AFC Totton AFC Totton Pitching In - Partners with Southern Football League

SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 31 - Saturday 01 April 2023


WIMBORNE TOWN                  0

AFC TOTTON                                4
Ethan Taylor 2mins; Scott Rendell 47mins;
Adam Tomasso 52mins; Matty Burrows 90+4mins


HAVING TAKEN POLE POSITION at the top of the Southern League Div.1 South table with an emphatic home win over Paulton Rovers on Tuesday night, AFC Totton took advantage of a weekend fixture list littered with rained-out postponements to go three points clear of their closest rivals by beating fourth-placed Wimborne Town by four goals to nil at the New Cuthbury Stadium in Dorset, yesterday (Saturday).

Charlie Kennedy’s red card in the home game against Larkhall Athletic last weekend required him to sit this one out, presenting Ben Jefford with the chance to make his first AFC Totton league start since he was dismissed at Willand Rovers at the end of February. Jack Masterton continued at left-back with Jefford partnering Luke Hallett at centre-back. Marcus Day took the open spot on the substitutes’ bench in a matchday squad that was otherwise unchanged from the one that subjected Paulton Rovers to their heaviest defeat in several years.


AFC-Totton-badge.pngAFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up

1.  Lewis NOICE
2.  Benny READ
3.  Jack MASTERTON
4.  Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5.  Ben JEFFORD
6.  Luke HALLETT
7.  Charlie DAVIS
8.  Adam TOMASSO
9.  Scott RENDELL
10.  Ethan TAYLOR
11.  Tommy WRIGHT
Substitutes
14.  Matthew BURROWS
15.  Mitchell SPEECHLEY-PRICE
16.  Josh CARMICHAEL
17.  Conor WHITELEY
18.  Marcus DAY


The pitch passed a late inspection, although it was still necessary for ground staff to work their pitchforks into the most heavily affected areas of the turf right up until kick-off, with some standing water left on some sections of the playing surface. Dressed in their traditional home kit of black-and-white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks, The Magpies kicked-off looking to improve upon their recent run of only one win from their last 10 league matches to add vigour to their Promotion Play-Off bid.

Totton initially stood off their hosts, affording room enough for Daniel Bartlett to take aim with a long-range effort from central midfield with barely 60 seconds on the clock, his shot going narrowly wide of the left-hand post. Hardly another minute had passed, though, before The Stags put themselves in front.

From Lewis Noice’s goal kick, Scott Rendell and Tommy Wright linked up down the right-wing touchline, before Wright’s attempted cross was diverted behind for a corner. With the Wimborne bench shouting warnings about short corners, Jack Masterton curled the ball high into the Wimborne box for Luke Hallett to challenge in the air. His marker forced the ball down against another player in a black-and-white shirt, and as it dropped near the penalty spot, Ethan TAYLOR found himself with enough room to swipe a low, left-footed shot through a forest of legs and under the ex-Totton goalkeeper Shane Murphy to gift the visitors an early advantage.

Ethan Taylor-3_AFC Totton vs Larkhall Athletic_SLD1S-29_Sat25Mar2023.jpg
EARLY RISER: Ethan Taylor got Totton off-the-mark with a second minute opener at New Cuthbury to set The Stags on their way to an impressive away win.

The energy of Charlie Davis, running to apply pressure to home team defenders and their goalkeeper forced an error that tempted Tommy Wright to let fly from about 25 yards out on the right. His shot took a deflection to earn Totton a left-wing corner, from which Davis sent in a well-struck cross, but Murphy took the ball comfortably, despite one of his defenders jumping and stretching in vain to head it away right in front of him. Murphy’s distribution put Wimborne away on the counter-attack, requiring Ben Jefford to intervene on the edge of the Totton box before they could create a shooting chance.

There was quite a large contingent of travelling Stags fans in attendance at New Cuthbury, with several voices commonly heard on Mally’s Corner serenading their Dorset hosts with melodic reminders off Totton’s current position at the top of the league. But on the pitch, Totton were struggling to get the ball down and play, partly due to the slightly boggy surface and also to the willingness of the Wimborne players to close down quickly and challenge for every ball. Masterton made a timely interception to nip a Wimborne counter-attack in the bud, Then, a trip on Taylor earned Totton a free-kick just back from the left-hand corner of the penalty area. Davis swung it high towards the back post, where Hallett snuck in behind a defender to attack it, but the ball dropped sharply and as he tried to volley it, he could only direct the ball across the goal and wide.

