AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 21 - Tuesday 07 February 2023
SHOLING 1
Bradley Targett 29mins
AFC TOTTON 0
SHOLING HAD THEIR GOALKEEPER Ryan Gosney to thank in the second Southampton Derby of the season between the Southern League Div.1 South’s top two teams, at the Imperial Homes Stadium on Tuesday night. Bradley Targett scored against the run of play midway through the first half before the battling Boatmen dug in to see off the threat of a dominant AFC Totton performance that required several impressive interventions from their rangy shot-stopper, enabling the home side to take all three points and bring The Stags’ 16-match unbeaten run in the league to an end.
Adam Tomasso came into midfield in place of Charlie Davis for Jimmy Ball’s only change to his starting line-up from the side that beat Bristol Manor Farm 4-1 at the weekend. Charlie Searle retained his place in goal despite the return from injury of Lewis Noice, who was left out to enable Matty Burrows to be named among the substitutes, now that his recent three-game suspension has expired.
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. Jack MASTERTON
8. Adam TOMASSO
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14. Conor WHITELEY
15. Ben JEFFORD
16. Freddie READ
17. Charlie DAVIS
18. Matthew BURROWS
The Boatmen - in their traditional home kit of red-and-white shirts with black shorts and black socks - kicked-off before a bumper Southampton Derby crowd of 654 that encompassed the great and the good of local football, including ex-Saints striker James Beattie, two former Stags now at Gosport Borough in the shape of Harry Medway and Brett Williams, and former StagsRadio lead commentator Doug Webber.
The home side were immediately under pressure. Tommy Wright played Benny Read into the right-wing byline and the diminutive full-back’s low cross was half-cleared as far as Ethan Taylor on the edge of the area, but he was quickly dispossessed before he could get the ball out his feet to inflict any early damage on the Sholing goal.
Totton regained possession and switched to the left flank. Jack Masterton played the ball into the middle where Scott Rendell brought it under control while surrounded by red shirts, before feeding Taylor in the inside-left channel for the winger to sting Ryan Gosney’s palms with a well-struck, angled drive. Then, more early Totton pressure had Gosney hacking the ball clear after an under-hit defensive clearance almost allowed Rendell and Wright to fashion another chance.
STRIKE ONE: AFC Totton winger Ethan Taylor tests Sholing keeper Ryan Gosney with an early attempt during the Southern League Div.1 South encounter on Portsmouth Road.
The Stags came close to taking the lead in the ninth minute when Rendell held the ball up long enough to tee-up Wright for a low drive from a central position outside the box. His well-struck effort had Gosney shifting towards the bottom-left corner, before a massive deflection off a defender’s foot sent the ball looping towards the top-right, the athletic frame of the Sholing goalkeeper suddenly flipping in the other direction to make an excellent one-handed save to push the ball over the crossbar. The corner was initially cleared but the ball was returned into the box and Rendell presented Taylor with a shooting opportunity, but the Sholing defence again got bodies in the way to block.
Mike Carter found enough space around the centre-circle to hit a pinpoint pass out to the lively Jordan Ragguette on the left wing, but while the Totton No.3 had the beating of his opposite full-back TJ Cuthbertson, he found his path blocked when he tried to chop infield.
Benny Read and Tommy Wright made rapid progress up the right wing, but the imposing frame of Dan Miller came across to put the ball out of play. Sholing cleared from the throw but Totton regained possession again, sending Taylor away down the left flank to win a corner. Masterton sent a high cross towards the edge of the six-yard-box, where Luke Hallett out-jumped a cluster of players to head at goal; Gosney dived to his left and pushed the ball away.
Sholing managed to get forward on 20 minutes, and a cross from the right-hand side found Bradley Targett lurking on the edge of the Totton penalty area. With his back to goal, he went for a spectacular overhead kick but his attempt dropped over the bar without troubling Charlie Searle.
Wright caused confusion in the Sholing defensive ranks as he tried to latch onto Benny Read’s up-and-under clearance from the Totton right-wing touchline. Gosney came out of his goal and had to contend with man mountain Dan Miller inadvertently getting in his way but the keeper managed to get enough on his clearance to prevent Wright taking advantage, prompting a quick conference and a frank exchange of opinions between the Sholing goalkeeper and his central defender.
