AFC Totton
THE MALLY THOMAS TROPHY 2024
Saturday 27 July 2024 | Miller Park, Salisbury Road, Totton | Att: ~120
HAT-TRICK HERO LEE SECURES THE MALLY THOMAS TROPHY FOR THE STAGS
TOTTON & ELING 0
AFC TOTTON 3
Tony Lee 19mins, 55mins, 83mins
AFC TOTTON CLAIMED the inaugural Mally Thomas Trophy with a comprehensive three-goal victory over next-door neighbours Totton & Eling thanks to a hat-trick from striker Tony Lee.
The Stags largely dominated the first half and could have gone in three-up at the break, but had to settle for Lee’s opening goal with a header from a Sam Magri cross in the 19th minute. Intense pressing from young midfield substitute Owen Pelham prompted a defensive miss-kick that presented Lee with an open goal to double AFC Totton’s lead 10 minutes into the second half. And the former Poole Town hit-man completed his treble with another header seven minutes from time.
AFC TOTTON: 13. Josh GOULD; 2. Joe OASTLER; 6. Luke HALLETT; 7. Harvey REW; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 9. SCOTT RENDELL (Capt.); 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 15. Sam MAGRI; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR; 20. Marcus DAWS. Substitutes (All-Used): 1. Nico TROJANOWSKI; 3. Sa-Sean LUTUMBA; 4. Trialist A; 5. Leo TAYLOR; 11. Owen PELHAM; 14. Josh OWERS; 16. Ollie ERDINC; 17. Declan ROSE. Booked: Sam MAGRI (Foul); Owen PELHAM (Dissent).
AFC Totton kicked-off in baking mid-day summer heat, wearing their gunmetal grey and fluo yellow away kit of last season. Totton & Eling wore dark blue shirts, white shorts and grey socks.
In the very early exchanges, neither side managed to get the ball under control with it frequently flying back-and-forth up and down the pitch to give the two goalkeepers plenty of early touches. The Stags created their first half-opening when Sam Magri’s cross-field pass from the right was knocked on by Scott Rendell. Tony Lee managed to keep the ball in play near the left-wing byline and hooked a high cross beyond the far post where Marcus Daws challenged in the air but nudged wide for a goal-kick. Then, Oastler hit a similarly long-range diagonal pass from left-to-right, enabling Rendell to flick on for Daws. He dragged the ball infield of the full-back marking him and let fly with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that curled narrowly over the crossbar.
Luke Hallett stepped out of defence to receive the ball in midfield and passed square to Adam Tomasso on the right. Tomasso sent a high cross into the area where the unmarked Lee headed on-target, but the Totton & Eling goalkeeper made the save.
Harvey Rew’s free-kick just off the right corner of the penalty area - awarded for a trip on Ethan Taylor - struck his teammate Tom Blair on the back and, as The Millers tried to counter-attack, Oastler committed a foul before they could leave their own half.
Oastler and Lee combined to create pace for Blair to curl in a dangerous cross from the left, which was headed away. Then, Lee and Blair worked their way to the left-wing byline for Lee to pull back to Rew, whose first-time shot was deflected and fell kindly for the ‘keeper.
Lee and Blair continued to show signs of a burgeoning understanding of one another’s game by creating another opportunity from the left, which Daws leapt to head when he might have been better off leaving it for Hallett, who was moving into position on the right, unmarked.
AFC Totton took a deserved lead in the 19th minute, when a period of sustained passing possession saw Tomasso roll the ball out to the right touchline where Magri had time to take a touch and measure a curling cross into the area. Tony LEE was again left unmarked and this time he directed his header down into the bottom-left corner, beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Lee had a quick chance to grab a second goal with a free-kick for a push on Rew, but his effort hit the defensive wall. T&E only partially cleared and Blair rifled in a shot that the ‘keeper parried. Hallett tried to retrieve the ball at the right-wing byline; as he nudged his opponent, the player crashed into the perimeter fencing and, after a significant stoppage, had to be helped off the pitch.
Daws and Lee progressed an attack at the inside-right channel, with Lee then clipping in a high cross towards Rendell, which a defender did well to head clear. Then, Blair continued to torment the right-back by dribbling to the byline and pulling back for Rew, whose cross was turned behind for a corner. Lee jumped high to compete for Blair’s in-swinging corner but the defender headed away, and added injury to insult by landing on Lee’s foot.
Daws scampered down the right flank from a Totton counter-attack, but his cross was over-hit. Then, Ethan Taylor fired over the bar from the edge of the area, after Rendell had teed him up.
