AFC Totton
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PLEASE NOTE: Lymington Town will not have card reader facilities available, so everything from entry into the ground to drinks from the bar will be cash only. There is a cashpoint at the Waitrose across the road from the ground.
WHEN AFC TOTTON ENTERTAINED Tavistock AFC on Saturday 26 November, defender Jack Seddon was on the front cover of The Stags Matchday Programme, and this Bank Holiday Monday’s opponents Lymington Town were rooted to the foot of the Southern League Div.1 South table with just three wins and 11 points from their first 17 league games.
On that day, Lymo triumphed 2-1 at Bideford AFC courtesy of goals from two other players with AFC Totton connections in the shape of Jireh Oyebamiji and Harrison Cable. A goal eight minutes into stoppage time saw Paulton Rovers abscond with all three points in their next league game, before they turned up at the Snows Stadium on Boxing Day.
By then, the front cover star from that Tavistock programme had made the switch to the club from The Lymington Sports Ground, and with bad weather having robbed him of other potential debut-making opportunities, Seddon found himself coming up against his former teammates straight away. He was in good company, though. Lymington’s team on that day included ex-Stags goalkeeper Amadeusz Skrzyniarz, midfielders Lewis Waterfield (who has since reunited with Glen Howes at Dorchester Town) and Owen Fee – the latter trained with the AFC Totton squad during the close season and played a handful of matches for Totton & Eling – and the young striker Cable, who made one appearance and scored one goal during his brief stint at the Snows Stadium last season.
A stunning goal from Mitchell Speechley-Price, now of this parish, gave the visitors the lead three minutes before half-time. But Lymington captain Tim Stephenson scored his second own goal in Totton’s favour in as many seasons just two minutes later. Wigan Athletic midfielder Joe Adams – the forgotten man of The Stags’ 2022/23 season, largely because his loan expired during the bad weather spell that kept the team out of action for almost a month – scored his solitary AFC Totton goal to put the home side in front. Then, two minutes before getting sent off for a reckless foul, Matty Burrows added a third to wrap up the points for Jimmy Ball’s team with a 3-1 home win.
Since the turn of the year, Lymington’s league record reads Played 16, Won 7, Drawn 5 and Lost just 4, which has proven enough to lift them from the bottom of the pile to 15th place with six points currently separating them from the end of season InterStep Promotion/Relegation Play-Off places.
Key to that improvement have been the goals of Jireh Oyebamiji, the former Forest Green Rovers striker who began the season by scoring on his AFC Totton debut in the 2-1 home win over Bishop’s Cleeve. JJ has racked up 8 league goals for Lymington, including the winner at home to Larkhall Athletic in a 2-1 success in November, a goal in that win at Bideford on the same day that Totton beat Tavistock 6-1, and a brace in the 3-1 home win over Westbury United on the last Saturday in February.
Speechley-Price’s Boxing Day strike against Totton was on his Lymington Town debut, having only just arrived from Wessex League Premier Division side Brockenhurst. By mid-February, he’d taken his total number of goals for his new team to six goals, which was enough to attract the attention of the title-chasing Totton boss.
With Mitchell now a confirmed Stag, having opened his AFC Totton account with a headed goal against Cinderford on Saturday, and JJ being unavailable to face his parent club while he’s on loan, who can Lymington look to for goals? Well, Freddie Bullard has previous. It was his solitary strike that dumped Dan Sackman’s side out of the Southern League Cup last season in the then-manager’s second game in charge. He is one of several players in the Lymington squad with two or three league goals to their name, who manager Dave Lewis will be hoping can step up to fill the void left by the Totton Two.
THE CHASE: Jordan Ragguette outruns the chasers on his way towards the Lymington Town goal during the Southern League Cup encounter at the Snows Stadium in November 2021.
Despite the overall improvement since the New Year, Lymington come into this game without a win in their last three, following a 0-2 loss at home to Bideford on Tuesday 28 March and a 2-3 defeat at Hamworthy United on April Fool’s Day, before recording a goalless draw at Larkhall Athletic on Saturday. Totton, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, with just one defeat in their last 29 league matches leaving them at the top-of-the-table, hunting for another three points in the New Forest on Monday to further enhance their chances of walking away with the title and automatic promotion to Step 3 at the end of the season.
The match will also have special significance for AFC Totton Assistant Manager Paul Masters, who co-managed alongside Dave Lewis at Lymington for two years. He was previously the sole man in charge at The Sports Ground, before he took a break from the game for a few seasons. The match on Monday will be his first return since he made the switch to the Snows Stadium in the summer.
Of the 14 meetings between these two sides since 2002/03, Totton have won eight, Lymington have won four times, and there have been two draws. In addition, Totton received a walkover in the quarter-final of the Hampshire Senior Cup, with Lymington being unable to make the fixture due to an outbreak of illness within their squad. Last season, Totton triumphed 4-0 in a midweek game on the last evening in August, thanks to two goals from Ethan Taylor, a Jack Hoey penalty and an own goal from Tim Stephenson. In the return match on the day after Boxing Day in 2021, Totton romped to a 7-1 victory. Six different players scored for The Stags on that day, none of whom are still at the club.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
