AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 25 - Saturday 25 February 2023
WILLAND ROVERS 1
Daniel Koita 45+4mins
AFC TOTTON 2
Ethan Taylor 23mins, 90+5mins (pen)
NEVER IN THEIR NATURE to do things the easy way, AFC Totton had to overcome the self-inflicted wounds of a red card and a missed penalty, as well as a scrapping second-half display from their hosts, before eventually triumphing against relegation-threatened Willand Rovers courtesy of two goals from Ethan Taylor – the second from the penalty spot – in Devon, yesterday (Saturday).
After winning at Alresford Town in the Quarter-Final of the Southampton Senior Cup less than 48 hours before kicking-off at Silver Street in Cullompton, it was all-change once again for Jimmy Ball’s team selection. The Stags’ boss reverted to the same starting line-up as the one that beat Melksham Town 3-0 at the Snows Stadium last weekend, with the exception of Ben Jefford coming in at left-black in place of the suspended Jordan Ragguette. Jake Adams, who was one of the stand-out performers in an otherwise forgettable cup tie, was named among the substitutes.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Benny READ
3. Ben JEFFORD
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Charlie DAVIS
8. Adam TOMASSO
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Ethan TAYLOR
11. Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14. Conor WHITELEY
15. Matty BURROWS
16. Freddie READ
17. Jack MASTERTON
18. Jake ADAMS
The Stags kicked-off, clad in their all-blue with white trim home kit. Unbefitting of a team that carries the nickname of The Devon All-Whites, Willand wore black shorts and socks with their white shirts. It took Charlie Davis just 80 seconds to strike the game’s first attempt on goal, picking the ball up on the edge of the area, to the right of the D, and firing in a left-footed effort that bounced off the turf and into the arms of the home team’s goalkeeper, George Burton. Then, a minute later, Davis helped on Scott Rendell’s knock down to put Ethan Taylor through on goal, but the big defender Ryan Guppy was able to nod the ball back to Burton in the nick of time.
Battling work from Adam Tomasso in the midfield enabled him to put Taylor through on goal on the left-hand side, only for the offside flag to call a halt to proceedings. Then in the sixth minute, Willand captain Kieran Bailey had a little nibble on Taylor’s ankles over by Totton’s left-wing touchline, midway inside the Rovers half. Davis sent a high, curling cross to the far side which Willand defended well.
Two minutes later, Taylor sent an in-swinging cross into the box from a right-wing corner. Luke Hallett, who had come forward to put his aerial prowess to good use, instead found himself controlling the bouncing ball on his chest and striking right-footed, flashing his shot narrowly wide at the foot of the right-hand post with Burton rooted to the spot.
Hallett then conceded a free-kick near the halfway line, which Joe Wylie hung into the Totton box and Ben Jefford headed out. Taylor was back to run interference on Willand’s attempts to regather possession long enough to allow Tomasso to get stuck in and clear upfield for Tommy Wright to chase. Bailey Kempster came across to put the ball out of touch. The home side defended the throw-in and began to build an attack down their right flank, with the two Joshuas - full-back Searle and forward Baker - combining to advance their team’s cause, before Oliver Bray wastefully over-hit his delivery into the box from close to the corner flag, letting Totton off the hook.
With the ball spending a lot of time in the air and being headed back-and-forth, particularly by the taller players on the pitch, the game resembled a volleyball match for a while. Totton had the territorial advantage, but neither side was able to get the ball down and assert their authority.
The match took a significant turn in the 16th minute. Willand defended a high ball into their defensive third from a Totton free-kick and began to play their way out, moving the ball into the centre-circle where midfielder Ashton Hewitt played a square pass to their right flank for Joshua Baker. Totton left-back Ben Jefford saw enough of the ball to warrant making a challenge, but his execution was more than forceful; he lunged two-footed into Baker, who was left writhing in pain across the white chalk of the halfway line. In the moment, play was allowed to continue as other Willand players were progressing the ball forward, despite shouts from their dug-out and from several of their fans in the nearby stand for the Referee to take action. When Kennedy managed to force the ball out of play, the Referee consulted his assistant on the near side touchline and then showed Jefford his second straight red card of the season. There was an angry exchange of words between the player and Willand’s management team, but Jefford left the pitch as instructed. He could have no complaints; it was a bad foul and there was no need to go in so aggressively in centre-field with other Totton players getting back into defensive positions. Baker was treated on the pitch for several minutes but would play no further part in the match, having to be carried off the pitch with his left knee bleeding. Substitute Benjamin Griffith came on to replace him.
MR. VERSATILE: Manager Jimmy Ball wass grateful for the versatility of Charlie Davis, who shifted from midfield to left-back in the wake of Ben Jefford's red card at Willand Rovers.
