AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#36
Saturday 29 March 2025 | Snows Stadium, Totton, Southampton | Att: 1,833
HONOURS SHARED BETWEEN STAGS AND MAGPIES
AFC TOTTON 1
Sam Magri 10mins (pen)
DORCHESTER TOWN 1
Wes Fogden 29mins
DORCHESTER TOWN HELD AFC Totton to a one-all draw at the Snows Stadium to restrict The Stags to two wins from their last seven outings and leave Jimmy Ball’s men preparing for Promotion Play-Off football at the end of the regular season campaign.
Sam Magri put the home side in front from the penalty spot after Ben Seymour was tripped in the box on 10 minutes. Former Portsmouth midfielder Wes Fogden equalised shortly before the half-hour, and while both teams endeavoured to create chances, neither were able to force the win.
A change of formation brought Luke Hallett back into the starting line-up to operate in a three-man central defensive unit alongside captain Joe Oastler and Sam Magri. Luke Bennett took on the right wing-back role, with Adam Tomasso, Roddy Collins and Craig Tanner in midfield, behind a front pairing of Charle Austin and Torquay United loanee, Ben Seymour.
AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER (Capt.); 6. Sam MAGRI; 7. Ben SEYMOUR; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 12. Luke HALLETT; 14. Craig TANNER; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 16. Luke BENNETT; 20. Richard McINTYRE. Substitutes: 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 9. Scott RENDELL; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR. Substitutions: RENDELL for SEYMOUR (46mins); KENNEDY for TOMASSO (54mins); BLAIR for BENNETT (54mins); TAYLOR for COLLINS (71mins); LEE for McINTYRE (71mins). Yellow Cards: COLLINS (Foul); BLAIR (Dissent); AUSTIN (Dissent).
DORCHESTER TOWN: 13. Harrison LEE; 2. Jack DICKSON; 18. Ieuan TURNER; 4 4. William SPETCH; 5. Jordan NGALO (Capt.); 15. Matthew BUSE; 7. Wes FOGDEN; 8. Corby MOORE; 9. Olaf KOZSELA; 10. Shaquille GWENGWE; 12. Luke ROBERTS. Substitutes: 20. Harry HUTCHINSON; 19. Luke PARDOE; 14. Brett PITMAN; 11. Wayne ROBINSON; 17. Marcus DAWS. Substitutions: PARDOE for ROBERTS (65mins); PITMAN for GWENGWE (68mins); DAWS for KOSZELA (80mins). Yellow Card: NGALO (Foul).
Totton wore their usual home kit of all-Royal blue with white trim, while Dorchester Town were dressed in all-yellow. Roddy Collins wasted little time in getting his name into the referee’s notebook for a late challenge on Will Spetch, just in front of the away team dugout.
A Dorchester free-kick from their right was knocked out for a throw-in, high in the Totton half. Luke Roberts received possession to feet and bent an in-swinging cross into the box that had Wes Fogden stretching to head into the waiting gloves of Ryan Gosney from eight yards out.
It took three Totton defenders to stop Fogden dancing into the penalty area from the left corner of the box, before The Magpies wasted a free-kick in a promising position on their left by over-hitting the delivery to make it easy pickings for Gosney.
MAGS BAGS ANOTHER: Sam Magri scores his second spot kick of the season - his fourth goal, overall - to give The Stags an early lead at home to Dorchester Town.
Richard McIntyre led Totton’s first attacking foray down the left flank, before his cross was punted away from the middle of the Dorchester box. Then, with just 10 minutes on the clock, Gosney’s punt from a placed goal-kick carried over the Dorchester defence to free Ben Seymour to dart in behind; Jordan Ngalo recovered enough ground to hook Seymour’s ankle, prompting the referee to book the former Stags midfielder and award Totton a penalty. Sam MAGRI, who recently scored from the spot at Chertsey Town, confidently finished beyond goalkeeper Harrison Lee to put The Stags ahead.
Centre-back Will Spetch was fortunate to escape punishment for going through the back of Seymour, close to the half-way line. Then, Craig Tanner needed treatment after being clipped by opponent which made him kick the ground, although no foul was given.
Seymour struggled to latch onto a chipped through-ball from Collins, into the Dorchester penalty area. The loose ball ran kindly for Charlie Austin, but he was unable to generate the left-footed power necessary to trouble Lee in The Magpies’ goal.
Joe Oastler carried the ball out of defence and into the visitors’ half, before laying it off to Seymour on the left, whose cross was turned away. Oastler successfully battled for possession on his way back to his defensive station, shortly before Gosney showcased some fancy footwork to turn away from two yellow-shirted attackers inside his own box.
UP, UP AND AWAY: AFC Totton goalkeeper Ryan Gosney launches the ball upfield.
