AFC Totton
The Venue:
The Avenue Stadium, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2RY
Saturday 27 April 2024 | Kick-Off at 3:00pm
TWO OF THE SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH’S form teams go head-to-head on the final day of the regular league programme on Saturday afternoon, when AFC Totton will make the short trip to Dorset to take on Dorchester Town.
The Stags need only one point to secure second place in the table, which will guarantee crucial home advantage going into next Wednesday’s Promotion Play-Off Semi-Final and, should they manage to get through, also for the Final on Bank Holiday Monday. But neither Jimmy Ball nor any of his players will be expecting an easy ride on Saturday.
Manager Tom Killick has overseen a rapid improvement in his team’s fortunes since taking the reins at The Avenue Stadium in September, following his sudden departure from Poole Town after 20 years at the helm of the Tatnam Ground club. Having languished in and around the relegation zone during the early part of the season, The Magpies have soared up the table into a more than respectable ninth place, and they will have their sights set on a potential seventh-place finish should Hungerford Town and troubled outfit Walton & Hersham both fail to end their campaigns with morale-boosting home wins against Basingstoke Town and Poole Town, respectively.
Dorchester’s 1-3 loss at Basingstoke last weekend was their first league defeat since going down 0-3 at home to Play-Off qualifiers Gosport Borough on 10 February, an unbeaten run that lasted for 12 matches. The third game in that sequence was the thrilling 4-4 draw at the Snows Stadium on Wednesday 28 February when Totton inexplicably allowed a three-goal advantage to slip in the last half-an-hour of the game, despite Tony Lee putting them back in front at 4-3 with 10 minutes to go. The recent defeat to ‘Stoke ended a run of five consecutive wins for Dorchester, with victories over Hayes & Yeading United, Sholing and Hanwell Town sandwiched between home and away wins against Tiverton Town.
ONE-UP: Striker Tony Lee celebrates putting The Stags in front during the exciting 4-4 draw between AFC Totton and Dorchester Town at the Snows Stadium in late-February.
No team in the division has won more of their last 12 outings than AFC Totton, who made light work of their long journey to Plymouth Parkway on Monday evening with a comfortable 3-0 away win that leaves the Devon-based club hovering perilously over the trapdoor to Step 4, and Totton sitting pretty in second place with their fate very much in their own hands.
Goals from Joan Luque, Leon Maloney and a deflected strike from Adam Tomasso took Totton’s goal tally to 85 for the league season to date, making them the highest goal-scorers in the division with four more than Champions Chesham United and the other in-form team Bracknell Town, who The Stags may yet face again in the Play-Offs. Maloney was making his first start for a month after a spell out with injury, while Jordan Ragguette also returned to the starting line-up to make his 100th appearance for the club, and both players excelled in a dominant AFC Totton display at Bolitho Park. With Matty Burrows coming on from the bench and Charlie Kennedy taking the captain’s armband while Scott Rendell, Joe Oastler and Marcel McIntosh were all rested, Jimmy Ball has a full complement of players to choose from going into a crucial three weeks of league, Play-Off and cup football that will make or break The Stags’ 2023/24 campaign.
Speaking to StagsRadio’s Benjy Rees after the win on Monday night, Jimmy Ball commented:
“We played with some real quality tonight; the goals we scored, the movement, the attacking threat, the possession – it was really, really pleasing. Everyone’s fit and they all came through tonight’s game unscathed, so it puts us in a great position with a fully-fit squad going into the last game of the season and into the Play-Offs.
“When Jordan’s injury happened [during the Servio Hampshire Senior Cup Semi-Final win over AFC Bournemouth on 11 March], we were very worried for him because it looked like it could be a serious injury. I was only 20 or 30 yards from the incident and it looked bad at the time. But it proved to be just bruising and a little bit of minor ligament damage. Credit to the fitness staff who have worked hard with him and the other lads who’ve been out recently; thanks to them, we’re looking very strong going into the final weeks of the season. We still have a real fight on our hands to try and get promoted but I’m very happy to have a full squad to choose from going into these games, and we’ll give it everything we’ve got – you can be sure about that.
“I don’t care what the league table says, it will never be my mentality to play for a draw; that’s not a football mentality. The players know that about me by now, they know my personality. It never works, anyway. I want to win everything I’m doing. That’s how you win games of football and that’s how we’ll approach it on Saturday.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of James Mann
