AFC Totton
Mowthorpe’s heroics unable to save Stags.
Attendance – 229
By Talia Jones
A goal in each half from Taunton Town dampened AFC Totton’s hopes of bouncing back after last weekend’s 6-0 drubbing, but the score could have been much bleaker without goalkeeper, Steve Mowthorpe’s Man of the Match performance.
Taunton had the stronger start in the opening 15 minutes, with Jake Rawkins having the only chance in the early stages. He chased down a lost cause, running between three defenders, but couldn’t slot it past Taunton goalkeeper, Lloyd Irish.
Mowthorpe made a fantastic instinctive double save from the Peacocks’ number nine, Jordan Rogers, to prevent the home side going behind in the 16th minute, but could do nothing to stop his next attempt.
Taunton’s Dale Evans took a swinging corner into the box with Mowthorpe unable to punch the ball away. The mêlée in the area parried it out to Rogers on the 18 yard line, who smashed it into the bottom corner of the nets to give the Peacocks the lead at half time.
Rogers was causing havoc at the start of the second half too, finding space outside the box, but his shot was saved once more by the Totton goalkeeper. However, ten minutes into the second half, the Peacocks sealed the final blow.
Defender, Nuno Félix, found himself in exactly the right place in the Totton box to bury the ball into the far bottom corner, cementing the three points and all but ending a Stags revival.
Nick Watts nearly brought the home team back into contention with a free kick 25 yards from goal – his stinging shot was only just parried over the crossbar by Irish’s fingertips, but that was to be the closest Totton came to clawing a goal back.
The back-to-back defeats have left Totton 16th in the table with a very tough away game at North Leigh next Saturday, who have been top of the league for most of the season.
Totton starting line-up: Mowthorpe, Hibberd, Diaper, Williams, Roden, Wilson, Watts, Burgess, Sherborne, Alexander, Rawkins*.
Subs: Hunt, Silvestre, Dempsey, Gosney, Knight*.
