AFC Totton
From The Daily Echo website…….
CHAIRMAN Andy Straker underlined his faith in manager Steve Hollick as AFC Totton finally registered their first win of the season against Yate Town.
The Stags had banked one paltry point from six Southern One South & West games prior to Saturday’s 2-1 breakthrough victory, but Straker never once doubted that Hollick and his management team would turn things round.
The relief inside the Testwood Stadium was palpable as referee Craig Robson blew the final whistle, snuffing out the growing threat of a late Yate equaliser after goals by Craig Feeney and Nathaniel Sherborne had put Totton in command.
Jake Jackson halved the deficit with seven minutes of normal time remaining but, with goalkeeper Steve Mowthorpe in stubborn mood, the Stags held strong for a richly deserved win.
August proved a steep learning curve for rookie boss Hollick, but Straker insisted: “I wasn’t getting concerned. I’m totally convinced we have the right management team in place. We’ve been unlucky with injuries and one or two of the players have taken time to get used to this league, but I still think we can hit the ambitions we set ourselves. The management have my full backing. Now we’ve got to build on this”.
Given Totton’s alarming habit of shipping early goals, the value of Mowthorpe’s seventh-minute stop from Kane Ingram cannot be underestimated.
When he sprang to his left to push away the former Weston-super-Mare man’s bending strike, he gave his side a platform to build on.
With the tenacious Sherborne rolling back the years, Totton dominated much of the first half, but when Feeney found the back of the net it was ruled out for offside.
The Stags’ No9 made amends two minutes after the break, collecting Neil Williams’ pass and firing across keeper Martin Horsell and in off the far post.
Mowthorpe preserved the lead with another crucial stop from Alec Fiddes and when Sherborne doubled it with a precision 71st-minute finish set up by Feeney, it should have been game over.
But Yate, who had already hit the bar through substitute Caman Harvey, came strong at the death with Ingram’s determined by-line run setting up Jackson’s reply.
Hollick, himself a goalkeeper, lived every second with Mowthorpe in a tense finale and admitted he was a relieved man when the final whistle sounded.
Praising his troops, the boss said: “We put in big performance today, it’s what we needed, and luckily we held on at the end.
“We controlled most of the game, especially the first half. We didn’t get enough shots off, but it was nice to go in at half-time and talk about how we could go about improving things as opposed to how we were going to get back into it.
“Scoring so early in the second half set us up. It was a good finish by Craig (Feeney), it’s nice to see him scoring again.
“As for Sherbs (Sherborne), he’s starting to get back to his best. This is his ninth year with Totton and he’s a credit to the football club.”
Totton were again without the attacking flair of injured widemen Mike Gosney and Nick Watts, but Hollick said: “Mark Lilley came in and having him, Feeney and Sherbs in tandem up front worked really well for us.”
AFC Totton: Steve Mowthorpe, Chris Manning, Marc Diaper, Neil Williams, Luke Dempsey, Jack Simpson, Jake Burgess (Jake Rawkins, 65), Liam Hibberd, Craig Feeney (Dave Allen, 88), Nathaniel Sherborne, Mark Lilley (Taylor Edwards, 71). Subs (not used): Jack Attrill, Kieran Greene.
Referee: Craig Robson.
Attendance: 307
