AFC Totton
After 3 away matches on the bounce, the Stags are back at the Snows this Saturday and host 11th-placed Melksham Town as they continue to push for promotion. Come along and support Jimmy and the lads.
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UNDERESTIMATE MELKSHAM TOWN at your peril. That must surely be Jimmy Ball’s message to his players before he sends them out to do battle with the yellow-and-black army from Wiltshire, who have become the dark horses of the Southern League Div.1 South following the appointment of experienced Manager Mark Collier.
Early in November, Town were rocked by the sudden resignation of Richard Fey and his backroom staff following a run of just one win in six matches that culminated in a 2-3 defeat at Lymington Town and a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Larkhall Athletic. That sequence left Melksham in 13th position in the league table, with five wins to their name from 13 matches, the highlight of which was undoubtedly the 3-1 home win over Wimborne Town on the first day of October.
Veteran striker Luke Ballinger and defender Dave Thompson were named as interim bosses while the search for a new manager began. But coming in to work alongside the two senior players was an experienced head in the shape of Collier, who has been there and done that more than once at higher levels of the non-league game.
In 2016/17, Collier guided Chippenham Town to the Southern League Premier Division South title with a record-breaking points tally of 103, taking The Bluebirds up to the National League South at Step 2 for the first time in their history, where they have remained ever since. Several years prior to that, he took Swindon Supermarine to the 2nd Round Proper of the FA Cup, where Colchester United ended their hopes of a plum 3rd Round tie against one of the Premiership big boys with 0-1 defeat in Essex.
Bashley inflicted a 0-3 defeat in the interim management team’s first game in charge but the subsequent 5-1 thumping of Bristol Manor Farm at The Creek was enough to persuade the club’s directors to offer Collier the job on a permanent basis, despite reportedly receiving a total of 16 applications for the vacancy in the meantime.
Since then, Town have suffered defeats against league leaders Sholing, and West Country play-off hopefuls Exmouth Town and Tavistock AFC. But consecutive recent wins against Bashley, Bideford AFC and Slimbridge, plus a creditable 1-1 draw with 4th-placed Wimborne Town, mean that Melksham come to the Snows Stadium for the second time in the 2022/23 season unbeaten in their last four games.
RAGGUETTE, RAGGUETTE SAUCE: Jordan Ragguette strikes for AFC Totton's third goal in the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round victory over Melksham Town in August.
The Town side that struggled to put up a fight in the Preliminary Round of the Emirates FA Cup back in August has been supplemented by the signing of 29-year-old winger Alex Henshall. A former England youth international who won caps at Under-16 and Under-17 level, Henshall has represented a total of 17 different clubs in his time. He was on the books of Swindon Town, Manchester City and Ipswich Town, as well as playing on loan for Chesterfield, Bristol Rovers and Blackpool. In 2016, after being released by The Tractor Boys, he signed for Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership, but only featured for them on two occasions before dropping into non-league football for the first time by signing for Margate.
The name of Luke Ballinger will be familiar to long-term fans of AFC Totton. A former captain of the England Futsal team, for whom he was once the record caps holder, the striker-cum-midfielder lists Frome Town, Chippenham Town, Mangotsfield United, Paulton Rovers and Cirencester Town among his previous clubs. He has been with Melksham since 2018, cultivating a reputation for himself as a scorer of goals of all types, from 30-yard screamers to 2-yard tap-ins.
Former Oxford United winger Albie Hopkins and creative attacking midfielder Jay Malshanskyj, who started out with Forest Green Rovers, are both regular contributors of goals and assists. At the other end of the pitch, Melksham benefit from the experience of Player/Coach Dave Thompson, who has made around 400 appearances in Town’s defensive line, and fellow defender Sayeed Ibrahim – now in his 11th year with the club.
The FA Cup tie between these two sides in August was AFC Totton’s third game of the season. Scott Rendell headed The Stags in front on the stroke of half-time. Ethan Taylor added a second midway through the second half with a cross-shot that caught the wind and deceived the goalkeeper into fumbling the ball into his own net. Substitute Jordan Ragguette wrapped up the win, latching onto a Jake Adams pass to run clean through on goal in the inside-left channel before placing a firm shot into the net at the near post.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
