AFC Totton
VENUE: New Cuthbury, Ainsley Road, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 2FU
Book your ticket for the minibus (match entry ticket sold separately, on the gate)
AFC TOTTON’S MATCHDAY PROGRAMME for the 04 February visit of Melksham Town provided a then up-to-date Southern League Div.1 South league table that listed second-placed AFC Totton on 19 games played with 43 points while Wimborne Town were fourth, having earned 42 points from 21 matches.
The Magpies were relegated from Step 3 at the end of 2021/22 having endured a torrid time in the Southern League Premier Division South, managing only four league wins all season and conceding 106 goals into the bargain. An inconsistent start to the new season led to the appointment of former Aldershot Town and Torquay United striker Tim Sills as manager in October, which acted as a shot of adrenaline to the Dorset-based club, kickstarting a 14-match unbeaten run that culminated in a 2-1 away win at Evesham United on the same day that Totton put three past Melksham without reply.
At that point, the New Cuthbury club were every bit as much in the hunt for top spot and automatic promotion as Jiimmy Ball’s Stags, albeit with fewer games in-hand with which to try to catch the leaders Sholing. Then, The Magpies plummeted out of the sky.
Two five-goal beatings at the hands of Bashley – 2-5 away and 0-5 at home – bookended a 1-1 draw with midtable Melksham and a 0-3 defeat at Frome Town. The month of March brought three consecutive goalless draws before the return match at home to Frome produced a 1-4 loss. A first win in six weeks came at the expense of Willand Rovers, one of the few teams in a worse run of recent form than Wimborne, and they were behind at Larkhall Athletic last Wednesday when a torrential downpour at Plain Ham caused the match to be abandoned shortly into the second half. The game will be replayed on Tuesday 04 April.
Last Saturday, Wimborne travelled to the First 4 Pools Stadium and held Paulton Rovers to a 1-1 draw, just three days before Rovers shipped seven goals without reply at the Snows Stadium on Tuesday night.
Despite such wretched recent form, Tim Sills’ team remain in fourth place, although the gap between the two sides who will meet at New Cuthbury this weekend has extended to 17 points with Totton still holding three games in-hand. The fact The Magpies haven’t fallen out of the Promotion Play-Off spots owes as much to the inconsistency of the teams around them than their own performances. It’s an interesting quirk of the league table as it currently stands that the 20 points now separating top spot from Tavistock AFC in fifth is the same margin between Tavvy and Cinderford Town below the relegation trapdoor in 19th place.
HAPPY HERD: The Stags celebrate a goal against Paulton Rovers on Tuesday night. They make the short trip to Wimborne Town on Saturday looking to strengthen their grip on top spot.
In their 15 Southern League Div.1 South outings since the turn of the year, Wimborne have scored exactly one goal per game while simultaneously conceding a total of 24 goals. They will be hoping that last week’s signing of 24-year-old striker Ollie Dennett from Wessex League Premier Division side Brockenhurst can be a catalyst for hitting the back of the net more often. Dennett graduated Eastleigh’s scholarship programme in 2017 and made 15 first team appearances for The Spitfires while gaining valuable experience during loan spells with Brock, Blackfield & Langley and Poole Town. He joined Havant & Waterlooville in the summer of 2019, where he stayed for one season before switching to Lymington Town, just after they had been promoted to the Southern League Div.1 South. He suffered a horrendous injury in September 2020 that put him out of the game for about 18 months. He joined Brockenhurst on a permanent deal last summer and notched eight goals in 28 appearances before Tim Sills took him to New Cuthbury last week. Dennett works as a Performance Analyst for Southampton FC.
At the other end of the pitch, Wimborne saw the departure of experienced centre-back Jordan Rose in mid-March when the 33-year-old former Salisbury and Havant & Waterlooville defender signed for Sholing. AFC Bournemouth Academy player Max Kinsley-Wellings has been brought in to provide defensive cover, together with his fellow Cherries youth player Lewis Brown, who is a midfielder.
Wimborne held Totton to a 1-1 draw when they came to the Snows Stadium at the end of October. Luke Hallett scored for the 10-man Stags, after left-back Ben Jefford had been sent-off. That draw leaves the overall head-to-head record between the two sides, dating back to 1986/87, standing at 30 wins for Wimborne, 15 wins for Totton and 18 draws.
Totton boss Jimmy Ball will be hoping his side can make serious inroads towards improving that record in order to consolidate their position at the top of the Southern League Div.1 South table following their emphatic 7-0 victory over Paulton Rovers on Tuesday night. With three games in-hand over their closest rivals, The Stags’ destiny is in their own hands and a win at Wimborne on Saturday will be a significant step towards achieving their ambitions for the season.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
