AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 18 - Saturday 21 January 2023
BIDEFORD AFC 1
Benjamin Wood 10mins
AFC TOTTON 1
Luke Hallett 90+2mins
AFTER FOUR WEEKS WITHOUT A COMPETITIVE MATCH, second in the Southern League Div.1 South table AFC Totton finally got the chance to blow off the cobwebs of their weather-enforced winter break when they travelled to Devon yesterday (Saturday) to take on fourth-from-bottom Bideford AFC.
Injuries and suspensions forced manager Jimmy Ball into several changes, which included a tactical switch to a 3-5-2 formation. With regular No.1 Lewis Noice still recovering from the injury he sustained against Lymington Town on Boxing Day, dual-registered goalkeeper Charlie Searle made a welcome return to the AFC Totton line-up; the Havant & Waterlooville goalkeeping coach had a short spell on loan with The Stags several years ago. Jordan Ragguette was involved in the pre-match warm-up but wasn’t named in the 16-man squad, meaning Ben Jefford took the No.3 shirt to line up on the left of the central defensive trio. With Conor Whiteley and Matty Burrows both still suspended, loanee striker Tommy Wright came in for his Totton debut. Midfielder Charlie Davis was named among the subs.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Charlie SEARLE
2. Benny READ
3. Ben JEFFORD
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Jack MASTERTON
8. Ethan TAYLOR
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Silvano OBENG
11. Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14. Yemi ODUBADE
15. Jake ADAMS
16. Freddie READ
17. Charlie DAVIS
18. Adam TOMASSO
Having made the 144-mile journey to the historic port town of Bideford on the estuary of the River Torridge in North Devon, where they were greeted by a cold but brightly-sunlit sky, AFC Totton kicked-off a football match for the first time in 2023, wearing their changed kit of fluo yellow shirts, black shorts and yellow socks. The Robins were clad in their own traditional home kid of all red with white trim, reminiscent of Aberdeen.
Totton were understandably ring rusty after so long without a game. A momentary lapse in defensive concentration enabled Matthew Buchan - the player who scored Bideford’s spectacular winner in the corresponding fixture last season, then left to join Tiverton Town but returned to The Sports Ground on loan just this week in time to face Totton, again - broke through to latch onto a headed flick into the inside-left channel. Charlie Searle was quickly off his line to deal with the situation; his first attempt to grab possession was blocked by Buchan’s body but the forward stayed on his feet and the scrambling Searle was able to dive on the ball before the Bideford No.10 could turn it back across goal.
The Stags mounted an attack down the right flank in the third minute, which was initially repelled as far as Mike Carter midway inside the home side’s half. A quick one-two with Jack Masterton (pictured below) worked the ball to Ethan Taylor to the left of the D and he clipped a pass over the central defence to find Tommy Wright in the inside-right channel, but he couldn’t sort his feet out quickly enough to strike before the ball ran out of play.
Masterton was spoken to by the Referee for a foul near the centre-circle. With a cluster of players lining the edge of the Totton penalty area expecting a high delivery, Bideford played the free-kick along the ground towards the inside-right. The ball was then played across the area and laid back for James Mayne, who missed his kick before Bideford skipper Aaron Taylor screwed his shot wide to the left.
Totton were struggling to assert themselves early on, and Ben Jefford was penalised for pulling Buchan down while they engaged in an aerial challenge. From 25 yards out on the right-hand side, the ball was floated into the box where Luke Hallett headed away. Buchan tried to retrieve it and close in on the Totton goal but he was flagged offside.
Ten minutes into the game, Totton paid the price for their lackadaisical start. A pass from the Bideford right into the penalty area freed the Bideford Player/Assistant Manager Benjamin WOOD to close in on goal from the inside-right. Benny Read tried in vain to get across and make the block but Wood calmly slotted the ball under Charlie Searle to put The Robins ahead.
Buchan threatened again, latching onto a cross-field pass to collect the ball on the left edge of the Totton area, with Charlie Kennedy in attendance. Buchan worked his way infield and tried to bend a shot into the far corner with his right foot, curling his effort just past the far post.
