AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | PROMOTION PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL
Wednesday 01 May 2024 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton SO40 2RW | Att: 1,023
TOTTON INTO PLAY-OFF FINAL WITH EXTRA-TIME WIN OVER ROBINS
AFC TOTTON 2
Tony Lee 65mins;
Ethan Taylor 108mins
BRACKNELL TOWN 1
Gary Abisogun 86mins
(After Extra-Time)
AFC TOTTON CLAIMED THEIR PLACE in the Southern League Premier Division South Promotion Play-Off Final to maintain their hopes of reaching the National League South for the first time in the club’s history, with an exhausting extra-time Semi-Final win over Bracknell Town at the Snows Stadium.
Jimmy Ball made one change from the side that won 4-0 at Dorchester Town on the last day of the regular leason, bringing Leon Maloney back into the starting XI with Joan Luque dropping to the substitutes' bench.
AFC TOTTON
Starting Line-Up
13. Joshua GOULD
2. Benny READ
6. Luke HALLETT
15. Sam MAGRI
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
5. Charlie KENNEDY
8. Adam TOMASSO
17. Leon MALONEY
10. Ethan TAYLOR
9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.)
18. Tony LEE
Substitutes
1. Lewis NOICE
7. Joe OASTLER
12. Joan LUQUE PRADOS
14. Ben JEFFORD
20. Marcel McINTOSH
Totton made a bright start, with Read surging forward and getting himself into a dangerous position at an angle to the right. He passed up the opportunity to let fly at Michael Eacott’s goal in favour of playing in a teammate, but The Robins managed to get bodies around the ball to smuggle it away.
Winger Ralph Vigrass was pressed into defensive action to prevent Taylor latching on to Lee’s through-ball on the Totton left. Then, Michael Dada was shown the tie’s first yellow card for a foul that left Tomasso needing treatment for the third game in a row. Maloney’s free-kick was caught by Eacott, whose long drop-kick upfield put Ragguette in a foot race with Haydon Vaughan that resulted in a left-wing corner. Vaughan took it himself and drifted the ball narrowly over the bar to land on top of the net.
Taylor’s pass to Maloney on the right was Read’s signal to make an underlapping dash into the final third. Maloney picked out Rendell, who teed up Kennedy just outside the Bracknell box. He slid the ball to Read, whose low cross was deflected away.
Totton were having most of the early possession with Bracknell preferring to sit deep, but some rushed passes, heavy touches and the occasional loose control of the ball revealed some nerves among the players.
Read got forward again to help Maloney work himself into a crossing position from the right-wing byline. He stood his cross up to the back post where Lee was in prime position to head home but skewed his header into the turf, much to the relief of Eacott who was able to grab hold of the bouncing ball comfortably.
Ragguette was penalised for a foul on Vigrass on Bracknell’s right touchline. Magri turned away the free-kick delivery and then blocked the follow-up shot from the edge of the penalty area. Ragguette managed to knock the ball away from Vigrass as he tried to go past the St. Vincent & the Grenadines U21 international.
Neat control with his instep while back-heeling the ball enabled Vaughan to spin away from Read and drive infield for Bracknell to hit a 25-yard shot that Gould parried wide for a corner. The cross was put past the near post by a player in red-and-white, amid some optimistic appeals for a penalty from away fans clustered behind the Totton goal.
A high diagonal pass towards the left flank enabled Rendell to flick on to Taylor, who ran to the byline and picked out Lee at the near post with a low cross. Lee’s first-time shot was pushed wide by Eacott. Maloney's cross from the corner was cut-out by Grant before it could reach Kennedy in the middle. Then, a long-range effort from Maloney skipped off the wet turf to force Eacott into conceding another corner but the ‘keeper got above Hallett in the six-yard box to intercept Maloney’s cross from Totton’s left.
A swift Bracknell counter took The Robins high up the pitch on their right wing. Dada’s pulled back pass towards Vaughan lacked accuracy and let Totton off the hook. When the visitors came forward again and won a corner on the right, Gould claimed the cross. The Totton goalkeeper was pressed into more urgent action soon after, diving at the feet of Vaughan before he could connect with a low cross from the right.
Left-back Ethan Burden was afforded the benefit of the doubt with a heavy challenge on Maloney. Burden took the ball across the pitch until Rendell came in with a similar tackle near the centre-circle, causing the Referee to give a free-kick and prompting frustrated reactions from Totton players and fans alike.
