AFC Totton
BUILDBASE FA TROPHY
3rd Round
LARKHALL ATHLETIC 2
Daniel Demkiv 66mins; Brad Norris 75mins
AFC TOTTON 1
Hisham Kasimu 37mins
AFC Totton’s FA Trophy adventure came to an abrupt end yesterday (Saturday), after defeat to fellow Southern League Div.1 South team Larkhall Athletic in a fiery encounter in Somerset.
For his side’s second visit to the Bath-based club in a fortnight - the previous meeting ending in a 2-1 league win for the Stags - Head Coach Dan Sackman made only one change from the side that triumphed over Frome Town in mid-week, with Freddie Read having to miss out due to a family commitment and Jack Hoey stepping off the bench to take the No.7 shirt. Shaquille Gwengwe was named among the substitutes as he completes his return from injury, with Ryan Pennery having departed the club on Friday to rejoin Gosport Borough on a permanent transfer.
Larkhall’s Plain Ham ground, known as the Securitas Arena for sponsorship purposes, is idiosyncratic to say the least. Positioned high on a hill that overlooks the city of Bath, with a winding road leading up to it that is too thin for a bus or coach and positioned next to a pétanque club, the football pitch itself sits below an embankment from where most fans peer down on proceedings. Thick rows of tall conifer trees on two sides of the ground do their best to limit the lost footballs budget while adding a distinctly Nordic flavour to the scene.
The game began slowly with neither side doing much to hurt the other in the opening minutes. Decked out in Totton’s away strip of fluo yellow shirts, black shorts and yellow socks, Ethan Taylor was the first to get a shot on target 3 minutes in, when Jack Hoey picked him out towards the right-hand side and the Stags winger slalomed past his marker before unleashing a shot for the top-right corner, which Shaun Semmens in the Larkhall goal did well to catch cleanly.
Sam Griffin took a heavy challenge from the home right-back Jack Hillard as he tried to defend a cross-field ball from the Larks’ skipper, Mike Baker. Then, an up-and-under clearance allowed Alex Lambert to run at Stags left-back Ben Jefford, twisting him this way and that on his way to his side’s right-wing byline and firing in a low cross for Norris whose finish was blocked on the line by Ade Olumuyiwa and scrambled clear amid home shouts for a penalty, the ball eventually going out for a goal kick.
The Larkhall left-back Jack Goodall miss-hit a clearance straight up into the air from a long kick by Amadeusz Skrzyniarz, which enabled Taylor to take possession and move infield to test Semmens again with another left-footed effort from outside the area, but Semmens was equal to it again.
MY BALL: Stags stopper Ade Olumuyiwa challenges for possession.
After a brief injury stoppage, play resumed in the 16th minute with an uncontested drop ball by the half-way line. Olumuyiwa squared to Harry Medway who pinged a long diagonal pass out to Griffin in an advanced position on the left wing. A terrific first touch enabled Griffin to take on Hillard and strike for the near post area, his shot crashing into the side-netting via a touch from Semmens. From the resulting corner, Jack Hoey’s cross was returned to him on the left-hand side so he followed-up with a low diagonal shot that was blocked by the legs of Semmens and cleared.
Within seconds, Dan Demkiv took control up the other end, drifting infield from the left wing onto his right foot, and curled a long-range effort just beyond the far post, with Dan Sackman enquiring from the touchline how his defenders granted him so much room. Ben Jefford received a yellow card for pulling an opponent’s shirt earlier in the move.
A foul by Taylor on defender Dan Restorick by the left-wing touchline brought an angry reaction of the home crowd, some of whom were determined to create a hostile atmosphere. Meanwhile, Sackman was encouraging his team to inject more urgency into their game and to raise the tempo of their passing. Olumuyiwa was caught in possession by Larkhall midfielder Matt Britton, whose block rebounded to put Demkiv through on goal, only a last ditch sliding tackle by Callum Baughan preventing him from going clean through. Then, Skrzyniarz had to make a catch within a crowded penalty area to intercept a Demkiv cross from the left wing.
Struggling to get to grips with a slightly bumpy pitch, Totton were almost the architects of their own downfall again in the 25th minute when passing the ball around at the back. Jordan Ngalo played it forward to Hoey who took a heavy touch that gifted possession to Norris in the Larkhall inside-left channel, Skrzyniarz getting down quickly to save the Larkhall striker’s low shot. And the Stags’ Polish goalkeeper had to react quickly again to keep out a close-range shot by Norris after Demkiv’s cross from the left produced a melee at the far post.
