AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 33 - Saturday 08 April 2023
AFC TOTTON 3
Scott Rendell 15mins, 40mins (pen);
Mitchell Speechley-Price 81mins
CINDERFORD TOWN 0
TWO GOALS FROM SCOTT RENDELL, taking his tally for the season to 30 in all competitions, helped The Stags take another step towards the finish line in the Southern League Div.1 South title race at the Snows Stadium, yesterday (Saturday). Substitute Mitchell Speechley-Price also scored to open his AFC Totton account, completing the scoring in a routine home win over relegation battlers Cinderford Town that helped to put his new team to within three wins of the title.
Free from suspension, Charlie Kennedy returned to the starting line-up to resume his central defensive partnership with Luke Hallett. Conor Whiteley came into midfield in place of Adam Tomasso, who dropped to the bench. Tommy Wright was rested, enabling Matty Burrows to make his first league start since Boxing Day, when he was sent off against this Bank Holiday Monday’s opponents, Lymington Town.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Benny READ
3. Jack MASTERTON
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Charlie DAVIS
8. Conor WHITELEY
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Matty BURROWS
Substitutes
14. Tommy WRIGHT
15. Adam TOMASSO
16. Josh CARMICHAEL
17. Mitchell SPEECHLEY-PRICE
18. Marcus DAY
The last time these two sides met, Totton ran out 6-1 winners at Cinderford’s Causeway Ground in November. The Foresters, suitably dressed in all green with shirts that also feature black stripes, came into this game in 19th place, hoping to cause an upset that might have taken them out of the automatic relegation places. But the visitors were under pressure from the start.
Matty Burrows had a shot blocked, before Benny Read fired in a cross from the right-hand side that Cinderford goalkeeper Ellis Parker caught before it could reach Scott Rendell towards the back post. Then, Conor Whiteley headed off the top of the crossbar from a Charlie Davis left-wing corner, with no more than three minutes on the clock.
Parker was tempted a long way off his line in the 6th minute to try and intercept another deep cross from the right. Rendell got his head to it first but as the ball dropped behind the goalkeeper, green-shirted defenders were able to scramble the ball clear.
Mike Carter put a stop to an attempted Cinderford counter-attack down their right wing by bodychecking Felix Miles - the scorer of a hat-trick in The Foresters’ last outing a fortnight ago, when they beat third-placed Hamworthy United 5-0 - to the ground near the halfway line. The Stags’ skipper picked up an early yellow card for his trouble.
Burrows drifted in from the right wing to receive the ball in a more central position, about 25 yards from goal. He hit a curling effort that clipped off a defender and flew wide of the right-hand post for a corner. Cinderford managed to knock it out of the area, but Whiteley was bundled over for a free-kick. Davis took it, floating the ball to the far post where Luke Hallett ghosted in unmarked, jumped and made a strong connection with his header but couldn’t keep it under the crossbar.
Benny Read then Morris danced his way through Foresters on the right edge of the penalty area and laid it back for Whiteley to send over a dangerous cross. Davis had to retrieve it beyond the far post, and exchanged passes with Jack Masterton, pushing up from left-back, to work himself into position to play a low, in-swinging delivery to the near post area, where it was hooked away by Dion Molyneux before Rendell could stab it towards goal.
Totton’s bright, confident start was rewarded in the 15th minute when their talismanic centre-forward put them in front. After a period of passing the ball around, mainly between the defenders and midfielders in a style with which regular Stags match-goers will be familiar, Jack Masterton received possession in space on the left-hand side, midway inside the Cinderford half. With time to get his head up and pick his spot, AFC Totton’s longest-serving player bent a delicious cross over two defenders and onto the poised forehead of Scott RENDELL, who nodded past Parker and into the top-right corner of the net.
ON THE UP: Scott Rendell celebrates his first goal in the Southern League Div.1 South win over Cinderford Town at the Snows Stadium.
A glorious cross-field pass from Ethan Taylor was well-controlled by a single touch from Burrows, at the right corner of the penalty area. He tried to go inside two defenders but one of them got a crucial foot in to knock the ball away. Davis picked it up to maintain the pressure for the home side, but they weren’t able to fashion another shooting chance in that moment.
From an 18th-minute set-piece, Davis delivered more quality into the box. Charlie Kennedy flicked it on from close to the penalty spot and Hallett made contact at the far post but, again, his header was too high. The defender had his face in his hands in response to a good chance spurned as he trotted back into position for the Cinderford goal kick.
