AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIV.1 SOUTH 2022/23
MATCHDAY 08 - Tuesday 25 October 2022
AFC TOTTON 1
Luke Hallett 72mins
WIMBORNE TOWN 1
Harry Baker 53mins
Ten-man AFC Totton battled their way back from a goal down to claim a point in their Southern League Div.1 South encounter with Wimborne Town at the Snows Stadium last night (Tuesday), following the first-half dismissal of defender Ben Jefford. A late save by The Magpies’ goalkeeper Benjamin Rodwell denied substitute Jake Adams a late winner for The Stags.
Following Saturday’s 3-0 away win at Larkhall Athletic, Jimmy Ball made just one change to his starting line-up, bringing Jordan Ragguette back into the team at left midfield; Jake Adams dropped to the bench. He was joined among the subs by strikers Harvey Woods, who opened his AFC Totton goals account at Plain Ham, and Jireh Oyebamiji, who notched two goals for Totton & Eling at the weekend.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Jack SEDDON
3. Ben JEFFORD
4. Mike CARTER (Capt.)
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Ethan TAYLOR
8. Adam TOMASSO
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Brett WILLIAMS
11. Jordan RAGGUETTE
Substitutes
14. Harvey WOODS
15. Jake ADAMS
16. Freddie READ
17. Jack MASTERTON
18. Jireh OYEBAMIJI
Wimborne Town, in black-and-white striped shirts, white shorts and black socks, got the game underway amid intermittent light rain at the Snows Stadium. But no sooner had the match begun than the visitors were forced into an early change. Their new signing Asa Phillips, who scored on his Wimborne debut in the 3-2 win over Paulton Rovers at the weekend, pulled up with just four minutes on the clock. After receiving treatment, he was substituted by recently-installed Manager Tim Sills, who sent on Harry Baker.
Ethan Taylor made the first attacking foray of note in the seventh minute, working his way to the right-hand post and pulling the ball across the penalty area but he couldn’t find a teammate to apply the finish. Last season’s Player of the Year and Supporters’ Player of the Year double-winner carried much of the home team’s early threat. He received the ball just outside the right corner of the Wimborne penalty area and hit a ferocious effort that screamed across goal and narrowly wide of the left-hand post. Then, Brett Williams played a through-ball that released Taylor into the inside-right channel. The Assistant Referee on that side of the pitch kept his flag down despite appeals from the Wimborne defenders. Taylor advanced into the penalty area and, just as he was about to pull the trigger, The Magpies’ skipper Ashley Wells made a brilliant last-ditch sliding tackle to deny the opportunity.
EARLY THREAT: Ethan Taylor came close to opening the scoring on a couple of occasions during the opening period of the match against Wimborne Town.
Not to be upstaged, Totton captain Mike Carter made a brave block of his own on the edge of the Totton area to charge down Jez Bedford’s shot. It marked the beginning of a period of sustained pressure from the visitors, during which The Stags had to stoically defend their penalty area. Clever interplay through the middle opened up the home defence momentarily, Luke Hallett recovering just in time to deflect Harry Morgan’s shot from left of the penalty spot wide of the opposite post. Then from the resulting corner, Hallett rose high on the edge of the 6-yard box to head powerfully clear, a foul on Mike Carter in midfield eventually relieving the pressure.
Goalkeeper Benjamin Rodwell, selected ahead of former Totton shot-stopper Shane Murphy who made the switch from Hamworthy United to Wimborne together with his manager a fortnight ago, was called upon to race out of his box to clear a through-ball that Taylor was sprinting to connect with. Then, a big kick by The Stags’ No.1 Lewis Noice found Scott Rendell in the area. His touch and control were good but Wells was there again to make another decisive intervention, leaving both Rendell and himself on the deck needing treatment.
Wells was on his feet relatively quickly but play resumed with Totton temporarily down to 10 men, but the centre-forward was ushered back into the fray by the Referee in time to receive Jordan Ragguette’s long ball, after the St. Vincentian did well to dispossess full-back Oakley Hanger deep in the Totton third. Rendell played Taylor in to his right but the offside flag went up before he could get a shot away.
The temperature of the game was suddenly raised about five minutes before the break, by a series of decisions and non-decisions that incensed one bench or the other. First, the Referee deemed a heavy challenge by Adam Tomasso just outside the Totton box to be fair. Ashley Wells made his displeasure at that call known and received a yellow card for his troubles. Then, his teammate Harry Morgan followed him into the official’s notebook for a foul just outside his own area. Totton didn’t capitalise on it but as they competed to win the ball back, Wimborne’s big defender Jordan Rose went down under a Brett Williams challenge, but the Referee again chose to allow play to continue.
SEEING RED: Left-back Ben Jefford was dismissed before half-time for retaliation.
