AFC Totton
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DICHOTOMY, THY NAME is Bideford AFC. When it came time to review The Robins’ 2022/23 season to date ahead of AFC Totton’s trip to Devon at the end of January, your correspondent spun a tale of woe about a relegation-threatened team with just four wins to their name by that point.
But when the two sides met at The Sports Ground in Bideford, Sean Joyce’s side were more than a match for The Stags, who were understandably somewhat out-of-sorts having gone almost a month without a competitive game due to the prolonged spell of bad weather that befell the country immediately after the festive period. The Robins went into that game having taken just one point from the previously available 15, from a run that included home defeats to two of their relegation fight rivals in Lymington Town and Cinderford Town.
However, inspired by an excellent performance from their goalkeeper Adam Seedhouse Evans, Bideford came within a whisker of beating Jimmy Ball’s team, until a late, late free-kick into the box was headed towards goal by Scott Rendell and turned in from close range by Luke Hallett to snatch a point for the travelling Totton.
A week later, Bideford were held to a 2-2 draw by Slimbridge AFC, the side currently propping up the Southern League Div.1 South table. Bideford allowed a two-goal lead to slip in that encounter, handed to them by winger Javan Wright before Ethan Dunbar struck back with a brace of his own, the second coming on the 90-minute mark. And another week later, into February, Jay Malshanskyj’s goal on the stroke of half-time was enough for Melksham Town to take all three points in front of a crowd of 444 at the Oakfield Stadium in Wiltshire.
Then, all of a sudden, the reigning Devon St. Luke’s Cup holders rallied to produce a run that will bring them to the Snows Stadium on Saturday having won five of their six league games. Three successive 1-0 victories dealt with Larkhall Athletic, Bashley and Bristol Manor Farm in turn, before The Robins really pushed the boat out and helped themselves to two goals without reply at home to Frome Town on Saturday 25 February.
Seedhouse Evans had gone more than 450 minutes of Step 4 football without conceding a goal before Samuel Jackson broke Bideford hearts with a stoppage time winner in the return match against Bashley last Tuesday night, but a goal from skipper Aaron Taylor defeated Willand Rovers at Silver Street and helped The Robins to fly up to 15th place, with a nine-point gap and two games in-hand between themselves and Cinderford Town in the relegation zone, and the Devon All-Whites continuing to drop like a stone.
SHOT-STOPPER: Stags keeper Lewis Noice saved Craig Duff's penalty to prevent the Bideford No.8 completing his hat-trick and levelling the scores before Totton went on to win 4-2.
Bideford’s visit to the Snows Stadium in March of last season was Jimmy Ball’s very first game in charge following his appointment to the AFC Totton hotseat. He oversaw a 4-2 victory that owed a lot to Lewis Noice’s penalty save to prevent the visitors from levelling at 3-3, having been three-goals down after an hour. A late goal from Shaquille Gwengwe put daylight between the two teams and saw The Stags take the points.
In a quirk of another winter of rearranged league matches, the return fixture in Bideford took place just three days later. Mattie Buchan struck early for the hosts with a spectacular long-range effort, and that proved to be enough for the win on a night when Totton struggled to get their act together.
This weekend’s match will be the 20th meeting between these two sides since 2010/11. Of the previous 19, Bideford have won six and Totton have won five, while that game in January was the eighth draw.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
