AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#40
Saturday 20 April 2024 | Snows Stadium, Totton, Southampton | Att: 1,707
TOTTON DENT THE MARTYRS’ PLAY-OFF HOPES WHILE SETTING THEIR OWN SIGHTS ON SECOND PLACE
AFC TOTTON 2
Ethan Taylor 60mins, 89mins
MERTHYR TOWN 0
AFC TOTTON COMPLETED a 2023/24 league and cup treble over Promotion Play-Off hopefuls Merthyr Town to move themselves above Gosport Borough into third place in the Southern League Premier Division South table at the Snows Stadium yesterday (Saturday 20 April 2024). Two goals from Ethan Taylor saw The Stags come out on top in what had been a tightly contested affair against the well-supported Martyrs, leaving Totton just one point behind second-placed Salisbury with a game in-hand.
Charlie Kennedy and Adam Tomasso returned to the starting line-up after having both missed last weekend’s defeat at Hungerford Town. Perri Iandolo and Sam Magri dropped to the bench. Leon Maloney was also named among the substitutes, following his recovery from the injury sustained at home to Beaconsfield Town a month ago.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
13. Joshua GOULD
16. Luke BENNETT
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Joseph OASTLER
14. Ben JEFFORD
5. Charlie KENNEDY
8. Adam TOMASSO
17. Marcel McINTOSH
10. Ethan TAYLOR
9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.)
18. Tony LEE
Substitutes
2. Benny READ
12. Joan LUQUE PRADOS
15. Sam MAGRI
17. Leon MALONEY
19. Perri IANDOLO
Merthyr came into the game neck-and-neck with Bracknell Town, who had the daunting task of playing away at newly-crowned Champions Chesham United, in contention for the last of the Promotion Play-Off spots with Hungerford Town also hoping to make up ground on their visit to Hanwell Town. The Martyrs, wearing their usual kit of black-and-white stripes, black shorts and white socks, kicked-off at the Snows Stadium, against an AFC Totton side in all-blue with white trim, who had already sealed their place in the Play-Offs but were vying for the home advantage that a higher final league placing will secure.
The Merthyr fans, who had made the 154-mile trip from South Wales, were making all the noise during the early period of the match. On the pitch, the two sides were cagily feeling each other out. Luke Bennett and Adam Tomasso won a throw-in high on the right wing, then exchanged passes to put Bennett in a position to cross. His delivery had Scott Rendell stretching to head the ball back across goal, where it was cleared from within the six-yard box. Merthyr’s counter-attack broke down and when Josh Gould launched the ball back upfield for The Stags, Marcel McIntosh briefly appeared to be in on goal, until Merthyr goalkeeper Jaimie Cogman came out to the edge of his area to grasp the ball safely into his gloves.
ME AND MY SHADOW: Totton left-back Ben Jefford tracks his man.
The visitors created the first real opening of the game when a pass down the right put Thomas Handley in at the byline and his low centre found Lewis Twamley unmarked near the penalty spot. He took a touch and drove a low shot that Gould had to display sharp reflexes to save low to his right.
The mop-haired left-back Noah Smerdon, wearing the no.15 shirt for Merthyr, made a surging forward run that briefly had Totton outnumbered at the back, but an offside flag came to the home team’s rescue when Smerdon tried to advance the ball to Twamley.
A lapse in concentration amid the Totton defence while moving the ball amongst themselves was remedied by a characteristically strong tackle from Tomasso to win possession back in his own half. Then, McIntosh received the ball in a deep position and carried it half the length of the pitch, the Merthyr players clearly concerned by his pace, until the Norwich City loanee ran out of steam and was dispossessed by the recovering Smerdon.
From a goal-kick, Merthyr tried to play out of defence but the pressing orchestrated by McIntosh and Scott Rendell forced them back, allowing McIntosh to wrestle the ball off a defender and progress into the right side of the area, bursting through two defenders before the ball escaped him and came to Ethan Taylor, whose right-footed strike from 20 yards out ballooned harmlessly over the bar.
