AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 22 - Saturday 11 February 2023
PAULTON ROVERS 0
AFC TOTTON 1
Scott Rendell 72mins
AFC TOTTON PUT THE HANGOVER of Tuesday’s defeat at title rivals Sholing swiftly behind them with a single-goal victory at Paulton Rovers, yesterday (Saturday). The hosts made The Stags work for it with a resolute defensive display that kept clear cut chances to the bare minimum, but centre-forward Scott Rendell managed to break the deadlock midway through the second half, by applying the finishing touch to a neat move and cross instigated and executed by full-back Benny Read.
Having made his return from a three-game suspension as a second-half substitute at Sholing in midweek, Matty Burrows was named in Manager Jimmy Ball’s starting line-up, with Jack Masterton dropping to the bench. Charlie Davis also returned to the midfield, Adam Tomasso stepping aside to take the No.17 shirt.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Charlie SEARLE
2. Benny READ
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Matty BURROWS
8. Charlie DAVIS
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14. Conor WHITELEY
15. Ben JEFFORD
16. Freddie READ
17. Adam TOMASSO
18. Jack MASTERTON
After a slightly delayed start, The Rovers kicked-off, attacking towards the rolling hills that provide a picaresque backdrop to the First 4 Pools Stadium in the Somerset village of Paulton, near Bath. They wore their traditional maroon coloured shirts, with two thick white diagonal stripes running across the lower portion of the jersey, white shorts and maroon socks. Totton were clad in their away kit of fluo yellow shirts, black shorts and yellow socks.
Totton began by mounting early pressure down the right flank, which Paulton managed effectively with defenders and midfielders closing the forward pathways for the likes of Benny Read and Matty Burrows. The hosts had an early chance to counter-attack when Joe Morgan emerged from a period of Totton possession to aim a high cross-field pass towards Ed Butcher on the Paulton right, Jordan Ragguette reading the situation to good effect and making the interception before the forward could run through on goal.
GOT CARTER: AFC Totton skipper Mike Carter patrols the midfield as he guides his team to another three points in the Southern League Div.1 South at Paulton Rovers.
Scott Rendell demonstrated his aerial prowess with some early knock-ons, one of which from Luke Hallett’s diagonal pass might have put Tommy Wright clean through the centre, if only the ball would have stopped bouncing so high to allow the forward to get it properly under control before a defender hacked clear. Within a few moments, Butcher was posing a danger from the Paulton right, diving in a low cross that Charlie Kennedy slid in at the near post to direct the ball behind for a corner before remonstrating with his team for allowing The Rovers forward to get so close to the Totton goal.
Wright leapt high to head the ball short to Rendell, who laid back to Ethan Taylor who, in turn, squared to Burrows near the right corner of the Paulton penalty area. He drove infield to shift the ball onto his left foot, but rather snatched at the shot, curling it well-wide of the left-hand post, prompting shouts of encouragement from Scott Rendell for the young winger to relax while in possession.
A swift move combining touches from Wright, Rendell and Taylor in the sixth minute had the latter attacking the left-wing byline and sending in a well-struck low cross, which goalkeeper Aaron Sainsbury got down quickly to intercept at his near post. Then, Ragguette conceded a free-kick on the Paulton right, midway inside Totton’s half, Kennedy rising well to thump the ball clear with a strong defensive header.
Burrows had to extend his left leg high to bring a bouncing Charlie Davis pass out of the sky by the right-wing touchline. Paulton captain Neil Martin pulled him down, resulting in a Totton free-kick level with the right corner of the penalty area. Taylor sent an in-swinging cross into the area, where central defender Mircea Ilea did well to beat Rendell in the air on the edge of the six-yard box, with maroon shirts responding quickly to smother Totton’s attempt to capitalise from the second ball.
BACK IN THE TEAM: Matty Burrows made his first start since returning from suspension.
A foul on Taylor just inside the Paulton half presented Charlie Davis with the chance to hit a high delivery into the Paulton box. First Rendell, then Taylor competed for the high looping ball - not so much head tennis as head badminton - before Davis, having run forward after taking the original kick, got under the dropping ball to strike a right-footed half-volley that seared narrowly wide of the left-hand post, Davis doing particularly well to keep his effort down while under pressure from players closing in.
