the face of goal with such force that nobody in a blue shirt could react quickly enough to turn it into the net.
Poole’s first attack ended with one of their players being called up for hand-ball but they began to assert themselves into the game by getting the ball down and passing it around the Snows Stadium surface. Sam Magri knocked the ball out for a corner on the Poole right, and then made a crucial interception from the cross to set The Stags away on a counter-attack. A foul in the centre-circle was taken quickly, Rendell shifting the ball right to Blair whose looping cross found Lee in an offside position at inside-left.
Lee came close to opening the scoring again when patient build-up play by Totton saw them shift the ball from right to left before Luke Bennett played Clarke into the channel to chip into the centre and Lee’s header bounced before Ben Taylor pushed it past the left post for another Totton corner. The Dolphins were alive to the short corner routine this time, and Bennett had to be alert to prevent the visitors breaking away on the counter.
Ryan Gosney’s long kick allowed Blair, Kennedy and Rendell to link-up and progress down the right before Blair advanced to the byline and crossed to the near post, where a covering defender headed clear. Then, Joe Oastler made a well-timed interception on a pass that had Tyrique Clarke ready to burst through the middle of the Stags’ defence.
Poole captain Josh Staunton fed the ball forward for Tom Hewlett, advancing down the right flank. He pulled the ball back for Hanger to bend in a dangerous-looking cross that Gosney caught. Then at the other end, Blair went down on the edge of Poole’s area but the referee waved play-on.
Olumuyiwa’s long-range shooting ability was never a key feature of his time with AFC Totton but when he received the ball with a clear view of goal from 30 yards out, Gosney had to react sharply to push the effort wide of his left-hand post. The corner was taken short and Tyrique Clarke eventually sent over a cross that Olumuyiwa headed wide.
MY BALL: Roddy Collins tussels for possession in midfield.
Hanger and Tyrique Clarke combined to run at Bennett, operating at left-back for the home side, who prodded the ball out for a throw-in that was then converted to a corner. Harry Thomas, the young centre-back who had a brief spell on loan at Totton from Peterborough United last season, made an enterprising run through the middle of the pitch before running into a blue wall of Totton defenders.
Having started the game brightly, Totton shot themselves in the foot in the 24th minute. Bennett came under pressure on the left of the half-way line and passed infield to Roddy Collins, who was already heavily marked. Harvey Slade nipped in quickly to steal the ball; Magri saw the danger and tried to make a sliding tackle but missed the ball, allowing Slade to play Tom HEWLETT into space left of centre with the time to advance and pick his spot with a cool finish beyond Gosney.
Bennett played a forward pass down the left flank. Lee flicked it on for Taylor, but his cross was too close to the goalkeeper. Lee then attempted a spectacular effort from a bouncing Gosney kick but Olumuyiwa put himself in the way. Poole countered with a swift move that ended with Ezio Touray blazing a shot over the top from the edge of the box.
Ashley Clarke tried to work his way into the game, playing a neat one-two with Ethan Taylor to manoeuvre himself to the right of the D and into the box before his low shot was blocked. Then, Thomas made a crucial interception on Blair’s cross as Rendell was poised to pounce with a header from just over the young defender’s shoulder.
Staunton was booked for a foul on Lee to the left of the Poole Town penalty area. Blair curled the ball into the box and Kennedy won the header but could only steer it wide of the left post. Staunton then headed behind from a Blair cross and made the near post clearance from the subsequent corner delivery.
Totton made a half-hearted claim for a penalty when Bennett’s cross struck Rendell’s hip and Lee went down as he tried to get onto the loose ball. Again, though, the referee wasn’t interested. It came to Blair on the edge of the box and his low shot towards the bottom-right corner looked as though it had gone in from some angles, though it had flashed wide of the post and struck the advertising hoarding before rebounding into the reverse side of the net — an offside flag would have ruled it out, anyway.