Midfielder Charlie Davis was swiftly redeployed into the vacant left-back role, and Totton reshuffled their formation in midfield and attack to accommodate their sudden numerical disadvantage. Once play resumed, Willand launched the ball into the area from their left, Tomasso headed out, and Totton were able to get the ball into the relative safety of midfield. And, within two minutes of the restart, The Stags were ahead.
A loose touch by a Willand Rovers player on the left of their defence gave Tommy Wright the chance to nip in and steal the ball. He picked out a teammate in space on the left-hand side and squared the ball to him. Taking the pass in his stride, Ethan TAYLOR shifted the ball slightly wider of the covering defender and fired a low left-foot shot across the goalkeeper and into the bottom-right corner from about 20 yards.
Taylor had a penalty claim just two minutes later, when he went down as he tried to bustle his way through two defenders to latch onto Rendell’s hooked ball into the box. The Referee wasn’t interested. Willand soon managed to get forward, Wylie driving a shot into a crowded area to no avail.
Totton had a golden opportunity to double their lead in the 27th minute. From a throw-in on the right, Rendell helped the ball on to Taylor, who slipped it into the path of Adam Tomasso, charging into the box through the centre. The defender stretched to tackle him but clipped his foot, resulting in a penalty for the 10-men Stags. Scott Rendell took it, but sent his side-foot shot wide of the post.
Undeterred, Totton continued to come forward. Taylor was felled as he tried to spin past the full-back Joshua Searle, winning a free-kick about five yards away from the left corner of the penalty area. Davis must have been tempted to shoot but instead floated the ball towards the far post, where among a bundle of blue and white shirts descending upon the ball, Hallett forced it against the underside of the crossbar before it was poked out for a corner on the right. Burton did well to leap high and get a firm punch on Taylor’s delivery. As the ball popped into midfield, the two No.8s, Ashton Hewitt for the home side and Adam Tomasso for The Stags, got embroiled in an aggressive flurry of one another’s arms and legs, as tempers flared all around them. The Referee was quick to calm the situation and get play back underway.
ROCK ON, TOMMY: Havant & Waterlooville loanee Tommy Wright played an important role in AFC Totton's opening goal in Devon.
A cross-field ball in the 34th minute forced Benny Read to chase back towards his own goal to track the Willand forward Daniel Koita, who advanced close to the byline before arrowing his shot over the frame of Lewis Noice’s goal. Then, Hallett required treatment after falling awkwardly from an aerial challenge.
During the last five minutes of the first half, Oliver Bray ran out to the Willand right to retrieve an over-hit cross from the opposite flank. He played it back to Hewitt, who crossed into the penalty area. The ball ricocheted around before popping out to the edge of the area where Hewitt, having come infield, struck a follow-up shot into Tomasso’s midriff. In the ensuing scramble, the Referee awarded Totton a free-kick, enabling Noice to clear his defensive lines.
Willand tried to press Totton in possession, but Koita clipped Hallett around the halfway line. Noice’s high free-kick was initially cleared but when Totton came forward again, Wright had a shot from distance that was smothered by a nearby defender and bounced kindly for Burton to collect.
Good defending by Charlie Davis in his new left-back role nullified the threat posed by Oliver Bray’s incursion into the inside-right channel. On the opposite side of the pitch, a quickly-taken free-kick required Hallett to head the ball out for corner. An in-swinging cross was competed for by a cluster of players at the near post, Kennedy heading out and Tomasso completing the clearance.
But, four minutes into first-half stoppage time, The Rovers drew level. Their goalkeeper George Burton had the ball at his feet, a few yards outside his penalty area, before he launched it down the centre of the pitch. Wylie flicked it on with his head to put Daniel KOITA in at the edge of the box, the forward poking his shot to the left of the advancing Noice and just inside the left-hand post, despite Tomasso’s attempt to chase back and clear off the line. No sooner had AFC Totton restarted the match from the centre spot, than the Referee blew the half-time whistle.
HALF-TIME
WILLAND ROVERS 1
AFC TOTTON 1
Willand Rovers began the second half. They had obviously been instructed by their management team to press Totton high up the pitch, and in combination with an unfortunate bobble off the turf, that tactic almost worked to their advantage as Charlie Davis was forced into a back-pass from the halfway line. Noice was able to take a cleaner touch and send the ball upfield for The Stags.
Taylor stole the ball near the centre-circle to set off on a counter-attacking run through the middle of the pitch. Wright joined in from the right-hand side, but his return pass into the inside-right channel took an unfortunate bobble that allowed Guppy to knock it back to Burton before Taylor could reconnect. Then, Davis conceded a corner on the Totton left, which Kennedy headed clear with Tomasso once again collecting and clearing from just outside the Totton box.
