AFC Totton
THE BUILDBASE FA TROPHY
1st Round
AFC TOTTON 2
Sam Griffin 20mins; Jack Hoey 34mins
FROME TOWN 2
Marcus Mapstone 18mins; Jonathan Davies 80mins
AFC Totton made history on Saturday by reaching the 2nd Round of the FA Trophy for the first time. Up against quality opposition from the team that has emerged as their main contenders for automatic promotion in the league this season, the Stags made hard work of it at times, but fought all the way to a penalty shoot-out where they kept their nerve and won the day.
Goalkeeper Lewis Noice continues his recovery from injury but Amadeusz Skrzyniarz retained his place in the No.1 jersey for the fourth consecutive match. Ade Olumuyiwa came into the starting XI at right-back in Dan Sackman’s 4-3-3, with Jack Masterton making his first start for a month in place of Jordan Ngalo, who was absent due to a family commitment.
Frome Town are the form team in the Southern League Div.1 South, coming into this match looking to extend a run of seven consecutive wins in all competitions. And they had an ace up their sleeve in the shape of former AFC Totton midfielder Jonathan Davies, a very highly-rated player at this level who is renowned for scoring goals from midfield. On-loan Cheltenham Town striker, Kane Simpson, who had scored 10 goals in his last eight appearances, led their front line.
Before the match, Remembrance Day was marked by the reading of the homily and the playing of the traditional bugle piece, ‘The Last Post’. Then both sets of teams, staff and fans joined the match officials in observing two minutes of silence to commemorate the contributions of military and civilian servicemen and women during the two World Wars and later conflicts, and the sacrifices made by all those who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.
Wearing all-red, the Robins got the match underway and were the first to threaten when Jonathan Davies took up a position in the inside-right channel to lay the ball back to Rex Mannings on the edge of the penalty area but his left-foot shot skewed wide of the far post.
Totton’s first chance came as a result of a quick breakaway by Ethan Taylor down the right, finding Hisham Kasimu in the centre-circle. He turned the ball out towards the left flank where Sam Griffin was able to advance and shoot, causing Frome skipper Samuel Teale to bravely throw himself in the way - much to his painful cost - and deflect it wide for a corner.
Frome were lively from the start and came close to opening the scoring in the 10th minute. The right-back Jack Witcombe got away from Ben Jefford to latch onto a pass from Davies, reaching the right-wing byline and crossing into a dangerous area where Ade Olumuyiwa had to take evasive action at the expense of a corner, which subsequently led to a goalmouth scramble and, to Totton’s relief, a handball decision against the away side. Amad Skrzyniarz sent the ball directly upfield and suddenly Ethan Taylor was one-on-one with Frome goalkeeper James Carey. The two of them collided just outside the penalty area, with Taylor slumping to the ground in some discomfort. The referee decided he’d seen enough in the challenge to not only warrant a Totton free-kick but to also justify the curtailment of Carey’s involvement with a straight red card.
A lengthy delay followed while Frome reorganised themselves. Their manager Daniel Greaves, a former goalkeeper for Bristol Rovers and Mangotsfield United, had, perhaps prophetically, named himself on the bench and midfielder Martin Lenihan was withdrawn to make way for him. Play resumed with a Totton free-kick in a threatening, central position but Jack Hoey curled his effort over the crossbar.
For all their impressive form coming into this match and the fact that they recently overtook the Stags at the top of the Southern League Div.1 South table, a 10-man Frome Town is a different proposition and for the home side, having started the match as second favourites, the emphasis was now on them to force the issue and claim the win. But Frome’s strength is going forward and they carried the fight to Totton. Harry Medway stuck to his defensive task well to dampen a Kane Simpson effort from the right of goal, after a high pass from Davies. From the resulting corner, Davies sent the ball into the box with a right-footed cross which Marcus MAPSTONE met in the air with a thumping header that arrowed past Skrzyniarz into the top-right corner to give the 10-men of Frome an 18th minute lead, to the loud approval of their hearty contingent of travelling fans.
The Stags picked themselves up and dusted themselves off - and were level within two minutes. Medway won the ball in midfield and clipped a high pass out to Griffin on the left-hand side. Stumbling his way through the first challenge and advancing into the penalty area with the ball at his feet, Sam GRIFFIN sold the recovering defender a dummy with a drop of his right shoulder before smashing his shot past the exposed Greaves, into the left side of goal.
MAN OF THE MATCH: AFC Totton winger Sam Griffin.