Poole contested the award of a corner on the Totton right, when one of their defenders had mistakenly let the ball run out of play despite one of his teammates taking the last touch. The protestations from the away dug-out were loud enough to attract the referee’s attention and a yellow card was waved in the general direction of one the management team. When play resumed, Blair’s cross was returned to him and his second attempt was claimed by Ben Taylor at the near side of his six-yard box.
REMEMBER ME?: Striker Tony Lee bears down on the Poole Town goal moments before firing in the Totton equaliser against his former club.
Olumuyiwa made three strong aerial challenges in quick succession to keep Totton at bay, shortly before the board went up to indicate three minutes of first-half stoppage time. Poole defenders continued to put themselves in the way of The Stags’ attempted through-balls, until it eventually came to Blair on the right. He slipped an incisive pass into the channel and from a tight angle, Tony LEE slammed his shot under Ben Taylor to level the scores. Olumuwiya was booked for dissent as the two teams reset for the restart, and no sooner had Poole got the game back underway than the referee blew for half-time.
HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-1 POOLE TOWN
Poole emerged from the dressing rooms having made one change from their starting line-up, with Dario Sesay-De Luca coming on for Christos Batzelis.
Rendell was pressed into defensive duty to arrest a developing move on Poole’s right wing. Blair then took on two defenders; Sesay-De Luca won it but Blair immediately won it back before hitting the deck and winning a free-kick near the right-wing corner flag. His delivery flew just over Rendell with Oastler next in line to head at goal; it was cleared off the line and rebounded off Ash Clarke before bouncing agonisingly wide of the left-hand post with the goalkeeper out of the equation.
MR. VERSATILE: Luke Bennett lined up at left-back against Poole Town.
Collins was penalised for hand-ball mid-way inside his own half. Sesay-De Luca put the ball into the box and Staunton headed down for Tyrique Clarke to shoot. Oastler blocked and Clarke was suddenly away to lead the couner-attack with Bennett and Rendell both joining in. Clarke found Bennett but his pass to Rendell was cut-out.
Lee teamed up with Ethan Taylor down the Totton left, eventually crossing for the latter who scuffed his shot from left of the penalty spot. Bennett then crossed from the right; it came off a defender and fell to Ash Clarke, whose snapshot struck Ben Taylor’s shins. Poole picked up the loose ball and countered but a poor cross into the Totton box presented possession back to Collins.
A long kick from Gosney picked out Blair on the Totton right but his curling cross was too hard for Lee to reach. Then, Kennedy pushed up on the right to receive Rendell’s pass from the centre-circle, advancing and laying off for Blair to cross. Lee got in front of Olumuyiwa and headed on-target from seven yards, but Ben Taylor saved.
Ash Clarke disrupted an attempted Poole Town counter-attack. Then, Totton won a corner on the left from which Blair’s cross was headed out at the front post. It was turned back into the box and Rendell flicked it on before Ben Taylor reclaimed possession for the visitors. Poole then made their second and third substitutions, with Gerson Da Costa Ramos coming on for Hewlett and another ex-Stag Jack Hoey replacing Tyrique Clarke.
Totton came forward again, Clarke pushing the ball to the right for Blair to bend in a low cross to the edge of the six-yard box. Lee pounced on it and only a brave stop by Ben Taylor, taking the ball full in the face, could force the ball wide for a corner before the goalkeeper had to receive treatment from the Poole Town physio. Blair then sent in the corner, finding Oastler coming in at the far post with the defender heading wide.
Kennedy won the ball with a brave challenge in the centre-circle to prevent the Totton defence being opened up. Then, Staunton did well to cut-out a pass that had both Clarke and Lee ready to race clear behind the Poole defence.
CLOSE ONE: AFC Bournemouth loanee forward Ash Clarke came within a whisker of scoring for AFC Totton against Poole Town at the Snows Stadium.
Totton came close again when Clarke’s pass out to Blair on the right was cut-out and came back to him. He unleashed a right-footed shot that left Ben Taylor rooted to the spot but struck the inside of the left-hand post, rebounded across goal and spun out of play for a goal-kick, with many among the Totton contingent watching on in anguished disbelief.