Wimborne put together their best move of the early stages in the 10th minute. Taylor was dispossessed on the advanced side of the halfway line and Ben Satterley, wearing the No.16 shirt, attacking the right-wing corner before pulling the ball back for Asa Phillips to shoot through a crowd from just inside the area. Noice was down quickly to his left, parrying the ball away from danger. Wimborne retrieved it and Phillips soon popped up again in the inside-left area to hit a shot that Tomasso deflected wide. The corner was crossed high to the back post, where Connor Cocklin could only loop his header over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

A clever nod back to his goalkeeper by Luke Hallett put the kibosh on one Wimborne attack down their left. Then, when Lewis Noice took half-a-second too long to kick the ball clear, Hallett was there again to quickly clean up and take the ball safely into Totton possession, again.

Despite being a goal behind, Wimborne began to assert themselves more effectively than their visitors. On 15 minutes, a long ball out of defence had Jefford and Hallett struggling to contain Phillips, as the big centre-forward headed the ball on. It fell invitingly for Bartlett to shoot on the half volley, missing the target by mere inches as it flew over the Totton crossbar. Then, the Referee allowed play to continue when Masterton committed a foul as Wimborne attacked down the right wing, and the ball was flashed dangerously across the Totton goal without anyone in black-and-white being close enough to apply a finishing touch. A foul on Mike Carter on the opposite side of the penalty area relieved the pressure for Totton.

Rendell was then shoved on the left-wing touchline, resulting in a free-kick that Davis sent high into the Wimborne box. It was headed out and The Magpies flew forward with Phillips receiving a pass from Aaron Roberts and feeding Oakley Hanger as he scampered down the right-hand side to drive in a low cross that Jefford was well-placed to intercept inside the Totton box, before calmly moving Totton upfield via Masterton and Carter.

Ben Jefford-2_AFC Totton.jpg
BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Ben Jefford slotted into the Totton defence in place of the suspended Charlie Kennedy and played his part in keeping a clean sheet against fourth-placed Wimborne Town at New Cuthbury.

Jefford looked comfortable in his central defensive role, despite having missed much of the season to date due to injury and suspension. And when Wimborne tried to go more direct, the spring-heeled Luke Hallett demonstrated more of the defensive aerial dominance that has become his characteristic trademark since joining The Stags last summer.

A foul on Harry Morgan gave the home side the opportunity to launch the ball into the Totton box. Carter headed it away, and when Wimborne worked the ball back out to the right and crossed, Jefford was in position again to repel it. A few minutes later, Carter had to track Hanger’s surge towards the Wimborne right-wing corner flag, as Totton continued to deal with pressure from the home side.

Kaya Tshaka dropped deep into midfield to pull the strings for the next Wimborne attack, Hanger again getting forward to win a corner on the right. The ball was drilled across the penalty area, Hallett heading away again. Although Wimborne regained possession, Totton’s pressing in midfield forced them to go all the way back to Shane Murphy, who in addition to being The Magpies’ goalkeeper is also their captain.

Rendell was called up for hip-bumping a considerably shorter opponent to the ground near halfway in the 25th minute. The free-kick was played out to Wimborne’s left-hand side and a diagonal ball across the edge of the box forced Masterton to hook it away for a corner on the far side, aware that Roberts was lurking just off his right shoulder. Bartlett drilled it across again, the ball rising from the corner-kick quadrant on the same trajectory as a passenger aeroplane taking off from a runway, and with almost as much velocity. Ashley Wells bravely thrust his head into its path at the edge of the area, directing the ball beyond the far post.

Both sides put together short bursts of crisp, passing football across the surface. Totton briefly stretched the Wimborne defence, primarily through Taylor’s speed and mobility, but the home side recovered to send Hanger on another right-wing raid, which Masterton did well to nullify and eventually win a goal kick at the byline with a lucky rebound from his own block.

Jefford was penalised for jumping too early for an aerial duel with Asa Phillips, who stood his ground while the Totton defender took a ride on his shoulders. The free-kick was delivered high to the left side of the six-yard box, where a mass of players converged before it was headed wide by the tallest among them, Connor Cocklin.