Rendell’s pass enabled the troublesome McIntosh to pose another threat from the right byline, his low cross being turned behind for a Totton corner. Bennett played it short to Charlie Kennedy, whose attempted cross was deflected to the edge of the box. Rendell struck it on the volley, forcing another corner on the opposite flank via a deflection off a charging defender. Bennett took it again, this time delivering an in-swinging cross to the near post where Rendell attacked it with a glancing header that sent the ball narrowly wide of the right-hand post; Totton players appealed for another corner but the Referee awarded the goal-kick.
GLANCING HEADER: Scott Rendell gets across his marker to steer the ball towards the Merthyr Town goal during the Southern League Premier Division South encounter at the Snows Stadium.
Merthyr were forced into an early substitution in the 17th minute, when their captain Matthew Harris went down with an apparent knee injury and had to be replaced by former Swansea City Academy graduate Kieran Evans. Attacking midfielder Frazer Thomas tried to burst forward through the centre-circle but found his opposite No.7 Joe Oastler too big an obstacle to navigate. When Thomas got on the ball again and was able to instigate another attack, Luke Hallett read the situation well and removed the danger. Then, Hallett performed another of his trademark strong defensive headers to shut the back door once again, as Totton were struggling to get the ball under control in their own half of the pitch.
Taylor did well to bring a high ball under control while under pressure from two defenders. He laid it back to Ben Jefford, whose curling cross had Rendell interested until Cogman stepped out to catch it before it could reach The Sunburnt Assassin. Merthyr tried to play their way forward but were pinned back by Tomasso’s tackle. Then, when Cogman cleared the ball into touch at the AFC Totton dug-out, Jimmy Ball produced a deft back-heel flick.
Callum Ryan-Phillips kept his concentration while Taylor twisted and turned on the Totton left wing, resulting in a corner for The Stags. Bennett’s cross had McIntosh leaping for it in the six-yard box, but it was a fraction too high for him and Cogman was able to punch it away. Kennedy kept it alive and Rendell knocked on. It fell to McIntosh, whose volley into the side-netting had some fans in the ground briefly celebrating a goal.
More pressing on Smerdon by McIntosh and Tony Lee forced the defender to pass back to Cogman, whose clearance went straight to Tomasso in the middle of the Merthyr Town half. He squared wide to McIntosh, who fed the ball back infield to Rendell. Taylor made the overlapping run on the left with the Merthyr defence stretched, but Rendell’s pass was cut-out.
An injury to Smerdon afforded Nicholas Rhodes the opportunity to engage in a lengthy discussion with his manager Paul Michael about how to get to grips with Totton’s mobile front line. When play resumed, Handley switched the play to the left wing, where Twamley’s eagerness to cut inside on to his right foot proved the attack’s undoing, despite an attempt to back-heel a teammate into a shooting position. Hallett got a foot in and although Merthyr regained possession, Totton had players back in good number to smuggle the ball away.
HIGH PRESS: Tony Lee puts pressure on a Merthyr Town defender.
McIntosh continued to trouble Smerdon on Totton’s right, attacking along the byline at one point until the left-back shoved him off the ball - fairly in the view of the Referee. Taylor’s progressed at the edge of the Merthyr box stalled when he got the ball stuck under his feet, but he prodded it back to Jefford who bent a cross into the near post area where Lee’s firm header flew wide of the post.
Merthyr came close to taking the lead when Twamley and Handley combined on their right flank and the latter’s low cross from the byline was stabbed out by Hallett. The Stags were unable to clear it convincingly, allowing the black-and-white stripes to regain possession and move the ball to the edge of the area, where Twamley bent a left-footed curler beyond the diving reach of Gould, only to see it smack the left-hand upright and bounce back into play before it was eventually cleared.
Totton were rocking slightly, and Charlie Kennedy had his name taken by the Referee for a foul in the centre-circle. Then, Jefford was penalised for hand-ball near the left touchline, a decision for which he remonstrated with the Assistant Referee on that side before the Referee warned him to calm down. From the free-kick, Alex John crossed to the edge of the six-yard box, where Gould punched clear despite having Oastler immediately in front of him. Merthyr came forward again, and Twamley was presented with another shooting chance from the edge of the box, which Gould pushed wide for a corner; Taylor booted clear at the near post.