Keen to rally his troops into action, captain Carter made a strong tackle to win possession near halfway, then fed Masterton on the left who whipped the ball up the line for Silvano Obeng to chase. Bideford full-back Kyle Paine made a crunching tackle to divert it out to touch. A few moments later, a bobble caused the ball to flick up off the turf, off Ben Jefford’s shin and into touch, prompting some of the home supporters to chant, “Are you Sholing in disguise?”, Bideford’s only previous home league win of the 2022/23 season having come against the current Southern League Div.1 South table-toppers in October.
Buchan was presented with another chance when Hallett’s attempt to head clear a free-kick from the right dropped to him just beyond the left-hand post. But from a tight angle, he could only flash his shot over the crossbar. With 16 minutes on the clock, AFC Totton were not at the races.
Benny Read and Tommy Wright combined on the right flank to carry the fight forward for the away team. Wright shifted the ball to his left foot on the right edge of the penalty area before threading a pass to the unmarked Scott Rendell eight yards out, who somehow steered his shot wide of the target - although his blushes were saved by an offside flag. Then, Taylor sent in a cross from the left wing that deflected upward off a defender, enabling Bideford goalkeeper Adam Seedhouse-Evans to catch the ball despite a firm shove from Obeng, as The Stags began to show signs of stirring from their winter slumber.
Masterton started instigating the play from midfield, exchanging passes with Obeng and feeding Benny Read on the right flank, but Bideford were content to fill up the defensive space to make themselves difficult to break down.
Mike Carter was subjected to a lecture from the Referee, who had failed to notice a blatant foul on Masterton. Then, to further add to the visitors’ frustration, Jefford thought he had successfully forced a corner from his blocked left-wing cross, only for the officials to award a goal-kick to Bideford.
Wright tried to charge his way through a flock of Robins, but he barely managed to ruffle their feathers before they hacked the ball away. Then, Obeng found space on the right-wing byline from Benny Read’s pass. The forward’s low cross was turned away to the edge of the box where Masterton intercepted. He tried to play a one-two with Wright but again, the red shirts crowded out their yellow counterparts and the Bideford lead remained intact.
Sloppy play in possession cost Totton the opportunity to sustain an initially promising attack with Wright down the right-hand side. Then, Jefford tried to cross from the left but Javan Wright got his body in the way to snuff out the chance. Again, it was left to Masterton to inject some urgency into Totton’s play, the diminutive midfielder working the ball out to the right wing and getting it back from Read, before playing a clever reverse pass to release Tommy Wright into the inside-right channel. Wright scampered onto the ball before it could cross the byline, and thrashed a low shot into the side-netting just behind the right-hand post.
Bideford staged a brief excursion into the Totton half but Alex Byrne’s pass towards the near post area eluded Buchan and ran harmlessly out of play. From Searle’s goal-kick, Totton quickly fashioned their best chance of the game so far. Rendell flicked the ball on for Tommy Wright to control. With the Bideford defence all drawn towards the ball, Taylor found acres of space on the left to receive Wright’s pass and with the goal at his mercy, Taylor shot low only for Seedhouse-Evans to save with his left foot.
From a corner a few minutes later, Masterton played it short to Taylor on the edge of the area. He was closed down before he could do anything with it but the ball came out to Carter who drove it low into the area. The ball ricocheted off a defender to Tommy Wright who struck left-footed, pulling a smart reaction save from Seedhouse-Evans, the ball seemingly hitting the keeper’s midriff as he was diving to his right.
Ben Jefford (pictured above) made an important sliding interception as Bideford were attempting to break Totton’s offside trap. Then, Benny Read won a corner off Wood on the right-hand side. Masterton took it and received it back from Carter, then curled a high cross into the box. Tommy Wright leapt high and steered a firm header on target; Adam Seedhouse-Evans dived to his right and thrust out his arm to push the ball away from danger to make an excellent save.