As the rain returned, Hanger had to race back to beat Taylor to an Adam Tomasso through-ball that had Wimborne players appealing for offside. Then, Roberts and Bartlett combined down the Wimborne right, after the former nutmegged Masterton near the halfway line to exploit open space in the Totton left-back area. Again, though, when the ball came into the Totton box, Ben Jefford was well-positioned to take it under control. He passed to Taylor, who was making a run down the Totton left wing, when Cocklin came across to bundle into him and earn himself a yellow card - much to the verbal consternation of the Wimborne bench, whose appeals to the Referee and his Assistant right in front of them were ignored. Davis crossed the ball into the box; Hallett got something on it but it was partially cleared by a defender. Benny Read picked it up on the far side, darted into the side of the penalty area and crossed for Jefford to head on-target, but he couldn’t muster enough power to beat Murphy.

Totton came forward again, with Taylor popping up on the right-hand side and trying to feed the run of Davis through the middle. The ball got bogged down in a small area of standing water, which enabled Wells to take possession. Davis checked his run to press the defender into a back-pass, the Totton midfielder then immediately rushing Murphy into a long kick that Masterton returned on the volley but Totton couldn’t get the ball under control to take advantage of the situation. Then, Masterton clipped the ball from the left to the centre, where Wright flicked it on for Taylor. With space available on the right, Taylor set off on a run but was quickly dispossessed by a strong sliding tackle from left-back Connal Morrison.

As the rain gave way to a blustery wind, a loose pass by Mike Carter had Masterton scampering back to tidy up before Wimborne could capitalise down their right flank. Then, Davis had to put in a strong tackle midway inside his own half to dismantle a building attack from the home side, winning a throw-in in the process.

Jack Masterton-2_AFCTotton vs Basingstoke Town_Pre-Season-7_30July2022.jpg
MASTER AND COMMANDER: AFC Totton's Jack Masterton gave a commanding performance at left-back during The Stags' Southern League Div.1 South victory in Dorset.

As Wimborne pushed forward, a long hooked clearance by Carter put Taylor straight through the middle, the defence once again appealing for an offside flag that never came. Murphy was quickly out of his box to hack the ball into touch, beating Taylor to it by a stride.

The Referee had to take a moment to calm the players of both sides down after some combative tackling in the space between the two dug-outs either side of the halfway line good everyone’s blood raised for a few seconds. Then a long kick came off Hallett for a Wimborne throw on the left and, shortly after the throw-in, Wright put his own defence under pressure by slicing the ball into the air just outside the box, but when it was headed behind the Totton defence by a Wimborne player, Lewis Noice was quickly off his line to snatch the ball to safety.

Oakley Hanger showed impressive chest control to intercept Jefford’s long ball towards Taylor on the left wing. Then, Rendell headed on for Taylor to perform a rainbow flick that put him through the middle but not without the attentions of two defenders who marshalled him closely and closed the opportunity down.

Ben Satterley was booked for a foul on Adam Tomasso that left the Totton midfielder in a painful heap on the wet surface, while players from both sides engaged in some pushing and shoving that briefly threatened to get out of hand. But the free-kick enabled Totton to get forward to fashion the last chance of the first half. Taylor jumped high to head the ball at the edge of the Wimborne penalty area but was beaten to it by Cocklin. Tomasso leapt high to send it back where it came from and Taylor had space to let the ball drop and strike in on the half volley, firing narrowly over the top.


HALF-TIME
WIMBORNE TOWN                           0
AFC TOTTON                                          1


Totton began the second half on the front foot, with Tommy Wright hooking a cross over from the right-hand side which Wimborne could only half-clear. Totton worked the ball wide to Benny Read, pushing up from right-back, and although his low cross was turned away, Carter picked the ball up in midfield and fed it back to him. Read was able to get to the byline and pick out Scott RENDELL on the near corner of the six-yard box for the centre-forward to side-foot across Murphy and into the far corner of the net for his 28th goal of the season.

Scott Rendell-1_GOAL_AFC Totton vs Westbury United-SLD1S-10_Sat12Nov2022.jpg
BUNCH OF FIVES: Scott Rendell was on-target for the fifth consecutive league game, taking his tally for the season in all competitions to 28 goals.

Wimborne tried to hit back but soon found themselves under pressure, again. Hallett won another header and Tomasso hooked the ball towards the right-wing touchline where Wright gave chase. Murphy made the decision to rush out of his box but when he got to the ball, he could only charge it down with his stomach before a moment of indecision had to be dealt with by Morrison, before Wright could steal it with sight of an empty net.