TAKE YOU BOTH ON: Tommy Wright attempts to latch onto a forward pass, with two Sholing players in hot pursuit.
The Boatmen’s veteran left-back Marvin McLean posed some threat down the flank, which required Wright to track back on the cover to force him back, before Totton successfully defended a ball into their area from a deeper position. Then, good work from Carter and Rendell through the middle allowed Ragguette to charge forward down Totton’s left wing, Miller heading out for a corner against which the home side stood firm.
Luke Hallett improvised a way to deal with a long ball from Sholing’s ex-Totton defender Rob Flooks, by dribbling around his own goalkeeper before cleverly buying a foul from Dan Mason to relieve a potential threat on the Stags’ goal. Then, a foul by Taylor gave Sholing a free-kick near the halfway line, from which Byron Mason went down inside the area, but the Referee wasn’t interested.
Dan Mason briefly stole in behind Hallett from a direct pass into the inside-left channel, Charlie Kennedy mopping up for the boys in blue. But it proved to be only a temporary reprieve for Totton, as Sholing took the lead in the 29th minute. A high ball from halfway isolated Benny Read up against the larger figure of Lee Wort, who knocked the ball on for McLean to dribble towards the left-wing corner flag, with Carter coming across to cover. McLean got to the byline and pulled the ball back towards the penalty spot. Although Totton had plenty of bodies back, lining the edge of the six-yard box, an airshot by Fatah Makhloufi momentarily wrong-footed everyone except Bradley TARGETT, who took a touch before smashing the ball off the underside of the crossbar and into the net to put The Boatmen ahead.
Lee Wort was lucky to escape a yellow card, as he went in late on Hallett while the central defender was clearing the ball upfield close to Totton’s right touchline. Ethan Taylor was then pulled up for a foul, after tussling with TJ Cuthbertson. Masterton and Rendell played on, with the latter lobbing the ball into the net but the Referee had already given a free-kick to the home side, for whom Gosney raced out of his goal to remonstrate with Taylor.
Dan Mason controlled a high free-kick on the edge of Totton’s area and did well to turn and get his shot away while surrounded by defenders, but his effort hit a blue wall. Then, in the 38th minute, Totton defended another free-kick that Kennedy had conceded. Wright took up possession and drove towards the left flank. His short pass enabled Ragguette to come forward again and exchange passes with Masterton, who’d gone out to the touchline to return a glorious ball back into the galloping Ragguette’s path, his angled drive from inside the box flashing into the side-netting behind the left-hand post.
Sholing came close to increasing their lead from a Fatah Makhloufi free-kick, taken close to the touchline on their left-wing, midway inside Totton’s half of the pitch. The ball travelled a long way beyond the lines of players on the edge of the penalty area and drifted to the far post, where three red-and-white shirts descended upon it, Byron Mason elevating his right foot high enough to make contact, with a portion of the goal exposed beyond Charlie Searle’s reach, but his effort looped onto the roof of the net.
Flooks made a sliding challenge and tripped Wright while he was winding up a long shot. Taylor got stuck in near the centre-circle and played the ball out to Ragguette, ever-eager to raid the flank, but Sholing had doubled-up on him and were able to halt his forward progress. Meanwhile, his Sholing counterpart Marvin McLean continued to pose a similar threat on the opposite side of the pitch, operating as the home side’s most effective method for relieving pressure and forcing Totton back at semi-regular intervals.
Kennedy intercepted a direct pass from Flooks, and set Ragguette away on the front foot, again. He tried to play Taylor in, but Flooks got across to challenge effectively, but the ball was redirected back to Taylor who had moved to a wider position and then tried an angled shot that hit a defender and bounced to Rendell. His attempt was also blocked, then Masterton struck left-footed, forcing Gosney into a smart reaction save, parrying at his near post before the ball was cleared.
Wright carried the fight down the left-hand side for Totton, and fed the ball inside for Rendell to shoot through a cluster of legs. Gosney was alert once more, getting down quickly to block the shot and grab the ball at the second attempt. And then, with the Sholing defence pushed up to the centre-circle, Ethan Taylor timed his run to perfection to spring the offside trap from Carter’s ball from midfield, leaving the Totton winger with a clear run on goal through the centre of the pitch, only for the Referee’s half-time whistle to let the home side off the hook.