Totton were caught on the break, allowing Buchan to advance on the area from the Bideford right. But, presented with several passing options or the opportunity to go it alone, the forward appeared to be in two minds and eventually tripped under the weight of his own indecision. Then, Masterton had the chance to deliver a free-kick into the box from the right flank, but whether his cross was overhit or his teammates were poorly positioned, the ball bounced near the back post and out of play for a goal-kick.
Seedhouse-Evans came out of his area to punt the ball over the stand before Obeng could latch onto Kennedy’s long diagonal pass. Then, just before the break, Jefford stole into the penalty area at the left-wing byline and fired the ball across goal. Seedhouse-Evans dived low to parry out to the edge of the area. Tommy Wright controlled it, despite three defenders breathing down his neck, and managed to squeeze in a left-footed shot on the turn that seared wide of the left-hand post with the Bideford goalkeeper, for once, a helpless bystander.
HALF-TIME
BIDEFORD AFC 1
AFC TOTTON 0
The home side got the second half underway and they mounted the first second-half attack of note, working their way down the left wing after Hallett had stepped over the ball and lost possession. Jefford read the situation and intercepted near the penalty spot, turning away from the red-shirted attacker at his shoulder to clear the ball upfield with his left foot. Bideford reclaimed the ball and moved infield. First-half goalscorer Wood came in from the left wing to try his luck from distance, but Searle was equal to it at his right-hand post.
Carter and Jefford managed to encroach a long way into the Bideford half on the left wing, before a quick interchange of short passes gave Taylor a brief glimpse of goal, his shot spinning up off the shoulder of a defender and running through to Seedhouse-Evans.
Tommy Wright’s willingness to chase lost causes had him firing Kennedy’s long pass across goal from the right-wing byline. Taylor, now on the right side of the six-yard box with his marker right behind him, could only divert it towards the far post with his hip but, with no other Totton player close enough to provide the finishing touch, Seedhouse-Evans had time to get across and scoop the ball up into his grateful arms.
Totton got bogged down in midfield as they tried to mount another attack, and Bideford sprung forward on the counter-attack. Buchan received the ball just off the corner of the penalty area, on the Bideford left, with Hallett tracking him. Buchan went for a curling shot from the angle, but his effort was too high to trouble Searle.
Jefford got to the left-wing byline and played a low cross into the box. Taylor fired towards the bottom-right corner, only for Tyler Yendle to block. The ball rebounded out to Tommy Wright on the edge of the area; his shot was flying in near the right-hand post before Adam Seedhouse-Evans dived to his left to get two strong palms behind the ball to parry firmly away.
A moment of hesitation from Charlie Searle, as he came out of his area to deal with a high, looping ball that dropped behind the Totton defence, almost ended in calamity when Buchan managed to get partially in the way of the keeper’s clearance. It fell to Javan Wright 30 yards out with the goal at his mercy, if he could lob it over the rapidly retreating Searle. But his effort lacked venom and the relieved Searle was able to fall on the ball near his penalty spot to keep the deficit down to one goal.
Searle looked much more assured 10 minutes into the second half, when a Bideford free-kick from the right was sent high towards the far post and knocked down for Ashley Mitchell to control and shoot from the edge of the area, straight at Searle who got his body behind it to make a solid save.
A combination between Benny Read, Rendell and Masterton down the right presented Read with the chance to clip the ball into the middle where Rendell had re-positioned himself to head for goal, the ball deflecting off Taylor and dropping agonisingly wide. Seedhouse-Evans took his time over the goal-kick, much to the verbal annoyance of Jimmy Ball and his assistant Paul Masters in the Totton dug-out, as part of an ongoing dialogue between them and the Referee.
Ball was then deep in conversation with substitute Jake Adams, who he was preparing to send into the fray. Meanwhile, a loose pass by Paine was intercepted by Jefford near the centre-circle. He picked out the run of Tommy Wright down the right flank, but the debutant spooned his cross-shot over the bar, before Jake Adams came on to replace Silvano Obeng.