Magri charged down Dada’s shot from the edge of the Totton box, before Jordan Espirit, who recently scored on his last visit to the Snows Stadium, struck a speculative long-range effort wide of the right-hand post. Then, Hallett did well to impede Espirit’s progress without fouling, causing the striker to stumble and run the ball out of play at the left-wing byline.
During four minutes of first-half stoppage time, Hallett blocked a shot from Vaughan, and Espirit was only inches away from controlling captain Ashley Lodge’s high pass to inside-left that Hallett was able to claim and tidy up.
HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 0-0 BRACKNELL TOWN
Maloney and Ragguette worked together on the left flank to weave their way into the Bracknell box, early in the second half. Rendell knocked down Maloney’s cross for Lee, who rolled it back to prompt Kennedy to drive in a shot that was blocked.
Gould gathered the ball to his chest from a free-kick conceded by Read midway inside Totton’s half. The former Salisbury No.1 sent the ball straight up the other end of the pitch, where Taylor won a corner on the right. Lee headed Taylor’s long delivery back across goal and Rendell appeared to swipe at the ball but not make contact, before Vigrass raced away on the counter-attack. As he approached the left side of the Totton box, blue shirts poured back to fill up the space to ensure that both his effort was blocked and so too were two follow-up attempts.
Magri conceded a free-kick for a foul on the roaming right-back Olukayode Osu midway inside The Stags’ half. Rendell headed Vaughan’s out-swinging cross away. Then, a poor touch from Kennedy in midfield put his teammates under pressure until a decisive challenge by Hallett dispossessed Grant before he could take advantage of Totton’s high defensive line.
SIZING IT UP: AFC Totton striker Tony Lee lines up his free-kick against Bracknell Town in the Southern League Premier Division South Promotion Play-Off Semi-Final at the Snows Stadium.
Past the hour, a series of robust tackles in midfield ended with an inevitable yellow card, Joseph Grant possibly lucky not to see red for what appeared to be a two-footed tackle on Magri, though he may have slipped while making the challenge. Osu followed him into the Referee’s notebook for fouling Maloney while The Stags’ No.17 was building a promising move down the middle with Lee, who stood over the free-kick, 30 yards from Bracknell Town’s goal in a central position. A four-man defensive wall could only stand and watch in awe as Tony LEE deployed his right foot to fire a rocket of a free-kick that left Eacott grasping at thin air with the ball crashing into the top-right corner of the net for an exceptional goal worthy of the momentous occasion. Totton fans roared their approval from all four sides of the ground.
Taylor and Maloney went hunting for another, the latter going through at inside-left to drive a shot to the near post that Eacott pushed wide for a corner. Jimmy Ball then made his first change; Maloney came off for Marcel McIntosh. Bracknell made two changes, including the introduction of Great Evans, who scored The Robins’ second goal in their recent 2-3 defeat to Totton.
Bracknell’s intensity on the ball had increased, but a lack of accuracy in their passing prevented them from maintaining any sustained possession. McIntosh skipped through a challenge in the centre-circle and slipped Taylor in at inside-left; with the goal at his mercy, he steered his shot across goal and wide.
The Referee pulled play back to award a free-kick to Bracknell and show Kennedy the yellow card after no advantage accrued for the visitors. The initial free-kick was knocked out but The Robins regathered, worked the ball to the left wing and crossed high. Evans leapt well to get above the defenders, but he was unable to keep his header down from eight yards.
With 15 minutes of normal time to go, Read committed a foul just off the right corner of the Totton box, on Bracknell’s left. Evans stepped up to shoot but drove his effort straight at Josh Gould, who made comfortable work of catching it before his big kick enabled Taylor to force a corner on Totton’s left. Taylor took it and almost found Lee at the near post, the ball being knocked out by a defender. Totton couldn’t capitalise.
Joe Oastler came on in place of Tony Lee. Bracknell followed suit by sending on Thomas Jackson for Dada.
The lively Vigrass won a free-kick right of the Totton box, for which Ragguette was shown the yellow card. Vigrass took it but once again, Gould commanded his area and caught the ball before Bracknell could make a telling connection. Then, Vigrass darted back into his own half to prevent Rendell and Taylor inflicting more damage on The Robins’ defence.
An awkwardly bouncing ball enabled McIntosh to bundle his way into a shooting position, which Eacott did well to push away. Rendell tried to follow up but lost his balance. Then, Rendell prompted a counter-attack with a pass to McIntosh down the left but his cross eluded Taylor in the middle. Totton had a corner, which Taylor took. Bracknell knocked it down and Vigrass booted high and long down the middle. Sub Gary ABISOGUN charged the ball down, muscling past Hallett and Magri to fire a shot that Gould got hands to on his right side, but couldn’t prevent finding the left corner.