HALF-TIME
SHOLING 1
AFC TOTTON 0
Both sides emerged unchanged after the break, and Totton were straight onto the front foot, again. The energetic Taylor intercepted a loose pass near halfway and scampered down the left wing, with red-and-white striped defenders peddling back into position as quickly as they could. Taylor’s short, low cross found Rendell inside the area and, with a defender at his back, he tried to square for a midfielder on the follow-up, but a Sholing defender got his foot in to stab the ball away. A few moments later, Benny Read darted down the right-wing touchline to connect with Carter’s pass, but his low cross was too close to Gosney, who stooped to gather the ball at his left-hand post.
Five minutes into the second-half, Benny Read played a one-two with the influential Masterton, but this time Rob Flooks headed the ball out. Carter retrieved it and found Rendell, about 25 yards out. He slipped the ball into the penalty area for Taylor to run onto; the pass was slightly overhit, so Taylor had to sprint to get to it before it could cross the left-wing byline. Gosney came out and dived full-length to grab at the ball. Taylor went down, as the ball went out of play. The Totton players and fans appealed vigorously for a penalty, with Carter and Rendell leading the case for the prosecution - but the Referee ruled it to have been a fair challenge, and indicated a corner for The Stags on their left flank. Sholing defended it well, and as Wort strode away with the ball, Benny Read pulled him back to prevent the counter-attack, earning himself a yellow card in the process.
POETRY IN MOTION: AFC Totton centre-forward Scott Rendell is poise personified while skipper Mike Carter does his best impression of The Flash in the background.
Totton came forward, again. Wright held off the challenge of Flooks and found Rendell, who threaded the ball down the line for Benny Read to cross, but his delivery floated over the head of Taylor who was lurking with intent at the far post. Then, Hallett and Searle dealt with a lone foray from Lee Wort, who gamely gave chase to a long ball through the middle.
Ragguette’s progress down the Totton left was halted by a strong sliding challenge by midfielder Leon Baker-Neto. On 54 minutes, Kennedy clipped the ball down the left flank for Taylor to run onto. He skipped away from Cuthbertson to make an angle to thrash an effort on goal. Gosney was well-positioned but the ball went over his right shoulder and into the side-netting.
Both sides were committed to trying to win the game; Sholing hanging on firmly to their first-half advantage while Totton more than tested them with raid after raid down either flank, and players from both sides more than willing to get down and dirty in the mud of the midfield to tussle for anything resembling a loose ball. While the Referee had some work to do with some inevitably miss-timed tackles, the match was a real sporting contest being played out in an honest, rugged fashion by two sides determined not to give one another an inch.
Totton flowed down the left wing, again, Masterton flicking on Ragguette’s forward pass to send Taylor darting into the final third. He tried to pick out the head of Tommy Wright, racing in at the far post, but Gosney dived full-length to intercept the cross with a two-handed catch. Then, when Benny Read tried to hurt Sholing down the opposite wing, Makhloufi stuck to his defensive task, getting this body across the full-back to shield the ball long enough for Miller to come across and complete the clearance.
With the temperature dropping throughout the evening, the pitch was becoming increasingly slippery underfoot, which neither hindered nor helped one side more than the other but added an extra layer of jeopardy to the evening’s encounter. Ryan Gosney received brief treatment after going down off the ball, as Taylor struggled to keep Ragguette’s pass in play on the Totton left. Then, Matty Burrows stepped off the bench to make his long-awaited return from suspension, with Jack Masterton making way.
Totton continued to boss possession, but as they passed the ball across their own defensive line, the voice of Jimmy Ball could be clearly heard from the other side of the pitch, instructing his players to “Move the ball quicker” in search of an opening through the Sholing defence.
Burrows received the ball midway inside the Sholing half and began to run at the opposition, taking on one player before Byron Mason put a stop to it with a firm sliding tackle. Then, Taylor’s frustration got the better of him when he shoved Cuthbertson to the ground, as the defender was shielding the ball from him without attempting to play it forward.
Ragguette took a throw-in close to the left-wing corner flag, received the ball back to feet and crossed right-footed into the area. It was knocked out as far as Adam Tomasso, who lined up an ambitious half-volley from 25 yards but he got under the ball rather than behind it, firing high into the Southampton sky to the relief of the home support.
