SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#34
Saturday 15 March 2025 | Snows Stadium, Totton, Southampton | Att: 1,368

EARLY STAGS CATCH THE ROBINS

AFC TOTTON                                  2
Scott Rendell 10mins;
Roddy Collins 68mins

BRACKNELL TOWN                   0

SCOTT RENDELL’S 16th GOAL of the season handed AFC Totton an early advantage they never relinquished against mid-table Bracknell Town at the Snows Stadium (Saturday 15 March 2025), with Irish midfielder Roddy Collins adding his second in as many games midway through the second half to secure the win.

Jimmy Ball made three changes to the side that won at Chertsey Town in midweek, with Scott Rendell, Ben Seymour and Ethan Taylor all returning to the starting line-up, while Luke Bennett and Charlie Austin both dropped to the bench, and winger Tom Blair was left out due to injury.

AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER; 4. Mike CARTER (Capt.); 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Sam MAGRI; 7. Ben SEYMOUR; 9. Scott RENDELL; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 14. Craig TANNER; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 20. Richard McINTYRE. Substitutes: 8. Adam TOMASSO; 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 12. Luke HALLETT; 16. Luke BENNETT; 18. Tony LEE. Substitutions: LEE for TAYLOR (46mins); BENNETT for SEYMOUR (63mins); AUSTIN for RENDELL (63mins); TOMASSO for CARTER. Yellow Cards: CARTER (Foul); COLLINS (Foul).

BRACKNELL TOWN: 1. Michael EACOTT; 4. Jack MATTON; 5. Max HERBERT (Capt.); 6. Darryl HARRISON; 9. Jordan ESPRIT; 11. Sebastian BOWERMAN; 12. Daniel ROBERTS; 14. Joel ROLLINSON; 15. Teddy HOWE; 17. Gabriel GEORGE; 19. Liam TUCK. Substitutes: 3. Ethan BURDEN; 7. Jonathan EFEDJE; 10. Joshua BOORN; 13. Kie PLUMLEY; 16. Joe DANDY. Substitutions: EFEDJE for ROBERTS (71mins); BOORN for TACK (77mins). Yellow Card: HERBERT (Foul).

The Robins — dressed in all-red with white trim — got the game underway, attacking towards the Aldi End against an AFC Totton side resplendent in their traditional all-Royal blue with white trim, amid the kind of low-hanging bright sunshine that promises spring is just around the corner.

Bracknell forged the first half-chance of the encounter. Joel Rollinson stumbled through a couple of changes to progress into the middle of Totton’s half, before laying the ball off to Jack Matton in space to the right of the D; The Robins’ No.4 aimed a side-footed shot towards the far bottom corner but dragged his effort wide.

Totton responded by freeing Ethan Taylor to raid the left side of the visitors’ penalty area and stand a cross up to the far post, where a defender managed to nick it away from the incoming forehead of Scott Rendell; The Sunburnt Assassin was able to turn and retrieve possession, still inside the box, and tried to tee-up Craig Tanner but the midfielder was closed down before he could shoot and Bracknell succeeded in forcing Totton back.

In the fourth minute, The Stags won a throw-in high on the left wing. Ben Seymour took it quickly and Taylor, having caught the Bracknell defence napping, ghosted in behind them to the byline and cut back along the deck to Rendell, eight yards out. Usually deadly from there — despite being tightly marked — Totton’s talisman swiped at the ball with his left instep, catching only the top of it and failing to generate enough power to beat goalkeeper Michael Eacott; an early head-in-hands moment for the No.9.

A shove by Tanner gave Bracknell a free-kick just inside the Totton half, which Richard McIntyre headed out from the middle of the penalty area. Then, Mike Carter spread the play from the centre-circle to the right-wing touchline, where Tanner brought it under control before bending an in-swinging cross into the Bracknell box. It arced over Rendell and was met with a glancing header from Taylor that smacked against the left-hand post; Eacott reacted sharply to grab the loose ball before Seymour could gobble up the chance.