Morrison made another defensive intervention to stop Wright running through on goal from Rendell’s knock on, with a sliding tackle that halted the striker in his tracks. But with the ball bouncing into Nomansland in the midfield, Adam TOMASSO strode forward to collect it and strike from about 22 yards - the prone figure of Connor Cocklin could only deflect the ball high into the air, over the head of the stranded Shane Murphy and into the back of the Wimborne net.

Adam Tomasso-1_AFC Totton vs Basingstoke Town_Pre-Season-7_30July2022.jpg
DEFLECTED DRIVE: Adam Tomasso scored Totton's third goal with a deflected effort that looped over the Wimborne Town goalkeeper, Shane Murphy.

Before the game restarted, Wimborne Manager Tim Sills sent on ex-AFC Totton loanee Lewis Beale in place of Aaron Roberts. Taylor rushed Murphy into a mistake, kicking the ball out from the edge of his six-yard box to concede a throw-in close to the right-wing corner flag. Read took it and received it back from Davis, and then slipped the ball to Taylor in the inside-right channel, where the winger glided past two defenders to create a one-on-one with Murphy from a tight angle. The keeper used his torso to smother the chance as Taylor tried to finish with his right foot.

Ashley Wells made a well-timed challenge to stop Taylor’s progress in the next attack, with the winger creating more problems for the Wimborne defence. With a three-goal cushion, their Totton counterparts were happy to sit back and pounce on the break. Taylor received the ball on the right from one such counter-attack, side-stepped one challenge and hit a shot that was blocked at source. The ball rebounded to Tommy Wright on the left, who took a touch and went for goal himself, likewise seeing his effort blocked by a black-and-white shirt.

Wimborne tried to mount a challenge down their right but Jefford headed out when the ball came across and Carter was on-hand to complete the clearance. Davis worked the ball out to the right for Wright, but the striker was clearly struggling with fatigue and couldn’t get to the ball or, subsequently, to the Wimborne defender who collected it. Tomasso put in a strong tackle when the ball came into midfield and Mike Carter tried to do likewise but mistimed it slightly, earning himself a yellow card that according to the Wimborne bench was long overdue.

Jimmy Ball sent on Matty Burrows in place of Tommy Wright, just past the hour mark. Masterton dispossessed Beale and directed the ball out to Davis on the right-hand side. Cocklin intercepted and seemed to have the ball comfortably under control, but as he dwelt in possession, Davis closed him down and rushed the big defender into a hurried clearance with no other Wimborne player to his goal-side - prompting an apoplectic response from The Magpies’ bench.

Josh Carmichael came on for Mike Carter in the 65th minute, and Totton returned to the tactic of sitting deep to make themselves difficult to break down, while also marking tightly in midfield and pressing energetically whenever the Wimborne defenders were in possession. Carmichael and Masterton defended a corner from Wimborne’s right and within seconds, Matty Burrows was racing down the left wing, stretching the home defence and forcing them back. From a left-wing throw-in, Burrows received the ball in an advanced position on the wing and played a short one-two with Rendell to shift himself further back to just outside the left corner of the penalty area. The Wimborne defence stood off him as he came infield and put the ball onto his right foot, before unleashing a ferocious shot that soared over the heads of everybody between him and the Wimborne goal, including Shane Murphy, to strike the underside of the crossbar and bounce a yard or two away from the goal line before it was hacked clear.

Cocklin reached out a long leg to bat away Taylor’s low cross from the right-hand side. Then, at the other end, Harry Morgan ran into Carmichael on the edge of the Totton box, The Stags substitute shrugging off his opponent and advancing into midfield before Morrison wrestled the ball back from him and tried to send a diagonal cross from deep to the far side of the penalty area, but his delivery was too long.

Murphy’s kick was returned by Tomasso, freeing the fresh-legged Burrows to get behind the Wimborne defence on the left wing, advancing into the box and providing a low cross that Taylor slid in at the far post to try to convert, but only got a minor touch on the ball to knock it wide.

Wimborne substitute Jez Bedford, who had replaced Ben Satterley, managed to find a pocket of space on their right wing. He cut inside to evade Masterton along the edge of the area, before striking a left-footed shot narrowly over the crossbar.

Burrows’ continual buzzing around the Wimborne defence led to the teenager being on the wrong end of a strong challenge that left him on the ground. As he tried to get up, a Wimborne defender trod on him more than once, with all the athletic grace of the funny-boned comedian Lee Evans channelling his inner Norman Wisdom. The teenager retained his composure, though, and got himself back into position as Totton resolved to see out the match without conceding a goal.

