AFC Totton
CITY of SOUTHAMPTON SUNDAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
DIVISION ONE - MATCHDAY #7
DURLEY 1
Tom Baker 33mins
AFC TOTTON SUNDAY 4
Nathan Gray 14mins, 90+1mins; Michael MacLeod 65mins; Tom Munday 89mins
AFC Totton Sunday reclaimed their place at the top of the City of Southampton Sunday Football League (CoSSFL) Div.1 table this weekend, travelling to the agricultural fields beyond Hedge End to defeat title pretenders Durley.
As previously reported, the Sunday Stags are unbeaten in the league this season but lost 9 points, and top spot in the table, when Boujee Pint CF and Chamberlayne Athletic Sunday pulled out of the competition and had their results expunged from the record. AFC Totton Sunday temporarily dropped into 3rd place as a consequence, but - despite horrific luck with long-term injuries to key players and a stop-start match schedule thanks to the weather and over-zealous ground staff - Sam Conway's men have kept their title challenge on-track.
They came into Sunday's match with Jack Martin returning for his second appearance in goal and Michael MacLeod slotting back into left-back in place of Harry Brookwell. Liam Richardson made his AFC Totton Sunday debut alongside Lewis Gundry in central midfield, with Liam Hanlon moving out to the left flank.
AFC TOTTON SUNDAY
Starting Line-Up
1. Jack MARTIN
2. Jason CALCUTT
3. Michael MACLEOD
4. Tom RAFFERTY
5. Dan GAIN
6. Liam RICHARDSON
7. Lewis GUNDRY
9. Matt HARRINGTON
10. Nathan GRAY
11. Tom MUNDAY
14. Liam HANLON
Substitutes
8. Kaine STANTON
12. Jay BRADING
15. Jordan CANNING
In Sunday morning warmth entirely suitable for the spring equinox, on a pitch that somehow manages to slope in every direction simultaneously - like a Subbuteo cloth draped over the stomach of a heavily pregnant woman - the match got underway at a frantic pace, with both teams keen to establish an early advantage.
There was a flurry of early free-kicks for the visitors - clad in their away kit of fluo yellow shirts, black shorts and yellow socks - from one of which Lewis Gundry latched onto Michael MacLeod's delivery to force a corner on the left-hand side. Nathan Gray sent an in-swinging cross to the far post where Jason Calcutt steered his header wide from close range.
Totton were eagerly hunting the ball in midfield and in their attacking third but, despite the uneven surface, Durley demonstrated calmness under pressure and an ability to knock the ball around with confidence. Their first opening was an 8th-minute snapshot from Brendan Agnew, which flashed across goal and wide to the left without troubling Jack Martin in the Sunday Stags' goal.
A minute later, Gray got himself between the Durley central defenders while tracking the flight of a high ball that threatened to release him in behind them. His presence unsettled them enough that the ball dropped loose to where Matt Harrington was able to regain possession and lob it towards the penalty spot, where Gray got goal-side of the defender and controlled the ball on his chest, only to be unceremoniously shoved to the ground from behind. The Referee ignored Totton claims for a penalty kick, but he did have to stop the game moments later when Liam Hanlon's robust challenge near the half-way line resulted in Durley left-back Mike Church writhing in pain and in need of treatment for a couple of minutes.
Shortly after play resumed, AFC Totton Sunday went ahead. A spell of hectic midfield play, in which both sides were guilty of giving up possession too easily with careless first-time passes, was brought to an end when Hanlon put his foot on the ball about 12 yards inside the Totton half and looked up to survey his options. His high pass through the middle was inch perfect to enable Nathan GRAY to race away from his marker, controlling the ball on the run as he went across the other retreating centre-back, and maintaining his composure as he closed in on goalkeeper Tim Hazeldine and rolled the ball past him into the right side of goal.
Durley were forced into a first-half substitution when one of their players rolled his ankle on the uneven pitch. He was replaced with former Littlehampton player, Tom Baker.
Tom Munday intercepted the Durley keeper's clearance on the Totton right-wing and advanced before crossing to the far post. Hanlon headed back across goal to Gray in the centre, who timed his jump well but couldn't get enough contact on the ball to direct it at goal.
Durley found themselves pinned back in their own right-back area, with yellow shirts blocking their forward path and hassling them into retreat. A corner from the right-hand side presented Calcutt with another headed opportunity, which Hazeldine was equal to. Then, Gray took a free-kick from deep on the right-hand side which Munday looped over the bar with his header - just as a horse and cart trotted past on the narrow road behind the goalposts at that end.
Totton had enjoyed the territorial advantage for the first half-an-hour. Durley had not been overwhelmed but it was clear they were not used to giving up the lion's share of possession. They still demonstrated quality in moments, though, especially when they were able to counter and isolate individual Totton defenders with their skilful forwards. The home side's No.10 James Barnes had to go wide left to retrieve the ball just to the side of the Totton penalty area in the 33rd minute. Finding his forward progress blocked by the large figure of Dan Gain, Barnes held the ball up as blue-and-white striped shirts got forward to join him, and he laid the ball off to the substitute Tom BAKER who struck a firm right-footed shot into the top-right corner from the edge of the area, equalising for Durley, despite Tom Rafferty's attempt to throw his body into the line of fire.
