AFC Totton
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY #3
Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton | Att: 415
YOUNG SAINTS PROVIDE TOUGH PRE-SEASON TEST FOR THE STAGS
AFC TOTTON 2
Marcus Daws 19mins, 72mins
SOUTHAMPTON XI 3
Derrick Abu 14mins; Dominic Ballard 41mins;
Trialist 62mins
JIMMY BALL’S AFC TOTTON continued their preparations for the 2024/25 season with a competitively fought pre-season friendly against a Southampton FC XI, predominantly consisting of U21 players.
Derrick Abu put The Saints ahead on 14 minutes with a beautifully struck free-kick, before The Stags’ new signing Marcus Daws levelled the scores five minutes later. Striker Dom Ballard’s neat finish to a well-constructed move nudged the visitors back in front before the break, and Southampton extended their lead midway through the second half with a goal from a trialist. Former Dorchester Town winger Daws headed home his second goal of the game but the young Saints, who had Southampton first team manager Russell Martin watching them from the SFS Main Stand and recently-appointed U21s manager Simon Rusk taking his first match from the dug-out, held on for the win.
Watch Saints Boss Russell Martin’s Pre-Match Q&A
AFC TOTTON: 1. Lewis NOICE; 2. Sa-Sean LUTUMBA; 3. Ben JEFFORD; 4. Trialist A; 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Luke HALLETT; 7. Harvey REW; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 9. Scott RENDELL; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 11. Owen PELHAM; 12. Trialist C; 13. Trialist B; 14. Josh OWERS; 15. Trialist D; 16. Luke BENNETT; 17. Declan ROSE; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Trialist E; 20. Marcus DAWS; 21. Trialist F; 22. Trialist G.
SOUTHAMPTON XI: 1. Adli MOHAMED; 2. Barnaby WILLIAMS; 3. Brandon CHARLES; 4. Brook MYERS; 5. Derrick ABU; 6. Dominic BALLARD; 7. Jay ROBINSON; 8. Jayden MEGHOMA; 9. Jayden MOORE; 10. Jem HEWLETT; 11. Joe O’BRIEN WHITMARSH; 12. Josh McNAMARA; 13. Lewis PAYNE; 14. Nathaniel BOOT; 15. Nick OYEKUNLE; 16. Princewill ETIHATIOMHAN; 17. Thierry ROHART-BROWN; 18. Will ARMITAGE; 19. Will MERRY; 20. Trialist A; 21. Trialist B; 22. Trialist C.
LET'S PLAY: Recent signing Marcus Daws raids the Southampton defence from the right.
Totton wore last season’s gun metal grey and fluo away kit while Southampton wore a training kit with no numbers on the back - for that reason, this match report will only identify their goalscorers, who members of The Saints’ media team helpfully identified in turn.
The tone of the match was set early on with Totton striker Tony Lee twice being called up for robust challenges on his man-marker, though he claimed that similar treatment had already been inflicted upon him without the referee’s intervention, as The Stags’ high, energetic press appeared to cause problems for Southampton’s defensive unit as they tried to play out from the back. Two chances fell to Scott Rendell in quick succession; he scuffed his shot for the first, while goalkeeper Adli Mohamed made a smart recovery save to deny the Totton skipper a few moments later.
Slick football orchestrated by Charlie Kennedy in and around the centre-circle enabled Josh Owers to advance down the left-hand side, until his progress was unfairly halted. The former Yeovil Town midfielder bent in a free-kick that was initially flicked away by a Saints head only for Rendell to collect on the far side and lay the ball off to Ethan Taylor, whose shot from the edge of the box was blocked at close quarters.
Owers produced another fine cross shortly after, latching onto Ben Jefford’s nicely-weighted forward pass to curl an inviting cross into the box. Rendell met it with a firm header to draw an impressive double-handed parry from Mohamed, pushing the ball away to safety.