Ryan Gosney rushed out to the edge of his area to grab a through-ball that threatened to put Sebastian Bowerman clean through. Then, with just 10 minutes on the clock, Totton scored the goal that the opening exchanges had demanded.

BACK OF THE NET: Super Scott Rendell celebrates putting AFC Totton ahead at home to Bracknell Town in the Southern League Premier Division South match at the Snows Stadium.

A patient build-up down the right-hand side and back into the middle of the pitch resulted in Charlie Kennedy receiving possession on the right flank, midway inside the Bracknell half. He sent in a high cross that Seymour headed on-target towards the left side of the goal; Eacott did well to parry but, with the ‘keeper then prone on the ground, the goalmouth was left defenceless as Scott RENDELL prodded home his 16th goal of the season — his 86th in all competitions since joining the club in the summer of 2022.

Bracknell won a free-kick on their left, midway inside Totton’s half. Gabriel George chipped the ball towards the far side, where Rollinson brought it down and tried to attack the byline. McIntyre was quick to sense the danger and got across to charge Rollinson, sending him off-balance and, accidentally, into the advertising hoarding. No foul was given but there was a break in play while Rollinson received treatment for what appeared to be a nasty bang on his hip. When play resumed, Bracknell were still temporarily down to 10 men while Rollinson underwent the final requisite health checks on the sidelines.

A promising move being plotted by Roddy Collins, Kennedy and Taylor high on the right ran aground as they entered the Bracknell box, and within seconds Joe Oastler was called upon to snuff out a burgeoning counter-attack as it crossed the half-way line.

Teddy Howe and Dan Roberts combined on the Bracknell right to play Bowerman in at inside-right, after the No.11 had made a short darting run to latch onto the pass. He tried to cut his low shot across Gosney, but the ‘keeper spread himself, reached out his right hand and grabbed it on the ground.

Bracknell striker Jordan Esprit needed treatment after colliding with Oastler. Then, McIntyre intercepted a poor pass in the centre and fed Taylor, motoring away down the left flank. A short exchange of passes with Rendell put Taylor in a position to cross to the far post, but his service was slightly too high for Seymour to attack it. The on-loan Torquay United man retained possession but Totton were unable to fashion another chance from the situation.

Collins and Sam Magri worked together to close down a Robins raid into the left of the Totton box. Then, Tanner was given a talking to by the referee for a late challenge, after Taylor and Rendell had created an opening in the Bracknell defence.

Taylor was penalised for a foul on Matton in front of the home dug-out, but Bracknell wasted the free-kick with a delivery that bounced out of play for a goal-kick. Then, Magri’s through-ball down the right was diverted by a sliding defender, who only succeeded in wrong-footing his teammates and allowing Rendell to take the ball. He laid it back but Kennedy couldn’t sort his feet out quickly enough to take a touch and shoot, and ended up committing a foul in trying to retain possession inside the Bracknell box.

Central defender Darryl Harrison had to boot the ball out of play to prevent Kennedy latching onto a Collins through-ball to inside-right. Then, Taylor bent an in-swinging cross over from the Totton right, looking for Rendell, but Eacott read it well and claimed confidently, shortly before his opposite number in The Stags’ goal had to come out of his area to kick clear.

MIDFIELD GENERAL: Mike Carter imposed his authority on the game at home to Bracknell Town.

The referee briefly held court with both Collins and Carter, the former being admonished for dissent following a decision given against him and latter in attendance in his capacity as team captain.

Esprit had a shot blocked at close quarters at the edge of the Totton box. Then, a foul by Max Herbert gave Totton a free-kick on their left, 10 yards into the Bracknell half. Tanner’s delivery to the far side of the ruck of players lined up in the box was met by Magri’s head, sending the ball across to Rendell who tried to knock it down for Oastler. However, it was too far in front of the Totton No.2 and he had to make more a sliding tackle than a shot; Totton recycled possession but were unable to create another chance.