Within moments of the restart, Totton were back on the attack. Harrington charged through two defenders and centred the ball to Gray, whose shot was blocked by the Durley skipper, Owen Williams. Gundry and Munday were both snapping at the heels of the home side's players as they tried to play their way out and, although they shifted the ball well, eventually even they succumbed to the strange slopes of the pitch as the ball ran away from them for a Totton throw.
An unmarked Barnes managed to find a pocket of space between the Totton midfield and defence, getting the ball down and feeding centre-forward Ash Dallimore's diagonal run from the centre to the inside-left channel. But Rafferty tracked the movement and shut off the route to goal, forcing Dallimore to thrash his effort wide of the left-hand post.
Gray had a shot deflected over, though he would probably have been given offside had it gone in. Then, Hazeldine had to have his wits about him to catch Munday's cross from the right with Gray sniffing for scraps just a yard or two away.
Barnes was proving Durley's most creative outlet, holding the ball up on 40 minutes to tee up Agnew for a long-range drive that Gain blocked. Then, Tom Munday surged forward on the Totton right, only to tread on the ball. Back to his feet immediately, he hassled the defender into a heavy touch and Liam Hanlon was able to steal the ball away and strike from 25 yards to bring an impressive save from Hazeldine, diving low to his left.
And Hazeldine denied Hanlon again before half-time, after the midfielder met Munday's free-kick from the right-wing byline with a header at the far post, the keeper reacting well to make the catch. Munday had a fleeting opportunity to lob the keeper just before the break when Liam Richardson sent the ball out to the right wing, pitting Munday and Hazeldine in a foot race that the Durley keeper immediately had second thoughts about and retreated back towards his goal. But the ball bounced up too high for Munday to get a meaningful connection, and as he switched tact to bring it under control instead, blue-and-white shirts got back to fill the space to ensure the teams were level at the break.
HALF-TIME
DURLEY 1
AFC TOTTON SUNDAY 1
While Durley returned to their changing room for their half-time huddle, Totton opted to bask in the sunshine and reflect on a positive first-half performance.
The home side got the second half underway and were awarded a free-kick on their left wing for a foul by Calcutt. The in-swinging cross tested Jack Martin at the foot of his near post, but the former England youth international dealt with it comfortably.
Durley maintained their early second-half pressure, forcing Dan Gain into a defensive block before Hanlon conceded another free-kick on the Durley right. The delivery went over everyone but was collected by Agnew on the far side, who drove his angled shot over the bar.
A foul on Munday just inside the Durley half gave Nathan Gray the chance to send a high ball into the box. Dan Gain competed for it with a defender but the ball was slightly too high, and when it dropped to Harrington he could only direct his header over the top, probably having been unsighted by the two players jumping in front of him.
Harrington's dogged determination to unsettle defenders made for a torrid experience for Zach Miles in the Durley right-back area, the Stags' centre-forward doing enough to enable Gundry to keep the attack going and Gray to take aim from a central position, forcing Williams to block his shot.
During several verbal spats that were too inconsequential to describe in detail, Irishman Brendan Agnew had come across to the touchline to remonstrate with members of the AFC Totton Sunday management team and fans - not entirely without provocation, to be fair to him. He proved he has some clout on the football pitch, too, when he sharply turned Calcutt near the half-way line and tried to escape down the left wing. The quiet Yorkshireman lets his football do the talking, though, and quickly ate up the ground between them to dump Agnew in the turf and leave him there nursing a whack as Calcutt strode away with the ball at his feet, ready to instigate another Totton attack.
Playing at left-back, Michael MacLeod began to assert more influence on the game about 10 minutes into the second period. Hanlon played him in down the left flank where he got past the first man and, although his initial cross was blocked, he took the ball back and shifted infield to try a right-footed shot that Hazeldine gathered low to his left.
Munday put an inviting ball across the Durley 6-yard-box from the right-hand side, but with the ball having flown over Gray's head on its journey, there was nobody there to apply the finishing touch. Then, Gundry's threaded through-ball sent Gray marauding into the inside-left channel with no defenders to be seen. From the touchline, it was clear that Hazeldine had temporarily lost his bearings, as he was standing too far wide of his near post, leaving a gaping hole in the opposite corner. Gray spotted it and tried to direct his shot on the run inside that far post, but pulled it too far to the right and wide.
Tom Munday's tenacity, running back to half-way to win the ball back, put Totton on the front foot again, shortly after. He found MacLeod on the left and his cross came out to Richardson, whose shot lacked the power to trouble Hazeldine.