Mike Carter picked up his mandatory booking in the 11th minute. Butcher had skipped past challenges from Taylor and Davis on his way into the centre-circle, arriving at Carter’s left shoulder while still trying to regain his balance and finding himself slammed painfully into the heavy turf. Captain Carter pleaded his innocence but the Referee was unrepentant, producing the game’s first yellow card while Butcher received attention from the Paulton physio. The high delivery into the Totton box from the free-kick was headed out by Kennedy, with Rendell providing defensive assistance with a hooked clearance and a push on Davis providing the opportunity for Totton to take a breather and regroup.
Another foul on Taylor midway inside the Paulton half provided the Totton No.10 with the chance to pick out Hallett’s late run from deep to the far post, but the spring-heeled central defender couldn’t direct his header. Then, a period of end-to-end football - not the exciting kind; more the kind where goalkeepers just lump the ball up and down the football pitch for a while - gave all of the midfielders a bit of a rest, and the fans an opportunity to ponder their Saturday night takeaway options.
A neat move on 20 minutes had Davis feeding Wright through the middle, whose sharp turn freed him from the clutches of Paulton midfielder Jack Dancey, before a clever reverse pass appeared to put Taylor in near the penalty spot. To the home side’s relief, the offside flag went up but before the move was over, Ilea trod on Taylor’s foot, sending him to ground painfully grabbing his right boot. The Referee calmed everybody down before the inevitable pushing and shoving could get going in earnest, and resumed the game from the offside call, with a quick word of warning for Ilea.
Burrows was looking somewhat out of sorts on the right wing. His usually immaculate ball control was misfiring and, when he did get the ball down to run at the opposition, Rovers skipper Neil Martin and Nuno Felix, operating on the left of what appeared to be a Paulton back five, were able to get their bodies in the way to shove the considerably lighter Burrows off the ball or shepherd it out of play before he could inflict any damage.
Carter and Kennedy both made important defensive headers in quick succession, to prevent Leo Eglin and Joe Morgan, respectively, running in behind them. Rendell continued to win the majority of his aerial flick-ons, but Wright and Taylor struggled to time their runs and get the ball under control quickly enough to line up shooting chances.
Totton gained a stroke of luck when a building Paulton counter-attack was slowed down by Morgan treading on the ball in midfield, giving Ragguette a crucial extra second to get back and dispossess Butcher on the home side’s right wing. The energetic Davis began to assert his influence on Totton’s passing game, popping up throughout the midfield and ever-willing to break the lines with a forward run to help create overloads in combination with Taylor and the marauding Ragguette, particularly down the left wing. Then, a prolonged period of Totton possession kept Paulton pegged back into their own left-back corner of the pitch, with several yellow-and-black clad players taking turns to rotate in-and-out of a one-and-two touch passing drill that required stern concentration from the hosts’ defence.
MIDFIELD DYNAMO: Charlie Davis takes on Paulton's Daniel Dempsey (No.8) during the Southern League Div.1 South encounter in Somerset.
Aaron Sainsbury saw two of his long-kicks returned with interest by Hallett and Kennedy headers. Then, in the 34th minute, Martin took advantage of Benny Read being caught upfield to exploit a wide open space on the Paulton left wing. He sent a dipping cross into the middle, the ball dropping agonisingly over Carter and onto the head of Morgan, who steered his header wide from about 12 yards.
Charlie Searle’s pass out from the back ran too long for Ragguette, allowing Butcher to pounce on the loose ball. Kennedy read the situation and stepped into the forward’s path with authority, nullifying the threat and enabling Davis to take the ball away. Then, a strong sliding tackle by Nuno Felix prevented Burrows from lining up a shot from the edge of the Paulton area, after Taylor’s cross from the left had been deflected out to him. Benny Read tried to keep the move alive but had to settle for a throw-in on the Totton right.
Burrows chased a high pass towards the right-wing corner, but found himself outmuscled by Ilea who could only clear as far as Taylor. Rendell was the target for Taylor’s pass, near the penalty spot, but the delivery was too strong for The Stags’ leading scorer to collect.
Hallett struck a cross-field pass from behind the halfway line, which dropped over the stretching Rendell to land at the feet of Ragguette. He strode forward a couple of steps and drove in a low cross that the busy Ilea turned away at his near post. Then, Rendell charged down the defender’s attempted clearance, redirecting the ball to Benny Read who picked out Davis on the left of the penalty spot. He shot left-footed, only for Nicholas Hewlett to make an excellently-timed sliding block to protect his goalkeeper from having to react.