A long drop-kick from Gould was put out for a throw-in on the Totton right by Smerdon. From it, Bennett received the ball and tried to pick out Lee with a low cross. Cogman got a foot to it, which enabled Lee to lay it back. Taylor took a shot, which deflected off a defender and caused Cogman to parry, before one of his defenders cleared it.
A mix-up at the back between Oastler and Jefford presented the ball to Twamley, who didn’t appear to appreciate quite how much time and space he had as he attempted a snapshot that barely troubled Gould in the Totton goal. Then, Gould had to come out of his area to knock the ball out of play for a throw-in to prevent Merthyr getting in down their right.
Taylor misjudged the flight of a pass from Jefford down the Totton left. Having given the ball up, he then realised that he could get to it after all and raced to the byline, but it went of play by a fraction before he could centre to put Lee in a goal-scoring position. Then, during four minutes of first-half stoppage time, John showed neat skills on the ball to evade Hallett, only for a burst of pace from Bennett see the full-back recover the ground and take the ball away to ensure the teams remained a level pegging going in at the break.
HALF-TIME:
AFC TOTTON 2
MERTHYR TOWN 0
There were no changes to either side during the interval. Totton mounted the first attack of the second half, with Rendell receiving the ball on the left and setting up McIntosh for a shot from the edge of the area, that he blasted high and wide of the target. Then, Hallett intercepted a pass from Evans and sent a cross-field pass to Taylor on the left, who side-stepped Ryan-Phillips to deliver a cross that John had to steer over his own crossbar to prevent it reaching the incoming Rendell. Bennett took the corner from the left, sending the ball over the cluster of players in and around the six-yard box to beyond the far post, where Rendell took a touch and dinked it back into the group. It was knocked out as far as Taylor, who swiped thin air with his right foot before using his left to prod it to Hallett, the central defender shooting on the turn but without the power required to test Cogman.
Taylor rolled the ball back to Lee on the left-wing touchline. The striker saw Rendell and McIntosh in the box and arced his cross towards them; Cogman came out and punched clear. Then, Rendell combined with McIntosh on the right to send in a cross that was headed behind at the near post. Bennett picked out Lee on the edge of the box, but the former Poole Town stalwart’s first-time effort went high and wide.
INCOMING!: The AFC Totton set-piece crew adopt battle stations.
Thomas weaved his way infield from the Merthyr right and flashed the ball across the Totton goal. It bypassed Gould but Bennett was in position to clear at the back post. Smerdon then had the chance to cross from the left, bringing another defensive header from Hallett. Merthyr picked the ball up again and a smart one-two enabled them to work their way into the box, before a snapshot was comfortably claimed by Gould.
Ricardo Rees, who is the second top goalscorer in the division behind Chesham United’s Ricardo German, received the ball from a left-wing throw and bustled his way through two blue shirts to set himself for a 20-yard curling effort that bent narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
Jimmy Ball withdrew Ben Jefford on the hour mark, sending on Leon Maloney for his first competitive action in a month. A within a minute, The Stags went ahead. Hallett, Kennedy and Oastler moved the ball amongst themselves across the Totton defensive line, then Oastler lifted the ball forward. With Merthyr holding a high line, Rendell knocked on to release Taylor in the middle. Having allowed the winger to get goal-side of them, two Merthyr defenders struggled to catch up with him. But Ethan TAYLOR only had eyes for the back of the net, and duly delivered with a low shot that beat Cogman at his right-hand post.
Totton came forward again, searching for a quick second goal. Lee’s cross carried too far and was cleared but when they came forward again, Totton overloaded the right flank and found Maloney in a crowded area. He twinkled-toed his way further infield before his shot struck Lee on the heel and bounced back to the edge of the area. Kennedy tried to keep the pressure on but his pass lacked accuracy and Merthyr were able to clear.
WING ATTACK: Ethan Taylor leads a left-wing raid agianst Merthyr Town in front of the SFS Main Stand at the Snows Stadium.
Nicholas Rhodes was substituted in favour of Liam Angel for the visitors, for whom Thomas went close with a curling shot after Lee had headed a corner half clear. Then, Thomas demonstrated impressive dribbling skills to get to the right byline, until Oastler, sticking doggedly to his task, made an important sliding tackle to hook the ball away.
Taylor was tripped by Ryan-Phillips for a free-kick about 30 yards out on the Totton left. Maloney fancied his chances and bent a well-struck shot just past the top-left-corner of the goal.