Gosney’s goal-kick sent the ball deep into Totton territory. Wort knocked it down, under Hallett’s challenge, and Daniel Mason tried his luck with a speculative long-range effort, hoping to take advantage of Searle being a few feet off his line, but his attempt dropped wide to the left.
Targett cut out Taylor’s pass intended to send Ragguette down the left on the overlap. Then, Miller cleared from a Matt Burrows centre, as the Sholing defence continued to stand tall under constant pressure, until Tomasso fouled Daniel Mason to give them an opportunity to regroup.
Ethan Taylor took a free-kick from the right-hand side on 70 minutes. His in-swinging cross was met at the near post by Tommy Wright, whose glancing header looked to have finally beaten Gosney to his bottom-right, until the tall keeper pulled out another exceptional save, diving full-length to push the ball away with his outstretched right hand. Then, Taylor and Tomasso’s one-two enabled Taylor to feed the ball inside to Rendell, who teed up Tomasso to shoot from the edge of the area, Sholing defenders getting in the way, again. Taylor acted quickly to prevent the home side hitting back on the counter-attack, taking one for the team by tripping Byron Mason for a well-earned yellow card.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Sholing goalkeeper Ryan Gosney at full stretch, making another a one-handed save to deny AFC Totton, again.
Charlie Kennedy strode forward in possession from the centre-circle, and played a short forward pass to Burrows, who dribbled at the Sholing defence, moving from inside-left, across the middle to inside-right, looking for a clear path to let fly with a shot. The opening never materialised and when he eventually took aim from the right of the penalty spot, a deflection off Miller took the weight off the shot, enabling Gosney to clutch the ball safely to his chest.
The two opposing No.8s, Adam Tomasso and Byron Mason, were enjoying their midfield battle, taking it in turns to dispossess each other by fair means or foul with the Referee never more than a sharp blow of his whistle away. Baker-Neto did well to retain possession even as he fell to the ground with two Totton players nipping at him in vain attempts to snatch the ball away.
Kennedy again came forward and fed Burrows in space, towards the left flank. But before the young winger could build up a head of steam, he slipped on the wet turf and, although he initially retained possession, lost enough momentum for Targett to close him down and take the ball away, before Jordan Ragguette added his name to the Referee’s notebook with a foul on the Sholing No.7.
Makhloufi took the free-kick for the home side. Totton cleared it through a combination of Carter and Benny Read, enabling Rendell to lay it off to Burrows, who set off on a run down the left side. With players straining to get forward at the far post, Burrows checked onto his right and fired in a fierce cross-shot that soared narrowly over the heads of both Tommy Wright and Ethan Taylor, despite the latter’s valiant attempt to leap high enough to get a decisive touch.
Tommy Wright was then substituted in favour of former Sholing forward Conor Whiteley, playing against his former club for the first time. Baker-Neto was given treatment on the pitch, for what looked like cramp, before he was then taken off to be replaced by Owen Roundell-Prince.
Brad Targett was shown the yellow card for a foul on Ragguette in the 82nd minute, who was running onto Tomasso’s pass to continue another left-wing raid for The Stags from just outside the corner of the penalty area. With players lined up across the penalty area, Taylor sent in a low curling cross; Rendell got across the front of his marker at the near side and flicked the ball towards goal with the outside of his right foot. Gosney was down sharply to parry, but the ball squirmed away from him and ran across the exposed portion of his goalmouth, towards the right-hand post. Adam Tomasso slid in but somehow missed the ball, leaving the Totton contingent to groan in anguish at a great opportunity to equalise spurned.
BY THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH: Sholing defenders and the prone figure of their goalkeeper Ryan Gosney can only watch as Adam Tomasso slides in, narrowly missing the chance to level for AFC Totton at the Imperial Homes Stadium.
Sholing’s goalscorer Bradley Targett was then withdrawn to make way for Jake Cope, and Tomasso also went off to be replaced by Charlie Davis for Totton.
Byron Mason left Scott Rendell in a painful pile of limbs in the centre-circle, after going through the back of the Totton centre-forward as he tried to hold the ball up for teammates to get into position to receive a lay-off. Mason was yellow carded for that contribution. Then, a spot of head tennis involving players from both sides presented Conor Whiteley with a chance to shot from the left side of the penalty area, Gosney making the catch at his near post.