Matthew Buchan was shown a yellow card, either for a late foul on Mike Carter or for reacting to Jack Masterton’s disapproval with a shove on The Stags’ midfielder. But The Robins No.10 continued to carry a threat, especially when a weak headed back-pass by Hallett almost sold Charlie Searle short, the keeper racing out to kick clear before Buchan could take advantage.
Good defending by Byrne prevented Wright getting through from the Totton right, as the game became more like an Attack vs Defence training drill than a competitive football match. But for all their possessional dominance and their patience with the ball, Totton were still struggling to create chances. Bideford were happy to sit deep and head crosses away or rely upon the confident Seedhouse-Evans to catch anything the defenders couldn’t reach.
A dangerous cross by Taylor from left of the penalty area eluded everyone as it flashed across goal. Then, Mayne hooked away another Taylor cross before it could reach Rendell on the edge of the 6-yard box. Taylor was involved again a few minutes later, linking up with Carter who played the ball into the box. Wright allowed it to run to Adams on the far side but with multiple red shirts filling up the space between him and his teammates, he could only prod the ball back into Bideford possession.
Freddie Read (pictured above) came on for Jack Masterton with about 15 minutes to go. A high ball from Hallett was well-controlled by Adams, darting in behind a defender at the inside-right, but his low cross was blocked. Then, Taylor and Wright tried to tip-toe their way through the massed ranks of red shirts on the edge of the Bideford box, before eventually being crowded out.
With nine minutes remaining, Charlie Davis come on for Totton in place of Tommy Wright. Davis’s first contribution of note was to take a free-kick, awarded for a foul on Carter, but Bideford continued to stand strong, heading the ball out and then effectively quashing Totton’s attempts to follow-up with a cross from the rebound.
James Mayne did well to get across Taylor to head away before Jefford’s cross could reach its target in front of the home team’s goal. Then, Mayne was in quickly again to prevent Taylor progressing down the left wing, as The Robins dug in to protect their slender lead.
Kennedy sent a long ball into the box from the centre-circle, which Rendell got his head to but his glancing effort lacked the power to beat Seedhouse-Evans. Totton came again with Benny Read winning a corner on the right-hand side. The cross was headed out, Carter turned it back into the area, beyond the left-hand post. Jefford headed across goal looking for Rendell, but Seedhouse-Evans intervened to reclaim the ball for the home side.
With four minutes of stoppage time indicated from the touchline, Totton continued to push, trying to salvage something from the game on what has often been an unhappy hunting ground for AFC Totton teams throughout the years. Benny Read went down under a challenge by Wood, midway inside the Bideford half on the right. The left-footed Ben Jefford went across to deliver a high in-swinging cross that Scott Rendell headed on from the edge of the area and before Man of the Match Seedhouse-Evans could come out to catch it, Luke HALLETT nodded the ball into the bottom-left corner from about 10 yards to secure a late, late equaliser for the travelling Stags.
Both sides tried to steal a late winner; Bideford came closest but Jefford got back to head the ball safely into the arms of Searle to ensure that Totton would make their long return journey to the Snows Stadium with another point on the board.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured, right) said:
“We were off the pace in the early portion of the game, our touch wasn’t there and the players struggled to implement the tactical ideas that we’ve been working on in training over the last few weeks. Credit to Bideford, though, who worked their socks off. They gave everything, worked and fought hard to get something out of the game. They had a few players cramping up near the end, understandably. They camped in and made it extremely difficult for us, and their goalkeeper was excellent, so they come away with a deserved point.
“More quality from us might have produced a better result but I can’t complain too much. It’s two points dropped but while we weren’t at our usual levels, it’s not really a bad day at the office. They’ve had games postponed recently, too, so no excuses from our point of view, but we remain unbeaten in the league since August and we just have to keep going and play a lot better next time out. Tommy Wright did everything right. He hasn’t played a full game for three months, either, so we have to be patient with him. But he showed plenty of quality and enthusiasm, today.
“Tuesday night against Frome Town, it’s another tough game in a difficult league. There are no gimmes in this league but it will be good to play at home for the first time this year and I’m looking forward to playing in front of our own fans, again.”
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 Craig Hobbs Photography