Totton’s bright start continued in the summer rain, Rendell climbing high to flick on a long ball to Ethan Taylor - declared fit to play after having been ill during the week - who controlled at inside-left and then took on his marker to drive in a low, angled shot that Mohamed gathered at his near post.
STRIKE A POSE: AFC Totton goalkeeper Lewis Noice kicks long.
In their first attack of note around the 14-minute mark, Southampton got numbers forward quickly to stretch the Totton defence, a problem only momentarily rectified by Owers tripping his opponent to concede a free-kick on the left. It was taken quickly and played infield, where Kennedy’s lunge resulted in another free-kick 30 yards out, left of centre. Stags goalkeeper Lewis Noice and his hastily-assembled defensive wall could only stand and admire Derrick ABU’s beautifully-struck shot into the top-left corner of the Totton net.
The goal appeared to instil confidence in the young Saints, whose passing at the back and in midfield became crisper and more assured. An incisive through-ball sent a striker through on goal. Noice came out to challenge and appeared to bring him down inside the box, but Saints claims for a penalty were dashed by the assistant referee’s offside flag.
Totton levelled the scores on 19 minutes. A right-wing attack ran aground near the corner flag but as Saints tried to pass their out, Northern Ireland U21 international winger Marcus DAWS intercepted, evaded a defender on his advance to the edge of the box and drove a left-footed shot along the deck, past Mohamed’s flailing left arm and into the bottom-right of the goal.
The Stags came close to going in front from a left-wing corner that was headed down in the box, prompting a goalmouth scramble that had Taylor attempting a scissor-kick with his lesser-celebrated right foot. He couldn’t get a significant connection and the chance went begging.
Adam Tomasso produced his by-now signature move of hurling his body in the way of a cannonball, after Saints had overloaded down the right wing and worked the ball back into the middle to create a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box. The Totton Terrier was soon at it again to deflect the next shot wide for a corner, which Saints took quickly and short but Totton defended.
Lee received the ball from the subsequent goal-kick and suddenly Totton were flooding forward with Southampton retreating towards their own goal. Lee used the run of Owers to his left as a decoy, instead driving infield and threading a pass along the surface of the Snows Stadium pitch to put Rendell in, shortly to the right of the D. With a defender close by, The Sunburnt Assassin took a touch and fired a right-footed shot that soared narrowly over the crossbar, drawing appreciative applause from the crowd for The Stags’ swift and purposeful attacking football.
THE PLAYMAKING STRIKER: Tony Lee progresses a Totton attack with Luke Bennett ready to make a run through the middle.
Taylor’s hooked pass from inside his own half had Rendell wrestling possession off the last defender and laying off to the advancing Lee. As other defenders got back to fill the space, Lee found Daws to his right and the winger attacked the byline to stand up a cross that was a fraction too high for Rendell to control the direction of his header, enabling Saints to clear at the second attempt.
The match being a friendly, the referee showed considerable lenience toward Sam Magri when the big centre-back was undone by a young buck snapping at his heels and grabbed his shirt. Then, from a Totton free-kick 30 yards out on the right, Owers arced a dangerous-looking shot towards the top-left corner; Mohamed responded with a solid catch.
Tony Lee and the defender marking him embraced their inner-WWE by grappling with one another in vague proximity to the football. Then, four minutes before the break, The Saints retook the lead with a well-constructed team move that swept from the right side of their own area and into the centre-circle before an incisive pass sent Dominic BALLARD through at inside-right, the young striker demonstrating a cool head to evade Jefford and slip his shot under the advancing Noice.
Totton fashioned one chance to go in on level terms via a long drop-kick from Noice that arced over a defender and left Rendell free to attack the right side of the penalty area, before pulling back to Lee. However, the striker’s first touch deserted him and a defender was able to intervene.
HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-2 SOUTHAMPTON XI
CASE FOR THE DEFENCE: Right-back Declan Rose in possession for AFC Totton.
While Southampton changed their entire team at the break, Totton made only one change with Sam Magri coming off to be replaced by new signing Declan Rose, who joined the club this summer from Poole Town.