Rendell had a brief chance to take aim at Sainsbury’s goal when a Burrows cross from the right evaded Taylor’s leap but dropped between the centre-forward’s ankles. He couldn’t sort his feet out soon enough to take the shot, Paulton gratefully punting the ball away. The Totton No.9 ended the first half nursing a painful whack to the back of his calf, under being left in a messy heap inside the centre-circle, moments before the Referee blew for half-time.
HALF-TIME
PAULTON ROVERS 0
AFC TOTTON 0
When Totton came out for the second half, Matty Burrows had been withdrawn and Jack Masterton was on in his place. The Stags got the second half underway and were immediately on the front foot, looking to convert their possessional supremacy to inputs on the scoreboard.
Jordan Ragguette’s forward pass played Taylor into space on the left wing, from where he hooked the ball across towards Rendell, former Larkhall Athletic defender Daniel Restorick getting there first to stab the ball clear. Then, skilful improvisation on the ball while surrounded by maroon shirts enabled Rendell to pick out Masterton in enough space on the left to provide a well-hit curling cross that Martin had to be alert to deal with, preventing Wright directing a header on target.
Five minutes into the second half, Mircea Ilea was shown the yellow card for taking out Tommy Wright, as the on-laon Havant & Waterlooville striker tried to run onto Rendell’s aerial flick-on from Charlie Searle’s long kick upfield. From 25 yards out, towards the right flank, Taylor struck his shot past the wall but straight at Aaron Sainsbury.
Taylor shrugged off a defender’s outstretched arm to retrieve the ball from the left-wing corner flag, before laying it back to Masterton just off the corner of the penalty area. His first cross was headed out but he got the ball back and played it infield to Wright, who was brought down by Neil Martin. This time, the free-kick was in a central position, 25 yards out. With Davis and Masterton standing over the ball, Jack Masterton stepped up and struck a left-footed shot over the wall, dipping wickedly towards the bottom-left corner. Sainsbury was down sharply to parry the effort off the goal-line, and Tommy Wright pounced on the rebound unopposed, but somehow blazed his shot over the crossbar from close range with the Paulton goal at his mercy. Wright threw his face up to the sky, aware that he should have ripped the net off.
Determined to make amends for his miss, Wright chased Restorick into his own right-back corner, applying enough pressure that the big defender’s clearance landed at the feet of Taylor midway inside the Paulton half. He tried to feed Rendell near the penalty spot but his pass was too strong and Sainsbury was able to scoop the ball up to safety.
Another foul on the lively Tommy Wright brought another free-kick in the home side’s territory, but a short pass routine broke down and The Rovers sprung forward on the counter-attack, moving the ball out to their right wing where Ed Butcher took control and drove at the rapidly-retreating Ragguette, who managed to get in the way of the winger’s shot to spoon the ball into the air. Carter got his head to the ball but Joe Morgan was able to charge the ball down and attempt a right-footed snapshot that glanced wide of the left-hand post, with Searle firmly rooted to the spot.
Solid defending along the touchline by Totton left-back Jordan Ragguette held the home side at bay during a brief spell of threatening possession. Then, Masterton was taken down by a late tackle from Daniel Dempsey. The free-kick from deep was delivered high to the far side of the penalty area, where Totton’s central defenders Kennedy and Hallett both competed for it with two Paulton players. The ball dropped behind them to Scott Rendell, his driven effort cannoning back off the ruck of those same four players.
ROAMING STAG: Full-back Benny Read launches another raid down AFC Totton's right wing during The Stags' win at Paulton Rovers.
Totton attacked again and, in a rare reversal of the norm, a bobble off the turf helped Rendell to turn away from his marker and lay up a shot for Charlie Davis from the edge of the area. The midfielder’s first effort was blocked, as was his subsequent follow-up, and then as Totton tried to improvise an open from the loose ball, Taylor went down by the penalty spot. The Referee was right there and gave the universal two-armed signal for “nothing doing”.
Jack Dancey stopped Ragguette’s forward charge by putting the ball out of play on 64 minutes. From the corner, Davis received Taylor’s pass ball on the near side of the area and back-heeled into the path of Taylor, whose tight-angled shot from close to the byline flew into the side-netting.