After a long period of ping-pong football from kick-off, the home side were now finding their feet, testing the flanks with Norris and Demkiv concentrating their efforts on tormenting Baughan and Olumuyiwa on the Totton right as the pressure on the visitors continued to build. Brave defending from Olumuyiwa shut down a goalscoring opportunity for Lambert from 12 yards when a left-wing free-kick was floated over the Stags defence to find the right winger on the other side of the penalty spot.
When Totton managed to counter-attack for the first time in a while on 34 minutes, Hoey’s straight pass skipped through to Semmens in the Larkhall goal. Hisham Kasimu was pulled up for tussling with Restorick when the ball appeared to be there to be won, then Taylor over-hit a free-kick from the left to waste a good chance to lay a glove on the hosts, summing up a frustrating first half for the Stags. So, when they suddenly went ahead in the 37th minute, it was more than a little against the run of play.
Medway won a header on the half-way line, sending the ball out to the left where Griffin’s header redirected it to Ethan Taylor to the right of the D. With his back to goal and defenders falling back around him, Taylor used the instep of his left foot to cushion a volley to the inside-left area. A retreating defender inadvertently ran over the ball, unable to adjust his feet quickly enough, and Hisham KASIMU took a touch before blasting an unstoppable left-foot piledriver past Semmens and high into the net.
THE QUIET ASSASSIN: Mild-mannered Hisham Kasimu scored his 21st goal of the season in the FA Trophy 3rd Round match at Larkhall Athletic.
Larkhall were briefly knocked out of their stride. Hillard’s underhit back-pass almost put Kasimu through on goal but Semmens was alive to the danger, coming a long way out of goal to punt the ball into the tall trees on the far side of the ground. Then, Goodall did well to stop Taylor profiting from Olumuyiwa’s through-ball from a deep position.
The goal had served to wake the Stags up. Just before half-time, Hoey nipped in to intercept a pass inside the centre-circle and threaded the ball to Kasimu on the inside-left. The Frenchman rounded Restorick and struck a low shot that Semmens saved with his legs, the rebound hitting another defender and kindly falling back into the keeper’s arms.
HALF-TIME
LARKHALL ATHLETIC 0
AFC TOTTON 1
Larkhall won a corner early in the second half. The ball came out to Jack Camm on the edge of the area but his shot was blocked by Hoey. His second attempt hit Olumuyiwa and his third, a clipped cross over Medway that dropped near the penalty spot, was well defended under pressure by Callum Baughan.
Camm then earned himself a yellow card for a cynical foul on Kasimu that left the striker writhing in pain, when he had been running at the Larkhall defence from centre-field. The ball dropped dangerously inside the penalty area from Olumuyiwa’s free-kick but Kasimu air-kicked with an attempted back heel before squaring to Medway who shaped to shoot with his left foot but Goodall slid in to clear the ball and took the Stags skipper’s kick full on the foot. An angry exchange ensued among several players, the result of which was a yellow card for Medway.
Alex Lambert was a frequently skilful and threatening presence on the right-wing for the Larks. He got in behind Jefford but dragged his shot across the Totton goal, which enabled the visitors to counter-attack. Jack Hoey picked out Sam Griffin in an excellent position in the inside-left channel, but with only the goalkeeper to beat, the Stags winger tried to poke the ball under Semmens when a chipped shot would likely have doubled his team’s advantage.
Olumuyiwa was called into action on the edge of his own penalty area, and then found himself making an aerial challenge up the other end, trying to connect with Taylor’s cross after Semmens had punched Hoey’s free-kick clear. The big Stags defender clashed heads with the Larkhall keeper and had to receive treatment, including an on-field concussion check, before he was allowed to continue.
NOW YOU SEE IT: AFC Totton winger Ethan Taylor takes on Larkhall left-back Jack Goodall.
Taylor tried his luck with an angled drive with Semmens dealt with. Then, Adam Tomasso had to get across quickly to prevent Lambert exploiting space down the Totton left. Another blocked effort from Taylor bounced out to Ngalo, who kept the attack alive by finding Griffin to the left. He couldn’t find a shooting angle so he laid it off for Hoey, whose shot was also blocked.
Ben Jefford pulled up injured on 64 minutes and was replaced by Jordan Ragguette at left-back.
Two minutes later, the home side drew level. Callum Baughan was caught out by a long clearance from Shaun Semmens towards the Larkhall left wing. Dan DEMKIV read the bounce and raced clear of Baughan and Olumuyiwa, getting to the ball before Skrzyniarz could close the angle to poke the ball under the Totton keeper and put Larkhall back in the cup tie.