When Bracknell next entered Totton territory with attacking intent, Rollinson leading the charge with a foray into the left side of the penalty area, Oastler was there again with an immaculately-timed sliding tackle that hooked the ball cleanly away from the forward’s foot with all the precision of a fishmonger removing the bones from a landed rainbow trout.

Totton played the ball amongst themselves in midfield and defence, while Jimmy Ball implored them from the touchlines to do it quicker. Seymour spun away from his marker in the middle of the Bracknell half to suddenly create a three-on-two situation that required a better pass than the one that ran too far ahead of Taylor and allowed Harrison to intervene, forcing Taylor to run straight into the back of him to concede a free-kick.

During four minutes of first-half stoppage time, Kennedy got the right-wing byline only to see his cross smothered and cleared by the retreating Bracknell defence, who also repelled the next attack to limit the damage to 0-1 at the break.

HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-0 BRACKNELL TOWN

Totton began the second half by introducing Tony Lee in place of Ethan Taylor. Oastler made a strong defensive header in the middle of The Stags’ half to repel a searching long ball.

A poor kick from Eacott presented the ball to Lee in the middle of the Bracknell half, forcing Harrison to take the kind of evasive action that warrants a ticking off from the referee and a free-kick to The Stags. Tanner passed square to Collins, who fed it further right to bring Kennedy and Carter into the game. Kennedy had two chances to deliver a cross but they were both quashed by those in red, despite some sterling battling work from the ground by Carter to retain possession in the meantime.

Gosney plucked Bracknell’s next attack from the skies. Then, Totton were caught napping after having conceded a corner on their own left; it was taken short but the subsequent cross into the box drifted over the frame of the goal with Esprit lurking dangerously near the far post.

A couple of cute headed flick-ons — first from Lee, then Rendell — enabled Seymour to bring the ball down with the outside of his right foot as he burst through the middle and laid it square to Tanner, right of the D, who checked onto his left foot to evade his marker and dragged a low shot narrowly past the near post.

SIGHTER: Craig Tanner fires narrowly wide from the edge of The Robins' box.

Lee forced a left-wing corner, which Tanner hung high to the far post; Oastler was well-placed to attack it but appeared to lose sight of the ball in the low-setting sun on the Salisbury Road side of the ground, much to Bracknell Town’s relief.

Magri inserted himself between a would-be attacker and Ryan Gosney’s goal to thwart Bracknell, once again, before the referee took a moment to give somebody (or, perhaps, everybody) on the Bracknell bench a final warning for their ongoing verbal critique of his performance.

The temperature was cranked up a little, four minutes before the hour mark, when Carter took exception to Herbert’s late challenge on Carter; the referee flashed his yellow card at both Herbert and Carter. From the free-kick, Lee received the ball at the left corner of the Bracknell box and managed to work enough space between two defenders to unleash a shot that Eacott parried with a flying one-handed save, before it was cleared.

Bracknell’s attacking jaunts were few and far between, a speculative long-range effort that flew over the bar summing up their effectiveness. Carter slipped while in possession, prompting Collins to make a challenge on Liam Tack that the referee deemed reckless enough to punish with a booking, despite the Irishman getting the ball first. Matton’s free-kick was prodded away by Magri, and when the ball fell to Bowerman 20 yards out, he couldn’t get enough bend on his shot and it flew past the right-hand post.

Rendell was presented with a gilt-edged chance to double his tally when Collins battled his way to the left-wing byline and pulled back; the whole ground was expecting Rendell to ripple the net with a first-time finish, but he took a touch and hesitated — the sun, perhaps, again confusing the player’s vision — and a defender was able to make a crucial block. That was Rendell’s last contribution to the game, as he and Seymour made way for Charlie Austin and Luke Bennett.

Tanner bent in a right-wing corner, which Esprit did well to leap in front of Oastler and flick away to safety. Then, a foul on Bennett gave Totton a free-kick close to the right-wing touchline, level with the edge of the 18-yard box. Tanner’s in-swinging cross tempted Lee to challenge in the air in the middle of the box, but Eacott got a solid punch on the ball from just above the striker’s head.