Charlie Davis-2_AFC Totton vs Paulton Rovers_SLD1S-30_Tue28Mar2023.jpg
ENERGETIC DISPLAY: Charlie Davis ran himself into the ground on a heavy pitch on a rainswept Saturday afternoon at Wimborne.

Charlie Davis began to show signs of cramp, a consequence of covering every blade of grass on a wet, heavy pitch. Having received treatment from the physio, he was required to leave the pitch for a moment while play could be resumed. No sooner had the Referee given him permission to re-enter the fray than a loose back-pass by Cocklin put him in behind Morrison to attack the right-wing corner and supply a cross, but he overhit it and the ball sailed harmlessly out of play beyond the far post.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Wimborne got players forward and played the ball across the ground for a while, forcing Totton back into their own defensive third. They worked the ball from left to right, before running into Masterton and Carmichael in the Totton left-back area, where the visitors were able to retake possession As they played their way out of defence, Davis went down again, so Tomasso put the ball out of play to enable Jimmy Ball to make the last of his three substitutions. Marcus Day stepped off the bench to replace Davis.

Rendell, who had taken the captain’s armband when Carter went off, in the absence of the suspended Charlie Kennedy, headed out from his own six-yard box from a Wimborne corner. Benny Read picked up the ball in midfield and exchanged passes with Day to cross the halfway line, before slipping Burrows into a promising position where he could sprint through the middle. Burrows made his move a fraction too early, triggering the offside flag. But Wimborne defender Ashley Wells hadn’t seen the flag and slid in to make a tackle, which caused him to slide under Burrows and the teenager to land on top of him. Wells was left prone on the turf in some pain, and after several minutes of treatment from the Wimborne physios, with Totton’s Andrew Hanley also in attendance, The Magpies’ No.4 was stretchered off the pitch. Wimborne had already made all three permitted substitutions, so had to see out the remaining 7 minutes of the game with only 10 men.

When play resumed, Hallett and Jefford both headed away long balls deep into the Totton half. Carmichael played a through-ball with the outside of his right foot that set Burrows through on goal, but the ever-alert Shane Murphy came to the edge of his own box to claim the ball. Lewis Noice was called into action at the other end when Totton’s defenders stood off Beale long enough to allow him to hit a 25 yard shot that The Stags keeper saved low to his left-hand side, pushing the ball out to the left for Masterton to take under control.

The pace of Burrows and Taylor posed a threat to the Wimborne defence, although when Rendell tried to play Taylor in down the left, the ball once again ran into an area affected by standing water which slowed it down enough to kill the move’s momentum. Tshaka and Morgan toiled for the home side and made some attacking progress in the inside-left channel but to no avail, with Masterton taking charge and moving Totton forward.

Matty Burrows-3_AFC Totton vs Willand Rovers_SLD1S-16_Sat17Dec2022.jpg
SCORCHER: Matty Burrows stepped off the bench to score the goal of the game with an unstoppable shot from outside the box, making it 4-0 to The Stags.

Four minutes into stoppage time, Burrows tackled back to dispossess a Wimborne player just inside the Totton half, near The Stags’ right-wing touchline. He laid it back to Carmichael, who released Taylor down the flank. Morrison presented an obstacle to further forward progress, so Taylor checked and played a square pass about 22 yards out. Aware of the presence of a defender just beyond his left shoulder, Matty BURROWS took a touch, dropped his own left shoulder and turned to place the ball on his left side, before striking an unstoppable dipping shot that looped beyond the outstretched dive of Shane Murphy and into the right side of the Wimborne goal. In celebration, the teenager ran to the fans behind that goal, embracing Stewart Clewer and Adi Rose while flanked by the draping flags of AFC Totton and The Stags’ Voice.

The Referee called time on proceedings shortly after the restart. With Sholing’s trip to Larkhall Athletic among six Southern League Div.1 South games postponed due to the rain, Totton’s number of games in-hand was reduced to two but for the first time this season, Jimmy Ball’s men went three points clear at the top.


On behalf of AFC Totton, we wish a full and speedy recovery to Wimborne defender Ashley Wells following his injury late in the game.


NEXT UP: TAVISTOCK AFC vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Div.1 South | Matchday 32
Langsford Park | Wednesday 05 April 2023 | Kick-Off 7:45pm

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 Craig Hobbs Photography

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