Buoyed by the enthusiastic support of a 300-strong home crowd, the Larks were chirping. Demkiv teed up Camm for a long-range shot that flew narrowly wide of the left-hand post. Then, Lambert’s response to being penalised for a high boot on Ragguette near half-way was to go face-to-face with the Stags substitute, who just stood his ground with stoney indifference.
Olumuyiwa was continuing to struggle, possibly with the surface or as a result of the earlier collision, and conceded possession to Demkiv on the left-hand side, Medway having to clear the forward’s low cross into the area with Norris lurking. Hoey then had a shot blocked at the other end by Goodall, after Kasimu had supplied the ball from the left wing.
Totton tried to get to grips with the game. Ngalo closed down substitute Harry Simons mid-way inside the Larkhall half and directed the ball out to Griffin on the left, who used the outside of his right foot to deliver a cross to around the penalty spot where Jack Hoey arrived unmarked, glancing his header wide of the right-hand upright when a firmer connection may well have beaten Semmens. But there was little doubt the Larkhall were the better team by this point, pressing and closing down more effectively throughout the midfield, carried by a support that seemed to gain more belief the longer the game went on.
The impressive Alex Lambert connected with a pass out of defence by Restorick and ran at Ragguette in the Totton left-back position. Switching the ball between his right and left foot and threatening to beat the Stags sub on either side, he forced Ragguette back into the penalty area and then centred, looking for Norris. The ball bounced up off Medway and, with Skrzyniarz rooted to the spot, smacked into the right-hand post and rebounded out for a corner. The delivery to the back post area was headed straight upward and as the ball dropped back into the 6-yard box, a flurry of limbs culminated in Brad NORRIS forcing the ball past Skrzyniarz to give Larkhall Athletic the lead with 15 minutes to go.
Confidence flowed from the home side. Demkiv took possession on the Larkhall left and squared up to Baughan, forcing the Totton right-back to retreat to where Demkiv could shift the ball to his right foot and force a low save from Skrzyniarz.
Ethan Taylor tried to lead a breakaway but was brought down by Goodall. Then, Britton went down claiming injury, as Larkhall certainly gave the impression of trying to run down the clock and game-manage their way into the 4th Round of the FA Trophy. Dan Sackman responded by bringing fit-again striker Shaquille Gwengwe off the bench to replace Jack Hoey. But a few minutes later, he was forced to use his third and final substitution to replace Ade Olumuyiwa, who had sat down on the turf, looking unwell. Brett Williams came on to make it five Totton forwards on the pitch.
HARD GRIND: A Larkhall Athletic defender gets a grip on AFC Totton striker Hisham Kasimu.
Larkhall began to run the ball into the corner, particularly down the Totton left-hand side where Ragguette had to contend with Lambert and the full-back Hillard when he ventured forward. Then, Jordan Ngalo led the charge upfield for the Stags, bursting through three midfielders before being taken down cynically mid-way inside the Larkhall half. To add insult to injury, the referee than told Ngalo to take the ball back into his own half of the pitch as that was where the original foul had occurred.
When Larkhall won a free-kick of their own 40 yards out in a central area for holding by Baughan, they opted to send the ball into the corner again, rather than try to attack from that advanced position. Then, with three minutes of normal time remaining, Dan Restorick was yellow carded for tripping Brett Williams as he dribbled his way through midfield. From the free-kick, Kasimu and Williams both had the ball at their feet with defenders right behind them, the ball was laid off to Taylor and he fired over the crossbar.
The home side were wasting time at every opportunity by now, Shaun Semmens nonchalantly back-heeling the ball away while he and several of his teammates distracted the referee in needless discussion. And the frustration of the afternoon became too much for Ethan Taylor, who was sent-off on 90 minutes for an over-the-ball foul on Larkhall substitute Tom Warren that sparked an angry confrontation among most of the players from both teams.
Shaq Gwengwe had a shot blocked during a late rally from a Totton free-kick, the Larkhall players demonstrating considerable desire by throwing their bodies on the line to protect their one-goal lead. From a subsequent Stags free-kick, Sackman sent Skrzyniarz forward in a desperate last-ditch attempt to force the cup tie into a penalty shoot-out, but it nearly back-fired when the delivery was underhit, leaving the Totton keeper stranded upfield. Ragguette managed to delay Larkhall long enough to prevent an instant conversion but Norris eventually managed to launch the ball from half-way while Skryzniarz scampered back, the whole ground waiting with baited breath as the ball bounced just past the right-hand post. But it made no difference because the referee then blew his full-time whistle to bring down the curtain on AFC Totton’s Buildbase FA Trophy challenge for the 2021/22 season.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