The ball came over to Totton’s left-wing touchline and, running from behind the The Stags left-back, Jez Bedford charged into Ben Jefford, prompting an angry reaction in which Jefford grabbed his opponent and threw him to the ground. Bedford was shown a yellow card for his part in the fray, while Ben Jefford was shown a straight red, leaving AFC Totton down to 10 men.
Wimborne looked to capitalise upon their numerical advantage during the four minutes of indicated stoppage time. Williams tracked back to match the run of Magpies left-back Connal Morrison, the striker getting something in the way to deflect the ball behind for a corner. The visitors needed a couple of attempts to deliver a decent cross, but Totton stood firm to block an Aaron Roberts drive from the left, Carter dropping deep to head away a subsequent follow-up cross before a Wimborne player eventually overhit a cross from left-to-right, that signalled the last significant action of the first half.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 0
WIMBORNE TOWN 0
Ten-man Totton began the second half with Jireh Oyebamiji coming on for Brett Williams up front. Hallett had to come across to the right touchline to stop Harry Baker making progress down Wimborne’s left wing. Then, Lewis Noice took a free-kick that Rendell held up outside the Wimborne area. He shifted the ball out to Jack Seddon on the wing, who was chopped down by Jordan Rose’s wayward lunge, the centre-back earning himself a yellow card for his trouble. Taylor’s in-swinging corner had Rendell stooping low to attempt a flick header at goal, but the flag was up for offside.
A miss-kick by Hallett in defence required Charlie Kennedy to bravely throw himself in the way of a shot. Then, Wimborne quickly popped the ball around from left-to-right to present Morrison with a chance that he blasted over the bar from just outside the Totton box. Kennedy intervened again shortly after, forcing Morgan to run the ball out for a Totton goal-kick after neat feet from Bedford and incisive passing from Roberts.
In the 53rd minute, a skilful spin and turn by Roberts on the Wimborne left touchline enabled him to elude Jack Seddon. Hallett intercepted and Totton played their way out of defence, despite the eager press of the opposition forward line. But Louis Kellaway regained possession for Wimborne on their right and played a straight ball forward into the channel, along the deck. The early substitute Harry BAKER took the ball in his stride and fired an unstoppable effort across Lewis Noice and into the top-left corner to put The Magpies ahead. It was the first goal conceded by Totton for a month.
A goal to the good and with a one-man advantage, Wimborne were confident and came looking for another goal. Oakley Hanger found space on the right while play was on the opposite flank. The ball came to him about 22 yards out; he let fly with some power towards the near post but Noice was well-positioned to safely catch.
Taylor’s attempt to block a clearance on the edge of the Wimborne box was a fraction too late, prompting the Referee to add the winger’s name to his notebook, where he was joined soon after by Ben Satterley for tripping Mike Carter.
Two defenders converged upon Ethan Taylor as he scampered onto a pass into the inside-right channel. The ball ran loose to Seddon but he was also smothered before he could cross, and ended up committing a foul. Then, Seddon was almost caught out thinking the ball was running harmlessly out of play, only to see Baker catch up with it near the corner flag in Seddon’s right-back territory. The defender made amends, getting back quickly enough to block Baker’s cross.
Wimborne were using their extra man wisely, making the pitch big and forcing Totton to cover a lot of ground while the home side struggled to clear their lines. Jimmy Ball decided that attack was the best form of defence, sending on attacking midfielder Jake Adams in place of Seddon in the 64th minute. Tim Sills responded by withdrawing the already-booked Ben Satterley in favour of Daniel Bartlett in the Magpies midfield.
Adams quickly adapted to the tempo of the game, receiving a pass near the centre circle to release Jireh Oyebamiji into the inside-left channel. The striker had the pace to beat his marker but lacked composure when it came to applying the finish, shooting over the crossbar. Tricky feet on the left wing enabled Adams to create room for himself to deliver a high cross into the six-yard box, which Rose did well to head away with Rendell trying to reach it. Taylor and Hallett kept the ball alive on the right-hand side, but Hallett’s cross was kicked away.
Hallett’s long throw-ins were becoming more of a feature of the match, though Totton couldn’t make them pay. The best chance came in the 70th minute, when the ball was returned to Hallett on the right and he crossed to the far post. Rendell headed down for Oyebamiji but, leaning back to stretch for the ball, he slashed his shot wildly over the bar from about eight yards.
Connal Morrison became the sixth Wimborne player to be shown the yellow card in the 72nd minute, when he bundled into Ethan Taylor from behind to concede a free-kick on the Totton right, mid-way inside the visitors’ half of the pitch. Taylor picked himself up to take the free-kick, opting to float the ball high into the middle of the penalty area where Luke HALLETT swooped to thump his header past Rodwell to level the scores for ten-man Totton with his first competitive goal since joining the club from Forest Green Rovers in the summer.
