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After thumping Cinderford 6-1 on Saturday, The Stags sit 4th in the league and are back in league action this Tuesday evening, hosting 6th-placed Hamworthy United - always tough opponents. 

Tickets are on sale now on the website at a cost of £10 for adults, £6 con and £3 for U13s if you pay in advance. Get your tickets here: https://afctotton.ticketco.events/uk/en

Or you can pay on the gate on the night £12 for adults, £8 con and £5 U13s.


Hamworthy United_600px.pngSINCE WE LAST MET early high-flyers Hamworthy United in the first Tuesday night fixture of the 2022/23 Southern League Div.1 South season, there have been a number of changes at The County Ground, not the least of which was an unexpected change in the managerial hot seat in October.

When Wimborne Town, the team relegated from the Southern League Premier Division South last season, parted company with their Manager James Stokoe, the Romsey-born former England C international striker Tim Sills flew the Hamworthy nest to fill the vacancy for The Magpies, taking former AFC Totton goalkeeper Shaun Murphy and a number of his backroom staff with him to the New Cuthbury club.

Sills’ stock was high after leading The Hammers to the Wessex League Premier Division title last season with a massive haul of 99 points, having suffered only one defeat in 40 league matches throughout the campaign. Add to that the impressive start Hamworthy made to life at Step 4, which included beating AFC Totton 2-1 on the 3G pitch at The County Ground in a match that had Stags boss Jimmy Ball seething with his own team’s performance during the post-match interviews, and it’s clear to see why Wimborne made their move for the former Aldershot Town, Oxford United and Torquay United forward.

Striker Daniel Cann was appointed as his successor, with  midfield player Steve Devlin also combining his on-pitch responsibilities with the role of Assistant Manager, and Sean Leadbetter remaining at The County Ground in his capacity as First Team Coach.

The team experienced a few poor results during the period in which the managerial situation was being resolved, including a surprising 0-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table club Lymington Town, courtesy of a late strike by ex-Stag Lewis Waterfield. In his first league match in charge after the announcement of his appointment, Cann guided his team to an emphatic 5-1 away win at Bishop’s Cleeve on Bonfire Night, following that up with a 1-0 win at Larkhall Athletic’s Plain Ham ground and a 1-1 draw at home to mid-table side Paulton Rovers this past Saturday afternoon.

AFC Totton’s 6-1 mauling of Cinderford Town at the same time lifted The Stags over Hamworthy United into 4th place in the Southern League Div.1 South table, with The Hammers dropping into 6th; both teams are among five all currently on 23 points with Totton benefitting from a higher goal difference, with three games in-hand.

In the Extra-Preliminary Round of the Emirates FA Cup, The Hammers travelled to Bradford-upon-Avon to defeat The Bobcats of Bradford Town 4-0. In the Preliminary Round, they avoided an upset against Badshot Lea of the Combined Counties League Premier Division South with a narrow 3-2 home win. But their run came to end with a 0-4 1st Round Qualifying Replay loss at Gosport Borough, after a 0-0 draw in the original tie at The County Ground.

Their interest in the Isuzu FA Trophy was ended by Didcot Parkway of the Southern League Div.1 Central in mid-September. A 1-1 draw led to a penalty shoot-out in which The Railwaymen triumphed 5-4.

Hamworthy won the Dorset Senior Cup in 2006, although they have since been beaten finalists at the hands of the same opponents on two occasions since, including last season when The Dolphins achieved a 2-1 win in extra-time, Totton defender Jack Seddon among those receiving a winner’s medal playing the full 120 minutes as a loanee from AFC Bournemouth, prior to a short stint at Weymouth at the beginning of this season and his subsequent transfer to the Snows Stadium.

There has only been one round of matches in this year’s edition of the competition, in which Hamworthy won 2-0 at Verwood Town from Wessex League Division One. They are due to travel to Portland United’s Camp & Satherley Stadium at Grove Corner on the Isle of Portland for a Quarter-Final tie in the first week of December. Portland are currently hovering above the relegation zone in the Wessex League Premier Division.

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KILLER KENNEDY: Central defender Charlie Kennedy scored AFC Totton's goal in the 1-2 defeat at The County Ground in August.

A Cameron Munn penalty and an Adam Costello free-kick made the difference when The Hammers beat Totton in August, despite Charlie Kennedy’s first goal for The Stags with a header from a set-piece. Winger Sam Griffin chose the occasion of the meeting with his former club to make his Southern League debut for The Hammers. Since then, he has notched three league goals, including the only goal of the game at Bashley at the end of August, and his side’s goal in a 1-1 home draw against Cinderford Town.

Curtis Young, another ex-Stag, has only one league goal to his name so far this season, the last of the game in a 6-2 thrashing of Tavistock AFC.

In the historical head-to-head since the 2004/05 season, there have been 10 matches. AFC Totton have 5 wins to Hamworthy United’s 4; the other meeting was a draw, in which goals from Mark Osman and a Mike Gosney brace made the final score 3-3 at Testwood Park in the 2007/08 season. In the previous season, both league meetings ended in 4-0 victories for The Stags, with popular striker Floyd Hamadou among eight separate players to get their names on the respective scoresheets.

In 2018, The Hammers managed to score the only goal of the game to overcome The Stags in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup.


By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian

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