A neat turn from Rew enabled him to progress the ball further to the right for Daws, whose cross struck a defender and went behind for another corner. Rew curled a cross to the near post where Rendell ran in to flick down to Lee’s right foot. The striker prodded the ball at the bottom-right corner and the goalkeeper grabbed it more-or-less on the line; some Totton players claimed the ball had already gone over the line but the referee’s assistant shook his head to indicate play-on.
Sam Magri picked up a yellow card for a cynical foul, after being turned on his own right-wing touchline by a forward making a beeline for the AFC Totton goal. Then his central defensive partner Hallett got forward as a makeshift attacker, again, getting his head to a left-wing cross and heading into the ‘keeper’s arms.
Magri’s dummy gave Daws possession on the right flank. Hallett made a darting run at inside-right, which Daws used as a distraction to cut infield and clip a curling left-footed delivery into the box. The ball drop agonisingly over the head of Scott Rendell and into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper just behind him.
The Stags should have extended their lead when Blair supplied another dangerous delivery from the left for Hallett to head back across goal from beyond the far post. Lee got his neck muscles behind his header only for the ball to bounce back off the crossbar. It fell to Rendell about eight yards out, who is usually deadly at that range, but he scuffed his shot wide to the left.
Daws was frequently getting the better of his full-back whenever AFC Totton were able to set-up a one-vs-one. Blair and Taylor carved open just such an opportunity at the end of the first half, but the former Dorchester Town winger’s low cross was well-defended at the near post.
HALF-TIME: TOTTON & ELING 0-1 AFC TOTTON
AFC Totton made eight changes at half-time, bringing on all of the players originally named as substitutes, with only Adam Tomasso, Ethan Taylor and Tony Lee remaining from the team that began the match for The Stags.
Owen Pelham got involved straight away, darting out to the left-hand side to keep the ball in play from an over-hit diagonal and creating an opening that Ethan Taylor blazed over the bar with the whole goal to aim at. Then, Pelham’s energetic press rushed the goalkeeper into a poor kick that fell to Josh Owers, who fired back into the recovering ‘keeper’s arms.
Ethan Taylor had the ball in an advanced position on the Totton right, then pulled it back for Declan Rose to loft it high into the area. Pelham arrived to strike the ball on the bounce, but he couldn’t keep his effort down.
The young midfielder was prominently involved again when The Stags doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half. Pelham was again quick to close down the T&E defence as they tried to pass the ball amongst themselves. He closed down the goalkeeper who this time sent his clearance directly into the possession of Tony LEE, about 25 yards out, and the goal machine needed no second invitation to help himself to the unguarded net.
A shimmy to drift inside his marker from the left wing and then a quick one-two with Lee saw Ethan Taylor dance through the Totton & Eling defence to get within shooting range from the inside-left corner of the six-yard box, but his dinked finish was smartly kept out by the goalkeeper’s left arm before his defenders hacked the ball clear.
Totton & Eling managed to open up their higher-division opponents through the middle, earning a free-kick in a dangerous central position via a trip by Sa-Sean Lutumba. Sam Vidler dragged his shot narrowly wide of the left-hand post.
Pelham made a run through the middle to connect with a through-ball from deep. The goalkeeper came out quickly and blocked the midfielder’s shot with his chin. Owers had a long-range effort saved. Then, Pelham was booked for disputing an offside call that brought a premature halt to another run he was making to join the front line from Ethan Taylor’s clipped pass.
Totton won a corner on the right, which Owers hung high to the far side. Rose ran into position to meet the dropping ball and had time to line-up a right-footed volley that he struck into the ground and bounced over the frame of the goal.
Several more offside flags frustrated The Stags attacking plans, even as they continued to dominate possession against a team that didn’t have the same luxury of changing most of its personnel at the interval.
Totton’s No.18 completed his hat-trick in the 83rd minute. Pelham had a shot blocked from the edge of the area. The ball came to Ethan Taylor on the left; his cross was prodded away but Totton quickly worked possession out to Rose on the right, who crossed high to the near side of goal where Tony LEE headed in.
Totton & Eling went close to grabbing a late consolation goal when their No.18 charged through a couple of challenges outside the Totton box and fired a right-footed fizzer across the face of goal and narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
The Stags ended the match on the attack, with Owers being released down the left by Lutumba’s through-ball. His cross was diverted for a corner, from which Owers played it short to Pelham, who chipped towards the far post where Lee out-jumped two defenders but could only steer his header over the bar.
Watch TONY LEE’s Post-Match Interview
Watch JAMES BEATTIE’s Post-Match Interview
Next Up: AFC TOTTON vs EASTBOURNE BOROUGH
Pre-Season#7 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton SO40 2RW | Tuesday 30 July 2024 | Kick-Off at 7:30pm | SAVE MONEY - Buy Tickets Online in Advance
By Ben Rochey-Adams