Jimmy Ball made his second substitution by sending on Conor Whiteley in place of Tommy Wright. Whiteley was soon in the game, exchanging passes with Kennedy to launch a forward run that required Dempsey to slide in with a firm tackle. The ball popped out to Benny Read on the right-hand side, who surged into the penalty area and went for goal with an angled shot that struck a defender. Rendell touched the ball back to him and Read tried again, another Paulton defender getting his body in the way this time.
Leo Eglin tackled Ragguette, just as he was about to set off on another forward foray. Mike Carter filled up the space vacated by his left-back and intercepted the pass intended to send Butcher away down the wing. Then, careless play by The Stags in midfield gave Butcher the chance to play Morgan in through the middle, but the two Rovers were not on the same wavelength, allowing Searle to pick up the loose ball at the edge of his area.
Ragguette played Taylor into the inside-left channel, but Ilea had tracked the Totton No.10’s run tightly enough to perform a sliding block to divert his shot wide. Davis took the corner, which Sainsbury leapt high to punch away two-handed.
On 72 minutes, Totton finally made the breakthrough with a well-crafted goal. Benny Read received the ball on the right-hand side from a Totton throw deep in Paulton’s half. He passed infield to Whiteley and made a darting forward run towards the right edge of the penalty area. Whiteley’s chipped return by-passed two Paulton defenders and, having shifted himself into a pocked of space behind the defence, Read took the ball under control and continued to advance in one movement, drilling a low cross to the edge of the six-yard box for Scott RENDELL to apply the finish with a firm punch of his right-instep.
THREE POINTS MAN: Scott Rendell's 20th goal in all competitions was enough for AFC Totton to secure the win at Paulton Rovers at the First4Pools Stadium in Somerset.
A brief role reversal had Ethan Taylor leaping like a salmon to compete with Aaron Sainsbury for a high ball sent in from the right by Scott Rendell, which the Rovers goalkeeper punched clear with both fists. Ragguette and Davis worked their way forward again down the left flank, to win a corner. Davis swung his cross towards the front post, where Hallett ran in and flicked it across the six-yard box, only for a defender to head away.
Sainsbury made a save at his left-hand post, after Whiteley shook off the attentions of Restorick to create an opening for himself. Then, perhaps wanting to shore things up in midfield, Jimmy Ball withdrew Charlie Davis to send Adam Tomasso into battle.
Three defenders were required to dispossess Ragguette, as he ran onto a Taylor pull-back from the left-wing corner of the pitch. Ragguette was then back on defensive duties, cutting out a ball intended for Butcher. Then, Hallett showed some neat ball-juggling skills to remove the ball from the reach of the same Paulton winger, who had momentarily shifted to the left flank, before clearing into touch. Carter found himself operating as a makeshift central defender, heading clear Hewlett’s cross from the Paulton right as the home side intensified their search for an equalising goal.
Hewlett did well to clamp down on Taylor running through on goal, when Rendell charged down Restorick’s attempted clearance with determined pressing of the Paulton defence. Then, Masterton and Tomasso both sprinted to close down opponents in the midfield, shutting off the passing lanes to prevent the home side building the play out of defence.
UP, UP AND AWAY: Ethan Taylor leaps like a salmon to challenge goalkeeper Aaron Sainsbury for a high ball into the Paulton Rovers penalty area.
Ethan Taylor had a golden opportunity to double Totton’s lead when Whiteley’s pass found him with the freedom of Somerset at inside-left. He advanced into the penalty area and aimed is shot across Sainsbury, towards the far corner. His accuracy was off, though, and the Paulton keeper stuck out his left foot to send the ball looping into the air, before regaining his footing quickly enough to catch it.
Benny Read raided into the right side of the penalty area, again. Restorick made the block, the ball cannoning back off Read for a goal-kick. Read was keen to prevent Paulton taking the goal-kick before he could get back into position, so he and Restorick got into a shoving match that required players from both sides to separate them, before the Referee decided to show them both the yellow card.
Four minutes of stoppage time were indicated, during which Paulton tried to launch an aerial attack. Carter continued to operate as an extra defender, when required, and joined Hallett and Kennedy in making important headed clearances. The last chance of the game went the home side’s way, as the ball came out to Edward Butcher on the right-hand side and he weaved his way through a crowd of fluo yellow shirts in midfield before trying a dipping left-footed shot from distance that dropped over the frame of Charlie Searle’s goal.
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By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