A well-timed, strong tackle by Kieran Bailey prevented Rendell collecting Taylor’s pass. Joshua Searle also did well for the home side, in tracking Taylor’s movement as the primary out-ball for the 10-men of Totton. But clever play by Taylor, looping the ball over two defenders inside the crowded Willand penalty area, allowed him to bring Wright and then Benny Read into the game, to win a corner on the right-hand side. Taylor took it, curling the ball towards the back post where Charlie Kennedy headed on target, only for the ball to hit another blue shirt on its way towards goal, inadvertently deflecting the ball over the bar for a goal-kick.
10 minutes into the second half, Jimmy Ball decided to send the pacy Matty Burrows on in place of Tommy Wright. It was Burrows who scored the only goal in the previous league meeting between these two sides on 17 December. But no sooner had Ball made that change, than Scott Rendell went down in need of treatment after taking a whack during an earlier aerial challenge. Willand used that opportunity to make a change of their own, with forward Douglas Camilo coming on to replace Joe Wylie.
Willand thought they had grounds for a penalty in the 57th minute, when a cross from their right wing dropped just beyond the left-hand post with Benny Read and the much larger figure of Dan Koita tussling. Play continued and Bailey Kempster had to show a neat turn of pace to prevent Matty Burrows escaping down the right wing.
Hewitt moved the ball forward for Rovers, finding Oliver Bray on the right-hand side. His ball into the box bounced up and struck Davis on the arm, but the Referee saw fit to award nothing more than a corner to the home side on their left, despite vociferous shouts of “Hand-ball!”. The ball came into the box and Bray got his right foot to it, flicking narrowly wide of the left-hand post.
Scott Rendell’s race was run by the hour mark, the hard-working centre-forward having to come off to be replaced by Jack Masterton. The change meant that Totton were now conceding a considerable height disadvantage to their opponents, and would be reliant on the pace of Taylor and Burrows up front. Masterton was straight into the action by taking a free-kick midway inside the Willand half. He stood the ball up to the far side where Taylor jumped high and headed to the centre for Burrows to nod it over the line - only for an offside flag against Taylor to rule the goal out.
Willand defender Ryan Guppy was shown the yellow card for a late tackle on Mike Carter, as the Totton captain played the ball forward from just behind the centre-circle. Then, play had to be stopped again as two Willand players jumped to head the ball from either side of Ethan Taylor, the winger having the presence of mind to step back out of the way to avoid the head injury they inflicted upon one another. Play resumed with a drop-ball, which was the cause of Jimmy Ball's consternation that prompted the Referee to come across and have a word with him a minute or so later, the Totton manager’s complaint being that the opponent was allowed to stand too close and get a challenge in when Carter should have been allowed free possession of the ball from the drop.
Both dug-outs had been on at the Referee for a while, as the match simmered along with an increasingly fractious flavour. With their reduced numbers, Totton were forced to dig in and battle the ball away whenever the home side could come forward, relying on Masterton’s passing ability to release Taylor and Burrows on the counter - as much for defensive respite as in hope of snatching a winning goal.
Taylor and Burrows combined well to take Totton forward in the 72nd minute. Burrows had a shot blocked, as did Tomasso on the follow-up. Carter got the ball under control and fed it into the run of Benny Read down the right-hand side, the full-back getting in behind the Willand defence but his cross flashed across the face of goal with no blue shirt there to convert.
TOUGH-TACKLING DISPLAY: Adam Tomasso's "Never say die" attitude in the Totton midfield was integral to them claiming all three points at Silver Street.
The home side made their final substitution by withdrawing Oliver Bray in favour of Lewis Hill. Hallett clipped the ball up the right-hand side for Burrows to chase; Bailey came across and knocked the ball out for a corner on the Totton right, but Masterton’s cross was punched away by Burton.
Davis, Carter and Masterton all tried to create something from midfield but each of them in turn found themselves bogged down by the opposition’s press and a reduced number of forward options. Then, when they did get the ball forward, Burrows gave away a free-kick for shoving his marker to the ground.
Masterton picked up the second ball after a long kick by Lewis Noice, and played it towards the right wing where Read, Masterton and Burrows were all keen to pin the home side into the corner. Willand eventually managed to work their way out and tried to go forward, but Kennedy brought down Koita close to the halfway line to dampen their attacking intent. From the free-kick, Willand’s Manager David Steele had to encourage one of his larger defenders to go forward to make their numerical advantage count, and could be heard questioning why it wasn’t a case of him having to rein them in rather than pushing them to go and find a winner.
Ethan Taylor was lucky to escape a yellow card when he appeared to go in with studs raised against Ryan Guppy, who took a painful blow to his foot. Guppy was joined on the deck by one of his teammates, who had gone down during an aerial challenge a few moments earlier. Willand sent the ball long towards their right side, where Mike Carter was forced to head behind for a corner with Camilo ready to sprint in behind him if he hadn’t got a decisive touch. With several of the shorter players on the pitch and no Jefford nor Rendell, Totton were vulnerable to a high delivery, so Jimmy Ball would have been grateful to see his goalkeeper Lewis Noice command the situation by coming off his line to catch the cross.