Totton looked to press home their numerical advantage, Jefford playing the ball forward to Kasimu who had his back to goal with his marker right behind him. With a deft flick of his fluorescent yellow left boot, he suddenly materialised on the goal side of the defender, raced to the left byline and played the ball across with Taylor closing in on a half-open goal, only to be put under so much pressure by Mapstone that he hooked the ball over the bar from close range.
A misplaced header from Medway presented the ball to Mannings, just outside the Totton penalty area. He shifted it to the right-hand side for Davies who shot low across goal. Skrzyniarz was down quickly to his right and made the save. Medway redeemed himself in the 28th minute by getting his body in the way of Mapstone’s shot from a tight angle, after another Jonathan Davies set-piece found its way into space at the far post.
Frome continued to demonstrate their undoubted attacking quality and opened up the Totton defence a few minutes later, when Alex Monks played a one-two with Simpson to work his way into a central position but his shot lacked venom and Skrzyniarz was able to claim the ball. Then, Greaves reacted quickly to grab the ball from Hisham Kasimu’s toe, as the striker sprung the offside trap, trying to connect with a through-ball to go around the substitute keeper.
But while Kasimu was struggling to find clearcut shooting opportunities of his own, he played his part in Totton’s general attacking play and was crucial to the move that led to the Stags’ second goal. Once again, taking the ball with his back to goal, Kasimu flicked the ball between his own legs and trickled through two dumbfounded defenders before playing a short pass to Taylor. The winger tried to turn onto his left foot but found his way blocked by red shirts, so he improvised by turning the other way and teeing up Jack HOEY to the right of the penalty spot, from where the midfielder bent a left-footed beauty past Greaves, into the bottom-left corner.
CELEBRATION TIME: The Stags celebrate scoring a goal against Frome Town.
Though perhaps fortunate to have a numerical advantage over their visitors, the Stags had done enough to earn their lead without ever dominating the match. But Frome were a long way from being beaten. Kane Simpson, with the ball at his feet in the attacking third, attracts defenders like bears around a honeypot. Any one from three might have committed the foul but Harry Medway was shown the yellow card. And a few minutes later, the perseverant Simpson managed to work half a yard to get free of Stephane Zubar and aim a shot towards the far corner, pulling a flying one-handed save out of Skrzyniarz, diving to his right.
A few minutes before half-time, Ethan Taylor hit an exquisite crossfield pass out to Griffin on the left-hand side. He crossed with the outside of his right foot but Hoey couldn’t jump high enough to capitalise. Then, Kasimu found himself in space to the right of the penalty spot but fired his shot well over the top.
Shortly after an additional five minutes of stoppage time were indicated, Jack Masterton floated a free-kick into the danger area but Zubar couldn’t connect with his head and Frome hacked the ball away. Totton regained possession and saw out the half playing the ball among their own back line, until they freed Griffin down the left wing, once again. He picked out Hoey on the far side but the midfielder couldn’t sort his feet out quickly enough and was closed down. Then, Griffin popped up on the right-hand side and fizzed in a low cross that Greaves needed two attempts to grab, as Totton threatened in vain to extend their lead before the break.
HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON 2-1 FROME TOWN
Frome hearts were in mouths early in the second period, when Kasimu got free on the right-hand side and flashed the ball across the box but Hoey was beaten to it by Teale. Sam Griffin also came close with a shot on the turn from left of the penalty spot, which trickled across goal as it momentarily appeared to have wrong-footed Greaves but it crept wide of the right-hand upright, after a defensive error from the visitors.
The game changed on 56 minutes, when Kane Simpson charged down Frome’s right wing and was met by a strong challenge from Harry Medway. The referee awarded a free-kick to the Robins and decided that Medway’s foul was worthy of a second yellow card, thereby levelling the numbers at 10-a-side. A series of Jonathan Davies free-kicks and corners followed, Sam Griffin twice getting himself in the way as a depleted Totton showed signs of creaking under the pressure.
Kasimu’s ability to turn nimbly in tight areas was a constant problem for the more agricultural Teale and Mapstone at the heart of Frome’s defence, and he got away from them again to attack the left-wing byline before crossing to the centre for Jack Hoey, who made a good connection with his header under pressure but steered the ball narrowly wide of the post.
Dan Sackman shuffled his pack to restore greater defensive solidity by bringing Callum Baughan on at right-back and moving Olumuyiwa into the central defensive hole left by the departed Medway, with Ethan Taylor making way.
Totton were let off the hook shortly after the hour mark, when Simpson received a low cross from the right wing but got the ball stuck under his feet and could only poke a weak effort straight at Skrzyniarz from around the penalty spot.
