AFC Totton
Evesham United - preview
After two consecutive cup matches, the Stags return to Southern League Division One South action on Saturday with a long trip up to Worcestershire to take on Evesham United.
One of three in our division known as the Robins, the football club was formed in 1945 by servicemen returning from the battlefields of World War II, replacing the previous club Evesham Town, and they immediately joined the Worcestershire League. By 1968, they had won the Worcestershire Combination on four occasions, also lifting the Worcestershire Combination Challenge Cup in the 1953/54 season. And they enjoyed semi-regular success at local level throughout the decades since. Of their two spells at Southern League Premier level since the turn of the millennium, the most recent was in 2011/12.
The 2021/22 season began with Neil Hunt, who had been operating as Caretaker Manager since March 2020, being confirmed in the job. The Robins kicked-off the campaign with a 2-1 win over Mangotsfield United but a run of just one win in their subsequent eight league matches, including a 1-5 defeat at Highworth Town and compounded by early eliminations from the FA Cup, the Southern League Challenge Cup and the FA Trophy, led to a Club Statement on 18 October confirming that Hunt was stepping down as First Team Manager to move to a Head of Football role. At the time of writing, no new manager has yet been installed but the visit of high-flying AFC Totton could be a baptism of fire for the new appointee.
Evesham United have a relationship with League Two outfit Cheltenham Town, which has garnered them three loan signings this season, including Callum Ebanks. The striker’s late winner at Bideford at the end of October was his fifth goal in four matches, as the Robins have started to show some form and pulled themselves up to 14th in the Southern League Division One South league table.
LAST 5 MATCHES – All Competitions
Sat 02 Oct 21 Willand Rovers H Southern League Div.1 South L 1-4
Sat 09 Oct 21 Kidsgrove Athletic A Buildbase FA Trophy L 1-4
Sat 16 Oct 21 Highworth Town H Southern League Div.1 South L 1-5
Sat 23 Nov 21 Plymouth Parkway H Southern League Div.1 South W 3-1
Sat 30 Oct 21 Bideford A Southern League Div.1 South W 1-0
AFC TOTTON vs EVESHAM UNITED – Previous Meetings
These two sides have faced each other on 13 occasions since the 2011/12 season. Evesham have won seven times; there have been three draws; and Totton have won only three – but that does include the most recent meeting on 30 November 2019 when goals from Robin Nicholls, Silvano Obeng and Craig Feeney sent the Stags on their way to a 3-1 win.
BREAKING NEWS... FRIDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2021... BREAKING NEWS...
On the eve of our trip to Worcestershire, the PitchingIn Southern League website has reported that Slimbridge AFC manager Lee Driver-Dickerson has quit his post with the Swans to takeover the vacant managerial position at Evesham United. He had been manager at Slimbridge since the beginning of the 2018/19 season. The report does not state whether he will be in the dugout for tomorrow's match against the Stags.
More info here: Driver-Dickerson Quits Slimbridge for Evesham
Written by Ben Rochey-Adams
and Malcolm Tombs, Historian