Willand came forward again, with Ashton Hewitt charging through the centre-circle and feeding Lewis Hill with his back to goal, about 22 yards out. He looped the ball between Kennedy and Hallett to provide Douglas Camilo with a shooting chance from an angle on the right, but the striker blasted his effort over the top and into the protective netting behind the goal.
Davis sent a free-kick high towards Kennedy, who tried to head it but the ball hit his marker and dropped to allow the former Salisbury man to shoot right-footed, his attempt blocked at close quarters by Guppy. Taylor tried to retrieve the rebound just outside the box but tripped a Willand player to concede a free-kick. Kennedy was involved again at the other end, shoving Hill to the ground as the ball came in from a Willand free-kick on their right, the Referee turning a blind eye to the anger of the home dug-out.
The game became end-to-end, primarily due to long balls from either team. Valliant defending by Benny Read prevented Griffith advancing down the Willand Rovers left wing, as the game moved into the last few minutes of the regulation 90, before a lengthy period of stoppage time.
Koita managed to keep the ball in play on Willand’s right touchline, despite a heavy touch, and he centred into the Totton box. It was knocked out as far as Hewitt, who had a brief chance to shoot but didn’t take it, then got crowded out, primarily by Tomasso on the edge of the box, and he rushed his pass to Camilo, who couldn’t reach it with his outstretched right foot.
Kennedy, Tomasso, Carter and Hallett all threw themselves in front of the ball to defend Totton’s box from a late bombardment. Davis ran himself into the ground to contain Willand’s attempts to get the ball in from the right. Benny Read tried to bring the ball out down Totton’s right, only to be dispossessed. Willand tried to exploit the space he had vacated but Hallett came across on the cover and removed the danger.
TWO-GOAL TAYLOR: Ethan Taylor's brace, the second goal a late penalty, took his season's tally to 18 goals in all competitions.
Five minutes into stoppage time, the ball came to Burrows through the middle where he juggled it for a moment before playing in Taylor to run onto it inside the penalty area. Burton came out, sliding on the surface as he attempted to grab the ball, but instead he took Taylor’s right ankle and sent him crashing to the ground. The Referee awarded Totton their second penalty kick of the match. Ethan TAYLOR picked himself up and despatched the ball past Burton to restore The Stags’ lead.
Totton had to stand firm during he remaining couple of minutes. Adam Tomasso picked up a late yellow card as he fought for possession in midfield. Hewitt played the ball into a crowded penalty area, but Kennedy headed out. Burrows took up the ball and raced away into the Willand half. Adam Poole tripped him and earned himself a yellow card, too. Noice came up to take the free-kick, but it flew straight through to Burton.
Willand tried to launch a late onslaught on the Totton goal but The Stags were determined to hold on to what they had. Headers, blocks, tackles; whatever was required, there was a blue shirt ready to put his body on the line to ensure AFC Totton not only took all three points from a difficult afternoon’s work - but they also closed the gap on Sholing at the top of the Southern League Div.1 South table, following The Boatmen’s 2-2 draw at Cinderford Town, a late own goal by former Stags defender Rob Flooks enough to deny them a win.
After the match, AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball (pictured), said:
“It was a highly-charged match. I don’t think the Referee helped in that matter, I don’t think he controlled the game at all. But you have got to cope with adversity, you have to cope with everything that football throws at you, and we did that today - we really, really did - and you won’t find a prouder manager up and down the country than me, right now.
“I expect it because I feel I’ve got a really good group of men - proper men, as I call them. So, I expect it, funnily enough, that we will dig in and we will overcome. But if we hadn’t today and that match had ended 1-1, I would still have been proud of them. Sometimes in football, you get what you deserve and I thought we deserved it. The players didn’t stop believing that we would get it, and we might well look back on that at the end of the season as a massive three points. I took penalties as a player but I never watch them as a manager. You think that players with their level of technical ability should be able to score from 12 yards, no problem, but there is something different about taking them in a match situation. We got the winning goal, so that’s what matters.
“I told the players at half-time that they would have to do a job-and-a-half to make up for the sending off, and they absolutely did that and they come away as deserved winners. I know Sholing have dropped points today but we can’t be distracted by that. We have to get ourselves rested and ready for the next one. Bashley are in good form but we don’t have a midweek game for the first time in a month, so we’ll have the lads in twice this week and make sure we prepare properly for what’s bound to be another tough game against quality opposition.”
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View AFC Totton’s fixture list for the 2022/23 season
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