Close to the hour mark, Calcutt repelled a Durley free-kick mid-way inside his own half, by heading the ball to Munday who hooked it forward to release Gray on the inside-right. The striker went for a quick sweep of the ball towards the far corner, sending it narrowly wide. The linesman put his flag up for offside, prompting irritated enquiries as to the current condition of both his eyesight and his cognitive functions.
A rare mistake by Calcutt, misjudging the flight of the ball to miss his header, enabled Agnew to advance on the Totton defence with passing options to his left and right. He slid the ball past Gain to Dallimore in space on the left, but he shot wide of Martin's goal.
A strong defensive header by Dan Gain in the 65th minute enabled Hanlon to loop a forward pass to Harrington, who was bundled into from behind by Williams, resulting in a free-kick about 25 yards out, to the right of the D. Nathan Gray and Michael MacLeod stood over the ball, debating whether the right foot of Gray or the left foot of MacLeod was better-suited to this particular situation. Anyone who has already seen the video on social media will know the answer. Michael MACLEOD made a mockery of the defensive wall, stepping up to arc a missile of a shot over the defenders' heads and into the top-left corner, leaving Tim Hazeldine with absolutely no chance in the Durley goal.
Durley's Baker and Totton's Gundry were spoken to by the Referee after he interpreted their collision, as they competed for an up-and-under ball, as overly aggressive. Then, a brief moment of hesitation at the back by Gain, with Martin off his line, presented David Barker with a shooting chance, but his snapshot flew wide to the right.
Harrington released Munday with a through-ball into the inside-right, defender Chris Spanner making a solid tackle to block the chance at the expense of a corner, earning himself a pat on the back from Munday in the process. Gray curled the ball into the box and Hanlon climbed high at the back post, but he couldn't get over the ball and headed over the bar, instead.
Rafferty had to head out for a corner from a Durley free-kick on the left, but Jack Martin showed good hands to catch the in-swinging corner. Then, Rafferty found himself holding the fort when Gain's once-in-every-game mazy forward run was rudely interrupted by a Durley tackle to set Barnes on an attacking foray from the inside-left. Rafferty jockeyed, not committing himself, as Barker bust a gut to sprint into the open space on the right-hand side. Barnes decided to go alone, though, side-stepping Rafferty and wastefully blasting over the crossbar.
Skilful play by Barker enabled him to glide towards the left-wing byline before a combination of Calcutt and Munday put a stop to his progress. Durley regained possession but when the cross came into a crowded box, Martin caught the ball with confidence.
Gain's robust tackle near half-way presented the ball to Gundry, who found Gray towards the right-wing corner flag. With two defenders attending to him, Gray made a move that suggested he was going to take the ball to the flag and deliberately waste time in possession. But as they closed in on him, he turned sharply and left them both for dead, to advance on the Durley goal from the right-hand side, until a last-ditch tackle from a third defender halted his progress.
Both sides made a substitution with 11 minutes to go, Liam Richardson coming off for the Stags to be replaced by Jordan Canning.
Agnew, operating on the left flank for Durley, drove in a cross-shot while Miles was lurking at the back post. Martin parried the effort and grabbed it at the second attempt.
Canning chased the ball into the left-wing corner, where it bounced up and seemingly struck the defender's hand. The Referee ignored the handball shouts and play continued... for as long as it took Canning to chase down Baker and hack him to the ground, earning himself the easiest yellow card the Referee will dispense this season.
Undeterred, Baker was soon taking on the Totton defence from the left-hand side, again, riding one tackle on his way to the 6-yard-box before flopping to the ground with conviction, if not credulity. The home side's penalty claims were rewarded only with a corner, which carried beyond the far post before being volleyed a long way over the bar.
Into the 89th minute, Totton were a goal to the good and still trying to create openings for more. Gundry took possession in midfield and fed MacLeod's overlapping run down the left flank, from where his cross was knocked behind for a corner. Nathan Gray sent in a high, in-swinging cross. Tom MUNDAY ran from deep and launched his body into the air, rendering himself too high to challenge, meeting the ball with his head from 6 yards and diverting it past Hazeldine into the bottom-right corner to make it 3-1 and wrap up the points for AFC Totton Sunday.
There was still time for one more goal, though. A Durley attack broke down when the flag went up against Agnew who, knowing that he was offside, left the ball and enabled the Referee to allow play to continue. With the ball still in play, Munday scurried back to retrieve it and, looking up to spot the run of Gray, clipped the ball into the path of the diminutive striker. The flag stayed down for him, despite appeals from the home side, and left to roam free by the Durley defenders, Nathan GRAY bore down on Hazeldine before firing his shot high into the net for his second and Totton's fourth of the morning.
There was little time for much else than the Referee's final whistle, prompting rapturous celebrations among the AFC Totton Sunday contingent as they marked their return to the top of the CoSSFL Div.1 table.
Man of the Match: JASON CALCUTT
AFC Totton Sunday would like to thank our sponsors Gentlemen's League Barbers and Hurst Auto Assistance for their invaluable ongoing support.
Match Report: BEN ROCHEY-ADAMS