However, Totton were not to be denied the second goal their dominance deserved and it arrived eight minutes past the hour. Bennett dashed down the right flank to latch onto a pass and pull the ball back infield to Tanner, whose short square pass found Austin arriving in the middle. He took a touch and then had his shot blocked but, with Eacott wrong-footed, the rebound fell to Roddy COLLINS who blasted home his second goal in as many games for The Stags.

TWO-IN-TWO: Irish midfielder Roddy Collins continues to settle in nicely at the Snows Stadium, scoring his second goal in as many games to help The Stags on their way to a home win.

Gosney took a free-kick from midway inside the Totton half, awarded for a foul on Bennett, who then headed-on his ‘keeper’s pass to Austin on the right corner of the Bracknell box. A short pass played in Lee, who low cross to the near post was turned behind for a corner, but Tanner’s delivery was a fraction too high for everyone and bent out of play beyond the far post.

Bracknell replaced Dan Roberts with Jonathan Efedje on 71 minutes. Another Totton corner, this time from their left, resulted in Oastler attempting an overhead-kick from Tanner’s delivery; it was deflected for another corner from the same side. This time, Tanner’s cross found Magri in space at the far post, but his header went wide.

Liam Tack was replaced by Joshua Boorn for Bracknell, and Adam Tomasso came on for Mike Carter for The Stags with 12 minutes to go. George did well to get ahead of Bennett and head the ball back to Eacott, as Totton threatened from their right-hand side, again, as the sun finally settled down for the night behind the trees of Calmore and West Totton.

Tanner’s tight turn near the left-wing corner flag enabled him to escape two defenders before a third blocked his centre at the expense of a corner. Tanner played it short to Austin and received the ball back to feet; he crossed high to the far side but Magri was pulled-up for a push on his marker.

Oastler headed away from around the Totton penalty spot, when Bracknell crossed from their right wing. The Robins managed to retrieve the ball and maintain pressure on the home side, until Tomasso kicked clear from another centre. Then, McIntyre reacted quickly to disrupt the next attack, as the visitors tried to exploit a misplaced pass from Bennett further up the field.

Already on a yellow card, Herbert was fortunate not to see red when he went in late on Collins near the half-way line. Magri took the free-kick and only the faintest of headers from Matton prevented Lee from latching onto it with the goal at his mercy.

STAND AND DELIVER: Ethan Taylor prepares to whip one into the box from Totton's left wing.

Tanner continued to trouble the Bracknell defence, weaving his way into the box and hitting a shot that deflected kindly for Eacott. Then, McIntyre and Lee combined to raid from the left wing, with the full-back overlapping the striker to take aim with a shot that was deflected wide of the near post for a corner. Bennett took this one, finding Lee on the near side of the six-yard box; his headed flick-on flew across goal and Oastler nodded wide at the far post.

There were three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, in which McIntyre again found himself the furthest forward Stag but lost out to Eacott kicking away. Then, from an up-and-under down the middle of the pitch, Esprit shrugged Tomasso to the ground at the edge of the area but Gosney was on him before he could shoot, smothering the shot at source, while Totton’s central defenders held their own inquest into what just happened.

Bracknell rallied again and forced a left-wing corner, from which Esprit had a half-chance that was quashed before he could strike, before Tomasso played Bennett in at the right corner of the opposition penalty area with blue shirts arriving in the middle; the cross wrong-footed all of them, but it didn’t matter when the full-time whistle confirmed another AFC Totton victory.

Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview

Watch JOE OASTLER’S Post-Match Interview

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Next Up: AFC TOTTON vs HANWELL TOWN
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#35 | Reynolds Field, Perivale Lane, Greenford, London UB6 8TL | Saturday 22 March 2025 | Kick-Off 3:00pm

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By Ben Rochey-Adams

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