FIRST GOAL FOR THE STAGS: Luke Hallett's 72nd minute headed strike against Wimborne Town was his first competitive goal for AFC Totton.
Aaron Roberts tried to re-establish Wimborne’s lead soon after the restart but found himself crowded out in the D before he could find space to shoot. Then, Rendell and Oyebamiji both chased a high, long ball forward with two defenders tracking them closely. Rendell went down and appealed for a penalty but the Referee saw nothing wrong and allowed play to continue.
Baker did well to exploit space on the Wimborne left, getting into the Totton area and pulling the ball back to just behind the penalty spot only to see that he’d mistaken Mike Carter for one of his teammates and merely presented possession back to the home side. A more dangerous delivery from Morrison on the left was dealt with by Kennedy, clearing from within his own six-yard box.
As the game ticked over into the last 15 minutes, the points were still up for grabs. Noice caught the ball from a Wimborne left-wing corner, then hurled it beyond half-way to put Oyebamiji on the front foot, but he had two defenders tracking him and was unable to exploit the space behind them.
Noice elected to punch clear from the next incoming cross. Wimborne regained possession and worked it out to Morrison on the left, whose cross picked out Jordan Rose inside the area, the big defender sending his header over the crossbar.
Jordan Ragguette, operating from left-back since Jake Adams came on, made a powerful run from deep, surging towards the byline and sending over a cross for Rendell, which goalkeeper Rodwell claimed with both hands, getting a bump from Rendell in the process which caused a stoppage while he received treatment.
Totton went within a whisker of finding a winner when Oyebamiji was put through from Kennedy’s long, high ball forward. Rodwell came rushing out, but Oyebamiji’s pace got him there first to toe poke beyond the keeper from just outside the box. The ball arced towards the Wimborne goal and agonisingly bounced off the top of the crossbar.
An off-the-ball altercation between Jordan Rose and Scott Rendell left the veteran Stags centre-forward on the ground clutching the back of his head, as the players were lining up for a Luke Hallett throw inside his own half. The Referee consulted his assistant but, like most people in the crowd, neither of them appeared to have seen the incident. Possibly a lucky escape for Rose, who already had a yellow card to his name.
Taylor had a low shot blocked from outside the box, after he and Oyebamiji pressed hard to pin the Wimborne defenders into their left-back area. Then, Carter performed a well-timed sliding tackle to prevent Wimborne launching a counter-attack. Tomasso did well to stab substitute Kaya Tshaka’s cross away at the near post, after Wimborne managed to overload on the left wing.
THE ALPACA IMPACT: A late shot by Jake Adams required a smart save by Wimborne keeper Rodwell to ensure the match remained level.
But as the full-time whistle approached, it was the 11 men of Wimborne who looked content to run the clock down and hold on for a point, perhaps nervous of Oyebamiji’s pace if they were to push too far forward, while 10-man Totton went in search of a winner. Ragguette carried the ball out of defence and, spotting the run of Oyebamiji, played his teammate into the inside-left channel. JJ raced through at pace but shot over the crossbar. Then, the out-of-sorts striker took a heavy touch when being played in down the right, salvaging a corner from the situation but failing to get a shot on target.
Ashley Wells hooked the ball into Salisbury Road before Oyebamiji could latch onto a Jake Adams header. From the throw-in, taken with a replacement football, Adams received the ball, turned between two defenders and darted into the left corner of the penalty area to unleash a fierce dipping shot that Rodwell turned over the bar by thrusting one strong hand into the air, ensuring his team a share of the spoils come the Referee’s final whistle.
After the match, AFC Totton manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“There were good points and bad, today. Taking the negative first, we went long too often in the first half. That wasn’t the game plan, it’s not what we told them to do. But for some reason, we kept wanting to shell it up to Scott rather than get the ball down and play. Having said that, we still had three one-on-ones in the first half, and if we’d made the most of even one of those, it would have been a different game.
“I can’t have any complaints about Ben Jefford. It was a red card, all day long. He has to learn to show a lot more emotional control in moments like those. I expect him to be competitive, of course, but that was unnecessary and it put us in a difficult position.
“The positives are in the way the team pulled together in adversity and fought tooth and nail to get something from the game. I say it a lot - I’m like a broken record, I know - but if we can’t win, then we don’t get beat. There were a few players tonight dealing with this flu bug that’s going around, but they all showed real grit and determination, and they found a way back into the game with a terrific headed goal from Luke. I’m really proud of my players for the way they stood up. And Jake Adams made a positive impact, almost winning it for us at the end.
“Wimborne were trying to see the game out for a point at the end, which I don’t blame or criticise them for - they’ve got a new manager in place who wants to get some points on the board to steady the ship there, so fair play to them. But I think if we’d had eleven men throughout the game, we would have won.”
View AFC Totton’s fixture list for the 2022/23 season
Latest Southern League Div.1 South league table
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