Poole made their fourth substitution with the introduction of Luke Nippard in place of Hanger, with 22 minutes left on the clock. Lee tried to feed Bennett on the overlap on the right of Poole’s penalty area. Sesay-De Luca got back to disrupt the attack; Lee scampered onto the loose ball to cross from the byline but couldn’t keep it in play.
Gosney had to rush out of his box to kick clear as Poole tried to spring a counter-attack with a long pass. Then, Clarke found Blair on the right his cross was headed out in front of Ben Taylor but the goalkeeper was well-placed to make a catch from Lee’s follow-up volley from the edge of the box. Tom Blair was then booked for dissent.
The visitors retook the lead against the run of play on 74 minutes when Rendell made a slide tackle in the centre-circle and Poole took up the loose ball to launch a swift raid down their right wing. The ball was played in low across the penalty area and Gerson DA COSTA RAMOS was able to pick his spot to fire The Dolphins back in front.
Totton went on the attack and thought they should have had a corner on their left when the officials settled on a goal-kick, much to the annoyance of Totton fans behind the goal. Then, Rendell and Blair forced a corner on the right, from which Blair’s delivery gave Kennedy a free header from seven yards out but he glanced his effort across goal and wide of the far post.
Bennett overhit a cross to frustrate The Stags’ attacking ambitions still further, prompting Olumuyiwa to rally his troops to keep things tight at the back. Bennett then instigated the next Totton thrust, picking the ball up in the centre and finding Rendell on the edge of the box. He slipped it square to Kennedy and his shot appeared to beat Ben Taylor only for a defender to make a crucial block from behind his ‘keeper. Bennett regained possession and was brought down for a free-kick 25 yards out, in a central position.
Taylor and Lee both stood over the ball, while the referee paced out the 10 yards for the defensive wall. When the referee blew the whistle, Taylor stepped away and Tony LEE smashed an unstoppable shot through the wall and into the bottom-right hand corner to make it two-a-piece and send Mally’s Corner and the rest of the AFC Totton fans into raptures.
Staunton had to clear under pressure from Rendell. Totton regained and came forward with Lee and Bennett combining on the right. Lee’s return pass had Bennett stretching as he collided painfully with Hoey, with the referee adding insult to injury by showing him the yellow card.
TWO ON ONE: Tom Blair protects the ball under the watchful eye of two Dolphins defenders.
Lee tussled with Olumuyiwa for Clarke’s lofted pass but a covering Poole defender managed to clean up. Ezio Touray was booked for kicking the ball away after Poole were awarded a free-kick, the away team happy to settle for a point as many of their players were visibly struggling to extend their reserves of energy until the end of the game. For their part, there was no lack of urgency from the home side but the final ball eluded them as they tried to force another goalscoring chance with which to claim a late winner.
Lee was caught offside and Ben Taylor was booked for taking too long over the free-kick. Seven minutes of stoppage time were indicated, for which Tega Agberhiere— a scorer at Winchester City on Boxing Day — stepped off the Totton bench to replace Tom Blair.
Lee tried to bustle his way onto Rendell’s headed flick-on but the Poole defence did enough to see it safely back to Ben Taylor. Cries of “Keep the ball!” came from the Poole Town dug-out. Billy Lowes and Sesay-De Luca managed to work their way into a crossing position on the Poole left but a high delivery enabled Gosney to claim it with a clean catch. Gosney kicked long and Rendell headed-on. Lee did likewise to direct the ball to Ash Clarke left of centre and his strike from 22 yards flashed narrowly wide, clipping the outside of the left post before thudding into the advertising hoarding.
Agberhiere, Collins and Clarke worked the ball forward down the Totton left, before Clarke’s high cross arced beyond the far post. Lee tried to being it down on his chest but the ball hit him and bounced out of play. There was still time for a late counter-attack from The Dolphins but Totton did enough to ensure it came to nothing, shortly before the referee signalled the end of the game.
View the GALLERY from AFC Totton 2-2 Poole Town
Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview
Watch TONY LEE’S Post-Match Interview
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography
