AFC Totton
Photo courtesy of Ben Cole
By Josh Cole
Saturday the 25th of October sees AFC Totton take on Chelmsford City in matchday #13 of the Enterprise National Leaue South season!
Last time out Totton were defeated on the road in Bath. Click here to read the match report from that game.
REMINDER: You can save money on your tickets if you buy online and prior to arrival to avoid those matchday price rises.
CHELMSFORD CITY – THEIR SEASON SO FAR:
Chelmsford find themselves in 15th place so far in the league on 15 points from 11 games. They opened 25/26 with a 1-0 win at home against Horsham and a 0-0 draw away at Weston-super-Mare.
City lost for the first time in matchday three, a 1-0 away loss to Ebbsfleet but bounced back with a home win against Chippenham (2-1), a 0-0 draw away at Maidstone and a 2-1 win at home against Chesham.
But then, on a Monday night game at home, Chelmsford found themselves on the end of a 2-5 loss to Farnborough, and the next game after that was another loss, this time 2-1 away at Maidenhead.
The FA Cup came around, and Chelmsford started in the best way possible, winning 6-0 in the second qualifying round, which they carried into a 0-1 away win at Bath in the league.
Another FA Cup win away at Alvechurch (1-2) put them one win away from the first-round proper, and they did manage to win and progress again with a 4-3 win against fellow NLS side, Chippenham. In between those two games was a 1-1 draw with Dorking.
In their last two matches they lost at home (1-2) against Worthing and won on Tuesday night in the Essex Senior Cup against Halstead Town, 0-3.
LAST FIVE: AFC TOTTON (most recent result first)
Vs Bath City | Away | ENLS | Lost 2-0
Vs Hemel Hempstead | Home | ENLS | Won 2-1
Goalscorers: Tyler Cordner 10’ & Ash Clarke 27’
Vs Truro City | Away | FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay | Drew 1-1 (AFC Totton won 5-3 on pens)
Goalscorer: Tony Lee 14’
Vs Truro City | Home | FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round | Drew 1-1
Goalscorer: Tyler Cordner 26’
Vs Weston-super-Mare | Home | ENLS | Won 3-1
Goalscorers: Ash Clarke 32’ 70’ & Scott Rendell 60’ PEN
LAST FIVE: CHELMSFORD CITY
Vs Halstead Town | Away | Essex Senior Cup 3rd Round | Won 0-3
Goalscorers: Jett Murphy 4’ 33’ & Archie Tamplin 16’
Vs Worthing | Home | ENLS | Lost 1-2
Goalscorer: Lyle Taylor 24’
Vs Chippenham Town | Home | FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round | Won 4-3
Goalscorers: Taylor Clark 29’, Lyle Taylor 31’, Jack Barham 44’ & Louie Kudiabor 86’
Vs Dorking Wanderers | Home | ENLS | Drew 1-1
Goalscorer: Shiloh Remy 6’
Vs Alvechurch | Away | FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round | Won 1-2
Goalscorers: Lyle Taylor 21’ & 45+4’
COMPARING THE STATS (all comps)
|
AFC Totton |
Chelmsford City |
|
|
17 |
Matches Played |
15 |
|
28 |
Goals scored |
26 |
|
20 |
Goals conceded |
17 |
|
+8 |
GD |
+9 |
|
4 |
Clean sheets |
6 |
MY OPPOSITION PLAYERS TO WATCH:
DEFENCE: David Longe-King
David Longe-King joined the Clarets in May 2025, after a third spell with St Albans City, where he played 43 times and scored 3 times in the National League South.
His career started out with Colney Heath, before he joined St Albans. His time there saw a few loan spells before he departed and made his name with Biggleswade Town.
He picked up an England C cap before his return to St Albans, where his form granted him a move into the EFL with Newport County.
After that, a spell with Grimsby Town came before he joined Dagenham & Redbridge.
His 2-year stay with the Daggers came to an end in July 2024, a spell during which he also played on loan at National League side Eastleigh.
He rejoined St Albans for the 2024-25 season, featuring in both games for the Saints against the Clarets.
MIDFIELD: Ricky Holmes
Ricky Holmes completed a fairytale move in May 2025 as he returned to Chelmsford City.
Already holding over 200 appearances for the Clarets, Holmes returns after various spells with clubs in the Football League. He has played for the likes of Barnet, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United.
He had a very good spell at Charlton, where he played in 58 games, scoring 19 goals and was a fan favourite at The Valley.
In the 15/16 season, Holmes won League 2 with Northampton Town and was included in the PFA Team of the Year for the division.
His return to Chelmsford City will see him look to add on the 200+ appearances, as well as the 65+ goals he has scored for the club.
His role at the club sees him operate in a player and coach capacity which he has done for the previous few seasons at Farnborough.
ATTACK: Lyle Taylor
Lyle Taylor joined the Clarets in August 2025, after a season with Colchester United in League 2, where he was the U’s top scorer.
His career started out with Millwall, but he found some prolific goalscoring form with Concord Rangers. That resulted in a move to Bournemouth where he had loan spells in the National League South with Lewes and Woking.
He joined AFC Wimbledon in 2015, where he had his longest spell with one club. During his 3-year-stint Taylor netted over 50 times in over 150 games. He also helped the Dons get promoted to League 1, scoring the opener in the Playoff final.
After that he was promoted to the Championship with Charlton, and in his time there scored 32 goals in 63 games but left to join Nottingham Forest after refusing to play in the final games of the 2020 season after the season restarted.
He made 57 appearances for Forest, scoring seven goals and he was released by Forest following their 2022–23 season, in which he made no appearances.
Since then, he had spells with Birmingham City, Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United before playing for Colchester United last season.
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee - Will Briers
Assistant Referee 1 - Russell Jones
Assistant Referee 2 - Daniel Smith
Fourth Official - Cameron Davis
GO STAGS
