AFC Totton
VENUE:
Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium, Station Approach, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 5AB
Saturday 20 July 2024 | Kick-Off at 3:00pm
FOR THE FOURTH MATCH of their pre-season campaign, Jimmy Ball’s AFC Totton squad travel to Oxfordshire on Saturday to take on Banbury United.
The Puritans now find themselves back in the Southern League Premier Division Central after their three-year stint in the National League North came to an end with a third from bottom-placed finish last season. They joined Blyth Spartans, Gloucester City and Bishop’s Stortford in making the drop to Step 3 of the non-league football pyramid, having finished 15 points from the relative safe space of 20th-place occupied by Farsley Celtic.
Originally the works team of the Spencer Corsets factory, the club was formed in 1931 under the moniker of Spencer Sports Club. They have since gone by the names of Spencer Villa and Banbury Spencer, and for a short period after World War II they became fully-professional. A change of ownership in 1965 brought with it a reallocation from the West Midlands (Regional) League to Division One of the Southern League – and another change of name, settling this time on Banbury United Football Club.
Back-to-back title-winning seasons in the mid-1930s saw the club crowned Oxfordshire Junior League and Senior League Champions, but they had to wait more than 40 years for their next silverware when they lifted the Oxfordshire Senior Cup for the first time in 1978/79 – the first of their six successes in the county cup competition. The Hellenic League Premier Division title was claimed in 1999/2000, and they gained entry into the National League North as Champions of the Southern League Premier Division Central in 2021/22. Banbury have also lifted the Buckingham Charity Cup five times from 2001/02 to 2015/16.
With a maximum capacity of just a smidge over 3,000, the Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium – also known as Spencer Stadium – is the club’s home ground, where they have resided since 1934. Floodlights were installed when Banbury United entered the Southern League in 1966, and the repurposed railway carriages being used as changing rooms were replaced with a new clubhouse.
Banbury began their pre-season warm-up campaign last weekend, with a 2-0 win at Racing Club Warwick of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands. On Tuesday, fellow Banbury-based club Easington Sports – who play their football in the United Counties League Premier Division South – held The Puritans to a 2-2 draw. After hosting AFC Totton this weekend, Banbury will also face Thame United and a Milton Keynes Dons XI before the 2024/25 season gets underway.
BRIGHT START: New signing Marcus Daws scored two goals for AFC Totton against a Southampton XI at the Snows Stadium last weekend.
The Stags have so far played Didcot Town, AFC Stoneham and a Southampton XI in their own pre-season schedule. Originally, the next game after Saturday’s trip to Oxfordshire was going to be a home encounter with Aldershot Town. However, that match is going to be rearranged to take place on a date as yet to be determined, leaving the visit of Eastbourne Borough on Tuesday 30 July as AFC Totton’s next scheduled outing – with the possibility that another game may yet be inserted into that 10-day gap.
In the meantime, fans of both AFC Totton and Banbury United will be huddled around their various online devices at lunchtime tomorrow when the Southern League are due to announce the new fixtures for the 2024/25 campaign.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Tom McKenzie (top, within graphic) and Sayers Sports Photography (bottom).