Gosney’s long kick enabled Luke Bennett to force a right-wing corner off Roberts, but Tanner’s in-swinging delivery was too high for Austin, coming in at the back post.
Striker Olaf Koszela, who scored twice in Dorchester’s win 3-2 over Totton at the Avenue Stadium earlier in the season, briefly got in behind The Stags defence, until Oastler recovered to force the ball out for a corner. Corby Moore’s cross was won in the air by Matthew Buse and Roberts took a shot that struck Hallett; the away fans behind the goal demanded a penalty but Hallett went down holding his stomach, and when play stopped shorty after, that’s where his treatment was concentrated.
Former Stags striker Shaq Gwengwe struck a volley that Gosney claimed, after good approach work from Buse. Then, in the 29th minute, The Magpies deservedly pulled themselves level. A right-wing attack was kept alive by Buse, keeping the ball in play at the byline, and his low centre was fired inside the near post by the late-arriving Wes FOGDEN.
An untimely slip prevented Seymour benefitting from some clever approach work in combination with Austin on the Totton left. Then, Oastler had to put in a strong sliding tackle to win possession back after the Totton defence had become stretched, with Tanner also dropping back to get stuck in.
A deflected Collins shot resulted in a corner for Totton, after Seymour created a chance with a low centre from the right wing. Tanner’s corner was headed on-target at the back post by Oastler, but his effort was comfortably picked out of the air by Lee.
Collins won the ball in midfield and set Seymour away on the left, before Spetch blocked his progress at the byline at the expense of a left-wing corner. Tanner sent the ball in low, and Austin met it on the half-volley with a swing of his left boot that hooked it over the bar from about 10 yards.
Dogged defending by Magri prevented Dorchester completing a dangerous through-ball to inside-left, before Gosney got involved to kick clear a follow-up pass. Then, Seymour won a free-kick midway inside the Dorchester half, from which Bennett then forced a corner. Tanner rolled it back along the touchline to Bennett, ran around the wing-back to receive a short return pass and then clipped a cross to the near post area where Seymour’s glancing header was caught by Harrison Lee.
DORCH GO CLOSE: Midfielder Wes Fogden (No.7) heads on-target for Dorchester Town.
Buse managed to ride two challenges to progress into the Totton box, before standing up a cross that Gwengwe headed over the bar. Then, Tanner picked up a loose ball to feed Bennett on the right, who picked out Seymour with a cross that the striker hit first-time, but without the necessary power to trouble Dorchester’s goal.
A looped pass over the Totton defence had many eyes from those in blue glancing at the referee’s assistant, while Koszela played on and fired over from a tight angle beyond the right-hand post. Then, shortly before half-time, Gwengwe charged towards the left-wing byline and crossed; Hallett stood up to head away and Bennett got also something in the way when a follow-up cross was returned into the Totton box.
HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-1 DORCHESTER TOWN
Ben Seymour made way for veteran centre-forward Scott Rendell, as the teams came out for the second half. An early miss-kick by Gosney had Hallett working double-time to prevent Dorchester bursting through the middle of the Totton defence. Then, Tomasso engaged in a determined pursuit of Koszela, sliding in with a strong tackle that sent the ball into touch to much appreciative applause from Mally’s Corner.
ANGLED EFFORT: AFC Totton striker Charlie Austin shoots from a tight angle.
Nine minutes into the second half, Jimmy Ball made his second and third substitutions with the withdrawal of Tomasso and Bennett in favour of Charlie Kennedy and Tom Blair. Magri played Austin into the right side of the Dorchester box with a low through-ball. A clever shuffle of his feet enabled Austin to elude his marker and line-up an angled shot that Lee parried; the rebound fell to Rendell but, tightly-marked, he was unable to tee-up Tanner, and Dorchester broke away on a counter-attack that ended with a right-wing cross being miss-kicked high over the frame of the Totton goal.
Ieuan Turner was allowed to continue, even after throwing Tanner to the ground at the edge of the Totton box, but Magri and Oastler combined to squeeze him out. Then, Koszela took advantage of a mistake by Kennedy to fire in a low shot that Gosney saved.
Despite two corners in quick succession, Totton still couldn’t find a way through; Oastler’s header from the second delivery was on-target but Lee was equal to it. Then, Oastler’s pass down the left-wing touchline had McIntyre scurrying the byline and pulling back to the edge of the area, where Tanner arrived with the goal at his mercy but — under pressure from an opponent — he failed to connect cleanly with the ball, and the chance was lost.
Gwengwe tussled with Magri at the edge of Totton’s box, trying to control a long pass down the middle of the pitch, until Hallett tidied up with a safe header back to his goalkeeper. Then, McIntyre got forward again to exchange passes with Rendell and force a left-wing corner. Blair’s in-swinging cross found Oastler at the far post, but he headed wide to the right.