The visitors won a free-kick on their right-hand side, midway inside Totton’s half. It was initially cleared but they regained possession and played full-back William Emery to the right-wing byline. Kennedy turned his cross away, but Finley Bell picked up the loose ball and fed man mountain centre-forward Michael Symons, whose short pass to Miles was followed by the striker going down under a challenge. Cinderford’s players appealed for a penalty but the Referee waved play on and Totton cleared their lines.
Read surged forward to pick up the pieces from an aerial battle in the centre-circle, advancing down the right side of the penalty area before checking back to tee-up Davis to cross to the far side. Rendell was tightly marked but still managed to get his head to the ball from 10 yards out, but his effort went over the bar.
A miss-kick from Cinderford’s Jamie Bremner almost played Burrows through on goal at the edge of the area, but Tristan Hasswell got his foot in just in time. Then, Parker had to rush out of his box to kick away a through-ball from deep by Hallett, which had Burrows giving chase, again. The ball almost fell kindly for Davis, who would have been in a position to lob it back into the empty net, but for some quick thinking by a Cinderford midfielder, closing him down before he could get it under control.
Bremner atoned for his earlier error by kicking away an in-swinging cross from the left by Davis, with Rendell lurking just over his shoulder, as Totton continued to push and pull their opponents around the Snows Stadium pitch in search of a second goal. Then, when Cinderford got forward down their right and tried to switch the play to the opposite corner of the penalty area, Whiteley was sufficiently aware of his surroundings to safely nod the ball back to the under-employed Lewis Noice. Hallett did likewise a few minutes later, to prevent Miles latching onto a headed flick-on by Symons, who Charlie Kennedy had the unenviable task of trying to man-mark.
Burrows ran at Emery and Brandon Liggett towards the left corner of the penalty area, threatening to tie the two of them in knots until Liggett managed to nick the ball and clear to safety. Then, Rendell had to fulfil defensive duties to head away a Felix Miles flick-on from Jack Freeman’s free-kick on the Cinderford right.
Cinderford got in down the left side. Carter couldn’t prevent Haswell getting to the byline and pulling the ball back to Miles on the edge of the area. With his back to goal, he took a touch which allowed Hallett and Kennedy to both converge upon him. Kennedy partially cleared but the visitors got the ball back quickly, and switched it to their left where a cross came in from deep. Miles volleyed it with his right instep but pulled his effort well wide.
Totton had to endure more Cinderford possession, and Hallett conceded a free-kick near their left-wing touchline, about 22 yards from the byline, for taking a ride on the shoulders of Finley Bell as they competed for a high ball. The delivery was curled towards the edge of Totton’s six-yard box where Molyneux ran just underneath it before Noice made a clean catch just beyond him. Then, Carter shut down Bell as he tried to run through the middle of the Totton defence from a Symon’s flick-on.
SCOTTY ON THE SPOT: The Sunburnt Assassin scores goal No.30 for the season from the penalty spot to put The Stags two-nil up.
Read had his pocket picked near halfway when Bell snuck up from behind his right shoulder to dispossess The Stags full-back, but Hallett was alert to the situation and took the ball back quickly. That enabled the home side to pass the ball around again and in the 38th minute, Read got to the right corner of the Cinderford penalty area and clipped a high cross to the far side. As the ball was arcing towards Rendell, William Emery stuck his right foot up to try and intercept, but only succeeded in kicking the ball high over his own head. Rendell had time to position himself between the dropping ball and the onrushing Ellis Parker, and when the keeper jumped into him from behind, Rendell went down clutching his head. The Referee pointed to the penalty spot. Scott RENDELL stepped up and converted powerfully, notching his 30th goal of the season in all competitions.
With the bit between their teeth, Totton were relentless. Rendell held up a long ball and then hooked it overhead to put Burrows in behind the defence, in the inside-right channel but, moving at pace, he fired his shot over the bar. Then, Rendell knocked down Masterton’s pass up the left touchline for Taylor to attack the box, with Burrows and Whiteley to aim for, but his cross was diverted away.
As the first half came to a close, Davis battled hard for possession in midfield. But then he misplaced a pass which enabled Cinderford to get Liggett into a crossing position on their right wing. His delivery was too long, though, and drifted over the frame of the goal at the far side, before the Referee blew the half-time whistle.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 2
CINDERFORD TOWN 0
Cinderford made a substitution before the second half got underway, with William Emery being replaced by Jack Bartman. Totton were straight on the attack. Taylor’s pass for Burrows was knocked back to him by a defender, so he moved to the right of the area and, with a rare use of his right foot, stood a cross up to the far post where the hat-trick hunting Rendell was poised to head home, until Bartman nodded it out of reach.
It continued to be a warm and bright afternoon, which matched the mood emanating from Mally’s Corner, where the usual suspects gave voice to their new song about the diminutive yet “massive” AFC Totton boss and his “blue and white army”, with several school children in the Wessex Heartbeat Stand heartily singing their own chant.
On the pitch, Kennedy put in a strong tackle to put an end to Freeman’s trickery on the ball. Then, a cross from the Cinderford right eluded Symons, who is built for strength rather than mobility.
Davis picked out Taylor on the left corner of the penalty with a cross-field ball, though Totton’s No.10 had to due a full 360° turn to get the ball under control. He moved infield and then turned again and passed through the gap he had created, into the path of the galloping Masterton, who got to the left-wing byline and then switched to his right foot to cross. Molyneux headed into the air, rather than away, and Rendell got underneath it to head at goal, but he couldn’t muster the power to beat Parker.
HAIR-RAISING SKILLS: Winger Matty Burrows takes the ball under control.
Rendell put the ball in Cinderford’s net for a third time, on the hour mark. Burrows forced defenders back by running at them, before squaring to Davis on the edge of the box. His shot struck a defender and fell to Rendell who poked it past Parker from close range, but the flag went up immediately to indicate offside against The Sunburnt Assassin.
Five minutes later, Marcus Day came on in place of Ethan Taylor. Benny Read battled gamely for possession near the halfway line, after taking a heavy touch. His frustration got the better of him and he ended up bringing down an opponent and earning himself a yellow card. Then, a foul by Hallett on Symons just to the right of the D gave Cinderford a free-kick in a dangerous area. Felix Miles struck it over the defensive wall and got some curl on it, but Lewis Noice only had to shuffle his feet to comfortably catch the ball into his midriff. Burrows nearly got clean through on goal from Noice’s drop-kick. The came back to The Stags keeper, and this time kicking from the ground about five yards outside his area, he found Rendell who headed on to Davis. A first-time volley picked out Marcus Day on the left of the area and, perhaps experiencing a flashback to the outstanding goal he scored on the Snows Stadium turf for Bristol Manor Farm against AFC Totton in February, he tried to dance his way through three green shirts before firing over the crossbar, while Rendell was standing at the back of the penalty area demanding a pass.
Jimmy Ball then sent on Mitchell Speechley-Price for Charlie Davis for the last 18 minutes. Burrows chased a through-ball to the right-wing byline and appeared to be shoved off the ball by a defender’s arm. No free-kick was given, so the young winger switched into defensive mode and made sure Cinderford couldn’t progress up the wing by charging down the attempted clearance for a throw-in. Benny Read vs Michael Symons was a total miss-match, but Read won the aerial challenge by darting in front of his man and knocking the ball on for Speechley-Price, who in turn found Whiteley. The former Sholing man went on a mazy run through the midfield and threatened to burst through the middle of the defence, but found himself crowded out on the edge of the area.
After a period of loose play from both sides, Cinderford managed to send a high cross to towards their left of the Totton penalty area where Symons was lying in wait. Noice ran off his line and jumped above him to claim the ball above his head.
With about 10 minutes to go, Totton got back into their passing rhythm. Read’s forward pass found Burrows, who turned away from his marker and tried to run through the gap between two more green shirts, getting brought down in the process and then needing treatment from The Stags’ physio Andrew Hanley. Once it was confirmed that Burrows was fine to continue, Jimmy Ball protected his already yellow-carded captain Mike Carter by replacing him with Adam Tomasso. Play restarted with a free-kick, near the Totton dug-out on their right wing. Striking the ball left-footed, Masterton floated another beautiful cross over the line of rapidly retreating defenders and, sneaking in behind them, Mitchell SPEECHLEY-PRICE headed towards the top-right corner, where the ball clipped the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net for his first AFC Totton goal since his recent arrival from Lymington Town.
SPREAD THE LOVE: Luke Hallett (left), Mitchell Speechley-Price and Charlie Kennedy (right) celebrate the new striker's first AFC Totton goal.
Read got forward again down the right-hand side, exchanging passes with Matty Burrows before blasting over from the edge of the box. Then, Totton won another free-kick on the right when Speechley-Price was fouled. Masterton was again the taker, his delivery going slightly further towards the back-post this time, where Luke Hallett threw his head at the ball with a diving header that directed it just wide of the far post.
Conor Whiteley tried his luck with a snapshot from distance, from left of centre, the ball bouncing about two foot wide of the right-hand post. Then, Burrows took the ball full force in his stomach from close range, as Rendell attempted to boot it upfield to prevent an opponent taking it from him near halfway. Burrows was soon scampering around again, though, threatening Cinderford from the left side of the penalty area with another sprightly run, until Bartman made a well-timed tackle inside the box to remove the danger. Then, Masterton tackled back to reclaim the ball for the boys in blue as Cinderford looked like they were building up a head of steam with an attack from their right wing.
Hallett’s through-ball from inside his own half had the 36-year-old Scott Rendell chasing a lost cause towards the right-wing byline. By the time he’d caught up with the ball, it had already hit the advertising hoardings behind the line, which he then used to lean on and catch his breath back with the full sympathy and understanding of everyone in the stadium.
Totton were in full control of the game by the end. Burrows received the ball from Hallett on the right wing, drifted infield and took aim with his left foot, only to see it charged down by a defender. Then, after the board went up to confirm three minutes of stoppage time, Burrows continued to cause problems for the Cinderford defence, though his cross from an advanced position on the right looped onto the roof of the net.
Rendell, Read, Burrows and Masterton all combined in a last attempt to chalk up a fourth goal, but Cinderford managed to repel the ball long enough for the Referee to blow the final whistle.
Sholing were also victorious, winning 1-0 at Willand Rovers with a goal from ex-Stags defender Rob Flooks on the stroke of half-time. So, Totton stay four points ahead of The Boatmen with one game in-hand. All 20 Southern League Div.1 South teams are in action on Bank Holiday Monday, with Totton visiting Lymington Town and Sholing entertaining sixth-placed Bashley, who still harbour hopes of sneaking into the Promotion Play-Offs at Tavistock’s expense. Totton’s game in-hand will be at Melksham Town on Wednesday 12 April.
After the match, AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“That was a really pleasing performance from the lads, especially after Wednesday night at Tavistock. That took a lot out of them. It was like wading through treacle in those conditions and the boys did really well to battle for a point, and came close to winning it. But they showed plenty of energy and commitment today. They worked extremely hard for each other and for the cause, and they made it look comfortable in the end. I was glad to be able to take one or two players off to give them a rest and get some minutes into one or two others, who may yet play a big part for us in the remaining games.
“I’ve said all season long that it takes a squad to win a league and we’re lucky to have good players throughout the group, who can all come in and do a good job, whatever you ask of them. We really turned up today; all the players are hungry to win and those who don’t get to start are unhappy about it, but they don’t sulk. They’re snapping at the heels of those in the team, which is what we want. It means players have to perform to keep their place, or somebody else will come in.
“We play Lymington on Monday and then Melksham on Wednesday, so there’s not much time to rest. We will go through our process; the medical guys will call everyone tomorrow (Sunday), see who has knocks or strains and who needs a bit of TLC. But all of these players would rather be playing than training - I know I would - and to be where we are at this point of the season with so many important games coming up must mean we’re doing something right.
“It was great to see Mitchell Speechley-Price score his first goal for us. He gives us something different but he’s come into a squad that is flying, unbeaten in 14 games now, so it’s not been easy to get him into the team. But he’s taken his chance today and got himself off the mark, goalscoring-wise, so that’s very pleasing. Jordan Ragguette is just about fit now, too, and everyone appears to have come through unscathed today, so that means we have a clean bill of health going into these next few games. It gives me a selection headache, of course, but I don’t mind that - give me that situation any day of the week. Myself, Paul Masters and Steve Hollick will sit down and come up with what we think will be the best line-up to take on Lymington away on Monday.
“The support was fantastic again today, too. A vocal crowd, including the school kids, as well, cheering and singing and getting behind their team. People are happy and they want to be a part of things, which tells me that we’re on the right track. That bunch of nutters in the corner behind the dug-out didn’t stop all game, and it’s lovely to hear, and it helps the lads on the pitch to find that extra three-or-four percent that can really make the difference.
“Lymington are a good side. Their form has improved recently, and Dave Lewis is a fantastic manager. So, we’ll be hoping for that same level of support at The Sports Ground. The players are up for it, I’m sure about that - they’re ready to fight for everything, again - and I look forward to seeing as many of our fans who can get there on Monday for what we hope will be another positive result.”
Latest Southern League Div.1 South league table
View AFC Totton’s fixture list for the 2022/23 season
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Tom Phillips Photography