Tomasso was booked for a foul near the centre-circle that brought an angry reaction from the Bracknell players and their fans. Taylor had a clear sight of goal as the game ticked over to the 90th minute, until an offside flag kiboshed it.
During six minutes of stoppage time, Read had his name taken for a foul near the half-way line.
FULL-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-1 BRACKNELL TOWN
Before the 30 minutes of extra-time commenced, Joan Luque stepped off the bench to replace Read. The Spaniard, who wears specs day-to-day, wore a pair of black sports glasses, strapped around his head.
Scott Rendell knocked on for Taylor, whose fierce effort struck a defender; Rendell appealed for hand-ball but play continued. Then, Jackson turned Luque to run at the Totton half, giving McIntosh little choice but to give away a free-kick for a foul. Gould claimed the ball, again.
Tomasso got back to nick the ball away from Abisogun, only for it to be quickly regathered by Lodge, who fed Vigrass. His drive from the right flashed across goal and narrowly wide.
With players on both sides showing signs of fatigue, the game ebbed for a while until Burden intercepted a pass on his chest and found Evans on the right. He dribbled forward menacingly but was eventually crowded out, unable to find a way through.
Abisogun held off Tomasso long enough to push the ball to Vigrass on the right, who tried to return it to Abisogun at the edge of the six-yard box; Gould threw himself forward to punch the ball away before it could reach the striker.
Bracknell were finding a second wind, and forced a series of corners on either side of Totton’s goal. An innocuous clearance released McIntosh to race away on the right wing, with the covering defender struggling to keep up with him. As McIntosh progressed to the right of the box, with home fans cheering him on, Rendell arrived in the box with Luque also supporting at the far side. McIntosh went for it himself, blasting his shot high and wide of the near post; Rendell’s reaction was to query why he hadn’t squared the ball for an easier finish by The Stags’ No.9.
HALF-TIME/EXTRA-TIME: AFC TOTTON 1-1 BRACKNELL TOWN
Totton got the game back underway for what would inevitably be the last 15 minutes of the league season for one team or the other. Vigrass skipped around Ragguette but Totton had players back to smother his cross into the box.
Three minutes into the second half of extra-time, Luque took the ball on the left-hand side, shortly advanced of half-way. Rendell made a run into the box and El Matador lifted the ball over a defender to deliver the ball at his captain’s feet. As Rendell controlled it with his back to goal, his marker slipped, leaving Eacott to rush to the corner of his six-yard box to close down. Rendell was composure personified; he spotted Taylor arriving at the right post and rolled the ball across. Ethan TAYLOR slipped as he struck the ball but got enough of a connection to force it over the line, despite the prone figure of Burden trying to block it with his left arm. The Snows Stadium erupted again, before The Stags refocused to go into the last 12 minutes of the Play-Off Semi-Final.
BACK IN FRONT: The Stags celebrate Ethan Taylor's winning goal in extra-time.
A sliced clearance by Luke Hallett gave Bracknell a corner but they couldn’t take advantage. A foul by Luque enabled Eacott to launch a free-kick deep into the Totton half, but a clash of heads between Jackson and Kennedy stopped play. When it resumed, the Referee gave an uncontested drop-ball to Bracknell, much to the confused irritation of most people in the ground. McIntosh got back to block and then carry the ball deep into opposition territory. Luque and Kennedy were both up with him, and ultimately decided to take the ball to the left-wing corner flag to run down the clock.
Ethan Burden was booked pulling down Taylor. When The Robins were able to regain the ball, they tried to get forward quickly but couldn’t find the final ball often enough to stretch the now compact Totton defence.
The Fourth Official indicated three minutes of stoppage time standing between AFC Totton and the Play-Off Final.
Vigrass was limping with what appeared to be cramp, unable to prevent McIntosh taking the ball to the right byline and then pulling it back for Taylor, although another defender cleared.
Ragguette and Rendell both made headed clearances, as Totton held firm against Bracknell’s attempts to hurl the ball into the home team’s box. Crosses, knockdowns, rushed snapshots, we had it all. One such attempt took a deflection to earn The Robins a corner on their left. With everyone, including goalkeeper Michael Eacott, loaded into the Totton penalty area, they decided to take a short corner, and that was that as far as the Referee was concerned.
FINAL SCORE: AFC TOTTON 2-1 BRACKNELL TOWN
(After Extra-Time)
Watch Jimmy Ball's Post-Match Interview
Watch Sam Magri's Post-Match Interview
by Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Pat Fitzgerald