REINFORCEMENTS: Scott Rendell came on for Totton at half-time.
On 65 minutes, Luke Roberts came off to be replaced by Luke Pardoe. Tanner darted along the left edge of the Dorchester box, crossing hard and low to create a chance to which the sliding figure of Austin was within inches of apply the finishing touch. Blair retrieved the ball on the right but his cross was cleared upfield, and within seconds, Gosney was rushing out of his box to punt into touch.
A crucial interception by Magri prevented Fogden’s cross from the left byline reaching Pardoe. Then, Gwengwe came off to be replaced by former AFC Bournemouth and Portsmouth striker Brett Pitman, who scored a hat-trick as a second-half substitute against Marlow on his Dorchester Town debut last week.
Pardoe wriggled through challenges from Magri and Kennedy to get to the left-wing byline, before Hallett turned his cross behind for a corner; Moore’s cross was well-taken by Gosney. Then, Tanner did well to carve out a half-chance from the left touchline, but the flight of the ball and the proximity of his marker appeared to confuse Blair, who didn’t know where it was going to drop.
With 19 minutes remaining, Bennett and McIntyre both departed the fray to be replaced by Ethan Taylor and Tony Lee. Gosney kept his defenders on their toes with another scuffed clearance from a back-pass; Pitman pulled away to find a pocked of space on the left but the pass to him was too high for him to control, much to Totton’s relief.
Pardoe’s attempt to dribble into the left corner of the Totton box was scuppered when he ran into Magri. Then, Tom Blair picked up his by-now customary yellow card, after voicing his objection to the referee’s decision to award a foul against him on the halfway line, before Taylor bent in a free-kick from the Totton right that carried all the way into the welcoming gloves of Harrison Lee.
MIDFIELD BATTLE: AFC Totton's Roddy Collins gets to grips with ex-Stags midfielder Jordan Ngalo, now of Dorchester Town, during the Southern League Premier Division South match at Snows Stadium.
A headed flick-on by Tony Lee had Blair raiding from the right of the Dorchester box but with two defenders for company, he couldn’t find a blue shirt with his cross. Another ex-Stag was then introduced into proceedings, when winger Marcus Daws came on for Koszela.
Hallett won the ball inside the Totton box, only to then present it straight back to Jordan Ngalo. But, despite a couple of attempts, Ngalo couldn’t thread a pass between the Totton defenders to free a teammate into the restricted space behind them.
Pitman and Daws combined on the visitors’ right to create a chance for the latter to shoot, but his effort hit a teammate at the near post area and bounced out for a goal-kick. Then, Kennedy played Blair in on the Totton right but, again, his low delivery was turned away from the middle of the Dorchester area.
Tanner tried to instigate another attack from close to the centre-circle, spreading the play to Blair on the right, once more. The winger picked out Lee in the box, but with both him and Rendell heavily marked, the space was with Austin to the left, who took a touch and was closed down before he could get his shot away.
From the left of the halfway line, Oastler spotted Blair running into space at inside-right, and lobbed a pass beyond Dorchester’s central defence. Blair did well to shrug off his marker just outside the box, but his volleyed attempt flew over the crossbar.
Oastler headed away a Daws cross from the Dorchester right, before Austin was penalised for a foul that gave The Magpies a free-kick 25 yards out to the right of the D, and earned the veteran forward a booking for dissent. Pitman struck the Totton wall from the free-kick and, from the resulting corner, Moore’s cross was headed out by Tony Lee.
Austin and Tony Lee combined to win a corner on the Totton left, from which Blair leapt well to meet Tanner’s cross but guided his header wide, with Magri also well-positioned to attack it at the back post.
During four minutes of stoppage time, Totton forced their visitors back into their own defensive third. Magri and Blair progressed the ball to Tanner at inside-right; he cut inside his marker and appeared to have a chance to let fly from about 20 yards out, but chose to look for a pass, instead, which didn’t materialise.
Daws hooked the ball out of play on the Totton left. Tony Lee wound-up a long throw that Oastler headed at goal, but Harrison Lee claimed it. Then, Dorchester thought they had stolen it at the death when, from a free-kick in the centre-circle, Moore found Ngalo and his short pass slipped Pitman in behind the Totton defence, only for the referee’s assistant to raise her flag for offside, shortly before the full-time whistle.
RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND: Kennedy, Magri, Hallett, Taylor and Oastler find time to practice the dance routines from their upcoming The Full Monty revival - coming to a theatre near you, never.
Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview
Watch LUKE HALLETT’S Post-Match Interview
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AFC Totton FIXTURES Season 2024/25
Next Up: HUNGERFORD TOWN vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#39 | Town Ground, Bulpit Lane, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0AY | Saturday 05 April 2025 | Kick-Off 3:00pm
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By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Harvey Gerring and Sayers Sports Photography