A foul on Jonathan Davies gave the ex-Totton man the chance to line up a 40-yard free-kick. His right-footed effort was firmly struck but it flew wide of the left-hand post and loudly thudded into an advertising hoarding.
Frome looked more lively in possession but Totton posed a greater threat on the counterattack, and Hisham Kasimu nudged the balance back in his side’s favour in the 68th minute, when presented with a chance to sprint clear from the edge of the centre-circle after the ball had ricocheted kindly off the back of his head in an aerial duel with Mapstone. The centre-back knew he would be beaten for pace so lunged for the ball while he had the chance, tripping Kasimu and earning himself a second yellow card in the process. Frome were down to nine men, trailing by the odd goal in three.
WATCH IT: Frome Town's Marcus Mapstone saw yellow twice, and took an early bath.
But, Frome kept coming. A smart move down the right-hand side culminated in a low pull back to Davies on the edge of the area and his angled shot required smart reflexes from Skrzyniarz.
Ade Olumuyiwa played a crossfield ball out to the left wing on 77 minutes. The touch of Sam Griffin to bring the ball down into his stride and away from the full-back had grown men and women on all four sides of the football ground sighing in appreciation, but as he moved in-field he seemed to hesitate and laid the ball back to Freddie Read, whose side-foot shot was straight at a grateful Daniel Greaves. A couple of minutes later, Griffin slammed the ball into the back of the net from close range, only for an offside flag to rule the strike out, after Kasimu and Hoey had combined to create the opening.
With 10 minutes to go, the Stags were made to rue miss chances. Inevitably, it was the Totton old-boy Davies who did the damage, as he has done on several other occasions since his departure from the Snows Stadium. A short passing move down the middle enabled Davies to run beyond Simpson and latch onto the striker’s forward pass. Skrzyniarz flung himself forward in an attempt to block but Jonathan DAVIES extended the toe end of his right foot just enough to poke the ball under the Polish keeper and into the bottom-right corner, to put the nine men of Frome level at 2-2.
Lewis Waterfield was sent into the fray in place of Jack Masterton, as Dan Sackman tried to inject more energy into the home side to go in search of a late winner. More Kasimu trickery on the left side of the penalty area enabled the striker to blast a shot from a tight angle, which Greaves did well to parry into the air. The ball was partially cleared but only as far as the substitute, Callum Baughan, who thundered a 20-yard effort against the right-hand post; Greaves got the slightest touch on it to pull off a remarkable save that kept his side in the match.
Totton were relentless, attacking in waves against the nine-man Robins who had seemingly settled for a draw and going straight to a penalty shoot-out. Ben Jefford overlapped down the Totton left and crossed for Waterfield, but he was crowded out at the far post and headed wide. Then, Totton found themselves moving the ball from left to right, in front of the disciplined defensive ranks of the Somerset-based outfit who were shuffling across the pitch, shutting down every pathway to goal.
Waterfield had a late penalty shout for a robust shove, as he tried to run onto a pass down the inside-right channel but the referee waved his arms wide in the universal gesture of “Nothing doing!” Then, Zubar, up from the back in search of a winner, may have also been pushed as he competed for a header, the ball popping out to Sam Griffin whose fierce shot was a little too high and a little too wide, and was the last action before the referee’s full-time whistle.
There is no extra-time in the FA Trophy, so we went straight to penalties:
Frome went first and Jonathan Davies stepped up confidently for the Robins. He struck firmly for the right-hand side of goal. Amadeusz Skrzyniarz hurled himself to his left and, with a strong right arm, beat the ball away to give the Stags an early advantage. Totton’s Man of the Match, Sam Griffin didn’t waste it, calmly converting to the bottom-left. 1-0 Totton.
The visitors’ No.8 George Rigg fired his spot-kick over the crossbar, while the left foot of Ben Jefford - cameoed to great effect at Evesham, last week - smashed Totton into a commanding position, 2-0 to the good.
Kane Simpson got Frome off the mark but Hisham Kasimu’s finish meant that Rex Mannings had to score to keep the Robins in it.
He did, leaving Jack HOEY with the chance to seal the win for Totton. The midfielder struck the ball right-footed, driving hard into the bottom-left corner and ensuring passage to the 2nd Round of the Buildbase FA Trophy.
WINNER: Jack Hoey converts his spot-kick to send AFC Totton into the 2nd Round of the Buildbase FA Trophy for the first time in the club's history.
by Ben Rochey-Adams
