AFC Totton
LYMINGTON TOWN preview – Their Season So Far
Lymington Town’s 2021/22 season to date, their first in the Southern League, has been characterised by inconsistency. After opening their season with an FA Cup qualifying victory at Larkhall Athletic, they became the first of many to inflict defeat on Barnstaple Town with a 3-1 away win.
But by the time Totton visited The Sports Ground in Lymington on the Tuesday night that marked the end of August, the Linnets’ Southern League Div.1 South record read Played 1, Drawn 1, Lost 1. Despite an energetic start by the home side, a Man of the Match display by Ethan Taylor saw the Stags on their way to a comfortable 4-0 win. Taylor scored a brace, with a Jack Hoey penalty and a late own goal by Lymington skipper Tim Stephenson completing the rout and continuing Totton’s encouraging early-season form.
Since then, the team under the charge of co-managers Dave Lewis and Paul Masters had only managed two wins in the league and, prior to Saturday’s home match against current relegation zone residents Mangotsfield United, Lymington were in 14th position with 12 points from 11 matches.
Tonight’s Southern League Challenge Cup tie comes hot on the heels of Totton’s FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round clash with Dorchester Town, whose own League Cup journey ended at the Sports Ground on 5th October when the Linnets came back from a goal down to thrash the Magpies 4-1. Freddie Bullard, Toby Bailey, Harry McGrath and Sam House with a penalty were all on target for Lymington, that night.
Ross Casey and Nathan Hurst will be familiar names to long-term Totton fans. Ross made 20 outings for the Stags between 2011 and 2013, proving himself to be a promising goalkeeper. Nathan is a defensive midfield utility man who made 64 appearances for Totton between 2011 and 2015, scoring 6 goals.
LAST 5 MATCHES – All Competitions
Sat 09 Oct 21 Thame United A FA Trophy, 2nd Qualifying Rnd L 0-3
Sat 16 Oct 21 Bideford H Southern League Div.1 South W 2-1
Sat 23 Oct 21 Slimbridge A Southern League Div.1 South L 0-3
Tue 26 Oct 21 Larkhall Athletic H Southern League Div.1 South D 1-1
Sat 30 Oct 21 Mangotsfield United H Southern League Div.1 South W 3-0
AFC TOTTON vs LYMINGTON TOWN – Previous Meetings
Since the 2002/03 season, we have locked horns with Lymington Town on 11 occasions. The Stags have dominated in the league, while the Linnets have won more of the cup encounters:
League Matches Played 7 | Totton wins 5 | Drawn 2 | Lymington wins 0
Cup Matches Played 4 | Totton wins 1 | Drawn 0 | Lymington wins 3
In those 11 matches, Totton have scored a total of 19 goals to Lymington’s 12.
Written by Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Historian