Ragguette came forward down the left, once more. A late bobble didn’t help the accuracy of his cross to Rendell, who nevertheless managed to force the ball down to Whiteley to try again, but this time his shot struck a cluster of red-and-white shirts before being hacked upfield.
Taylor played the ball across the edge of the Sholing box, and Whiteley’s shot was deflected wide to the right. Taylor’s in-swinging corner was flicked on by Rendell and fell to Carter on the far side. His volley back into the crowded middle was punted away. As a Sholing player received attention for some physical ailment, their fans were leaving the ground in their droves, despite their tentative single-goal lead and - presumably - their knowledge that several minutes of stoppage time still remained.
Charlie Wagstaffe was the last incoming substitute of the game, coming on to replace The Boatmen’s captain Byron Mason, one minute past the regulation 90. The exact amount of stoppage time to be played was (we discovered later) communicated to the two benches, but not to the watching crowd. The game went on with more tenacious battling in midfield from both sides, until Sholing managed to make progress down their right, winning a throw-in level with the Totton area from which Jake Cope was able to find enough space to try an angled lob shot towards the far corner, dragging his shot wide to the left.
Cope then dropped back to stand-up to Ragguette’s attempts to instigate more attacking moves, the St. Vincentian now carrying a limp due to an earlier challenge. A foul on Benny Read on the Totton right provided a late opportunity to deliver the ball into the Sholing box, again. Taylor played the ball in; Mike Carter controlled it with his back to goal and tried a shot on the turn, sending the ball way over the frame of the goal.
Lee Wort hooked the ball into the Totton goal from outside the box, but he had already conceded a free-kick for clambering all over Carter just beforehand. Whether his yellow card was for roughhousing the Totton skipper or for time-wasting was not communicated.
The incessant Benny Read won another corner on the Totton right. Taylor miss-hit his cross, though, sending the ball low towards the near post, and Sholing removed the danger with ease. Owen Roundell-Prince made a strong two-footed challenge, connecting both feet with the ball, to dispossess Matty Burrows as he threatened to launch another Totton attack. By the Laws of the Game, it should have been a free-kick but the Referee allowed play to continue.
Kennedy and Carter battled to the bitter end, trying to regain possession from a misplaced pass near the halfway line, but then the Referee’s final whistle finally came after an estimated seven minutes of stoppage time, to confirm a hard-fought win for the home side and a missed opportunity for The Stags, who played the better football on the night but just couldn’t find a way past the indomitable Gosney.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured above, right) said:
“I’m disappointed with the result, obviously, but I’m really proud of my players. Really proud. I thought we were fantastic for long spells of that game. We dominated the ball throughout, give or take a 10 minute spell in the first half, and we limited them to just one shot on target all night, whereas their goalkeeper has had to pull off two or three top, top saves to keep them in it. The way it was going, it felt like we could have played for three weeks and still not scored a goal, but I’m really proud of the commitment and the effort the lads have given tonight. They are a very disappointed bunch in there [in the changing room] right now, but for that exceptional performance they deserve to be leaving here with at least a point. But that’s football, unfortunately - it can do that to you, sometimes.
“On another day, we score four or five and come away with a handsome win. But you have to hand it to Sholing, they got their noses in front and hung on for dear life and their goalkeeper has played a blinder to see them over the line.
“This result won’t determine the outcome of this league. I never thought it would, even if we’d won. There is too much football to come before the end of the season and there are too many other good teams in this division to just assume that either one of us is going to win every game between now and May. It’s a blow, of course, but we will regroup and make sure we do everything right ahead of Paulton Rovers away on Saturday, and we’ll keep fighting to win as many football matches and put as many points on the board as possible.
“I really hope that our fans leave here tonight as proud of the team as I am. We needed that little bit of luck - you never want to be relying on luck, but sometimes you just need something to fall your way and it didn’t happen for us. But I hope the fans saw and recognised how much the players worked their socks off and gave absolutely everything to the cause, and I encourage everyone to continue getting behind the team and giving us their support because this league isn’t over yet, not by a long way.”
NEXT UP: PAULTON ROVERS vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Div.1 South | Matchday 22 | Snows Stadium
Saturday 11 February 2023 | Kick-Off 3:00pm
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 Those White Lines