Oastler was booked for hand-ball about 25 yards from the Totton goal, in a central position. Some of the Merthyr players complained that it was a last man situation, so warranted a card of a different colour, but the Referee stuck to his guns. With a direct free-kick in a good shooting position, The Martyrs tried to pull off something clever that was lost in the translation of its execution, allowing Totton to clear their lines.
A Frazer Thomas shot was deflected to Rees, whose own effort took a nick off a defender and went wide for a corner. Lee headed the cross out of the Totton box. Merthyr regained possession, Mehew burrowing to the left-wing byline and catching Bennett in the face with a flailing hand, which sent the full-back crashing to the deck. The Referee allowed play to continue and from Mehew’s cross, Rees’ back post header was well-held by Gould.
Lee tried to drive at the Merthyr defence on his own. The ball was flicked off his toe but a subsequent pass-back to Cogman was under-hit, giving Lee a chance to nick the ball back before the goalkeeper kicked it away.
Taylor had a shot from the left blocked. It fell to Lee, who tried to find a clear line to shoot through a horde of defenders, settling in the end for a corner via a deflected effort. Bennett arced his corner to the edge of the six-yard box, where Lee’s glancing header carried the ball wide of the right-hand post.
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER: The Stags celebrate a goal against Merthyr Town.
Merthyr had long spell of possession around the Totton box, but they couldn’t find a way in through the disciplined defensive ranks in blue. When they did attempt to cross from the left, the ball carried beyond everyone in the middle and fizzled out at the far post.
The first-half substitute Kieran Evans was substituted in the 82nd minute, with Aneurin Livermore coming on to replace him.
Rendell had the chance to seal the three points for Totton but headed wide from Taylor’s left-wing cross. Then, Handley had a sight of the hosts’ goal from a tight angle on the Merthyr right, but blasted his effort over the bar.
Kennedy, Maloney and McIntosh were making promising progress on the right until Merthyr nicked the ball away and opened up the opportunity for a counter-attack, which was swiftly quashed by Hallett. Then, Noah Smerdon was booked for a trip on Lee. From the free-kick, McIntosh, now operating at right-back, found Maloney further up the line and his cross from the byline presented Lee with a headed chance that he guided over the bar, much to his own frustration.
Totton put the result beyond doubt within a minute of the full 90 by scoring their second goal. Taylor collected the ball in his own half and sent a long ball towards Lee on the left wing. As Lee brought the ball under control, Ethan TAYLOR sprinted forward into the inside-left channel, latching on to Lee’s return pass and holding off the defender long enough to fire a scorching effort past Cogman and into the right corner of the goal.
During five minutes of stoppage time, Taylor got goal side of the Merthyr defence again only for his touch to let him down. He hit the deck but the Referee erred on the side of caution and allowed play to continue. Taylor then turned provider to set-up Tomasso for a fiercely-struck curling shot that Cogman did well to save.
Smerdon’s cross from the left found Handley on the far side, but his header was comfortably saved by Gould, then the Merthyr left-back ended the game chasing McIntosh who was pushing forward from right-back to the ball to the corner flag.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT: Stags boss Jimmy Ball shows his appreciation to the fans on Mally's Corner after the 2-0 victory over Merthyr Town.
The Stags travel to Devon tomorrow (Monday 22 April 2024) for the re-arranged fixture at relegation-threatened Plymouth Parkway, who are two points from Step 3 safety and face a potential relegation six-pointer at home to Hayes & Yeading United on Wednesday. Totton will complete their regular season fixtures with the visit to Dorchester Town on Saturday, after which we will be able to confirm the time and place for next week’s Promotion Play-Off Semi-Final.
Watch Manager Jimmy Ball’s Post-Match Interview
Watch Leon Maloney’s Post-Match Interview
Latest Southern League Premier Division South table
Next Up: PLYMOUTH PARKWAY vs AFC TOTTON
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#41 | Bolitho Park, St. Peters Road, Manadon, Plymouth, Devon PL5 3JH | Monday 22 April 2024 | Kick-Off at 7:45pm
LIVE Commentary on StagsRadio via X (Twitter)
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Tom McKenzie