Josh Owers racked up another foul shortly into the second-half, conceding a free-kick in a dangerous position on the Southampton right, resulting in a first defensive contribution from Rose to head the ball over his own crossbar, denying young Saints attacking the far post. Totton stood firm and when they went forward again, Daws charged down an awkwardly bouncing ball to mount a right-wing foray, but the tall centre-back read the situation and got across on the cover to nullify the threat.
Totton appealed for a free-kick when Rendell was bundled to the ground from an aerial challenge just inside The Stags’ half but the referee had the presence of mind to allow the advantage, which saw Taylor burst forward to the left of the penalty area, capitalising on his marker’s stumble to get his head up. He spotted Lee racing towards the edge of the six-yard box; Taylor’s cross was low, Lee’s first-time shot on-target, but the goalkeeper’s reflexes won the moment with a sharp save.
GO-GO GADGET LEG: Captain Scott Rendell reaches out his telescopic right peg to control a high ball into the Southampton box.
Lee also had Totton’s next chance. Rose lobbed the ball up to the striker, whose diligent marker was in touch-tight attendance a few yards outside the area. Lee controlled the ball on his chest and tried to improvise an over-the-shoulder half-volley that would have been spectacular had it come off, but the goalkeeper adjusted his feet quickly enough to make the catch.
A period of sustained attacking pressure from Southampton had Totton camped in and around their own penalty area, The Stags keeping their opponents at arm’s length until the 62nd minute, when a pass from the middle to inside-left gave a trialist a glimpse of goal. He squeezed a low shot through two defenders and past Noice at the near post to make it 3-1 to The Saints.
Harvey Rew and Lukę Bennett came on for Totton, replacing Ethan Taylor and Josh Owers. Luke Hallett deflected a shot wide for a Southampton corner, which Totton dealt with. Then, Ben Jefford and the ball both had to be replaced after coming off worse from a robust fifty-fifty challenge that saw the left-back being helped off the pitch by the Totton backroom staff and the football itself bursting. Owen Pelham entered the fray for The Stags.
Declan Rose’s clipped pass had Lee running goal-side of the last defender, but he needed too long to get the ball under control and had to settle for a corner. Rew played it short to Rose, who bent a high cross to the far post where Marcus DAWS hurtled in from the left to crash a header in off the underside of the crossbar to reduce the arrears for the home side with his second goal of the game, with 18 minutes left on the clock.
Daws had the chance to complete his hat-trick after a Southampton defender’s intervention to disrupt a flowing move that Bennett, Lee and Rendell were putting together diverted the ball back to Bennett on the Totton right. He arced a cross towards the far side and Daws once again lost his marker to get his head to the ball, but this time the goalkeeper was well-placed to catch.
Noice had to come rushing out of his area to kick clear, after a quick one-two had opened up the heart of the Totton defence. Then, Kennedy released Daws to scurry down the left wing. He had the pace to escape his marker but his cross was caught by the goalkeeper at the near post, with Lee and Rendell both charging into the box, prompting Daws to kick the advertising hoarding in frustration at the missed opportunity to register an assist.
CURLER: New midfield recruit Joshua Owers bends a cross into the danger area.
Lee continued to battle for every ball, fighting off two opponents in front of the Totton dug-out to send Pelham on a forward charge. Before the midfielder could reach the ball, though, the Saints goalkeeper rushed out to kick clear.
Luke Hallett was replaced late on by a trialist, while the impactful Marcus Daws made way for defender Sa-Sean Lutumba. The match continued to be contested in a competitive spirit but the last few minutes ebbed away without any further goal chances being created, resulting in a three-to-two victory for the young Saints.
Watch JIMMY BALL'S Post-Match Interview | Sponsored by ZAPPIE
Fixtures for the SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH 2024/25 season are due to be announced on the afternoon of Friday 19 July. Check this website and our social media channels for details.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography
