AFC Totton
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY #4
Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium, Oxfordshire | Att: Unknown
Saturday 20 July 2024
STAGS REINED IN BY THE PURITANS IN OXFORDSHIRE
BANBURY UNITED 1
Trialist (No.11) 68mins
AFC TOTTON 1
Joshua Owers 37mins
THE PURITANS HOSTED THE STAGS in Oxfordshire yesterday (Saturday 20 July 2024), as AFC Totton made the 97-mile journey north to take on Banbury United in their fourth friendly of the pre-season campaign.
Totton began brightly and created several chances early-on but they had to settle for just the one goal by half-time, courtesy of a Josh Owers lob to register his second strike of the summer. As the match progressed, and both teams made several substitutions, Banbury increasingly imposed themselves on proceedings and the hosts grabbed a deserved equaliser mid-way through the second half from one of several trialists on show at the Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium.
BANBURY UNITED: 1. Jack HARDING; 2. Harry REILLY; 5. Yaw OFOSU; 6. Trialist A; 10. Trialist B; 4. Trialist C; 14. Trialist D; 8. Trialist E; 32. Gift MUSSA; 20. Harvey WESTWOOD; 19. Tommy CARTWRIGHT. Substitutes: 21. Logan Elliott (GK); 3. Matthew DONALDSON; 15. Archie HOLLYHEAD; 17. Zach SCOTT; 7. Charlie DONALDSON; 9. Dylan REASON; 11. Trialist F; 12. Trialist G.
AFC TOTTON: 1. Lewis NOICE; 2. Joe OASTLER; 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Luke HALLETT; 7. Harvey REW; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 14. Josh OWERS; 15. Sam MAGRI; 17. Declan ROSE; 18. Tony LEE; 20. Marcus DAWS. Substitutes: 4. Trialist A; 8. Ollie ERDINC; 16. Luke BENNETT; 19. Tom BLAIR; 21. Trialist B; 22. Trialist C.
THAT'S NOT HOW YOU SPELL BURTON: Stags defender Sam Magri receives possession.
Totton kicked-off, wearing the gun metal grey and fluo yellow away kit from last season. Banbury United were in all-red with the lower half of the front portion of their shirts featuring a yellow diagonal section, not dissimilar in style to the red-and-white shirt traditionally favoured by AS Monaco. Banbury are now in the Southern League Premier Division Central - at the same level of the English football pyramid as AFC Totton - having been relegated from the National League North last season.
An early Stags stampede on the Banbury goal ran afoul of the offside flag. Then, a direct pass out of defence from Luke Hallett found Marcus Daws at the half-way line, next to the right-wing touchline. He darted inside to lose his marker and slipped Harvey Rew through on goal at inside-right, the former Gosport man seeing his shot pushed behind at the near post. Josh Owers sent a high corner towards the far post; Joe Oastler headed back across goal, where there was some back-and-forth before a wayward shot from the edge of the area sent the ball high over the crossbar.
The home side struggled to assert themselves during the opening stages. Hallett intervened on one attack to force the ball back to goalkeeper Lewis Noice, who put The Stags back on the front foot with a quick pass out to the right wing. The lively Daws controlled it and raided down the flank before his low cross was turned away by a retreating red-and-yellow shirt at the near post.
Playing at left-back, Sam Magri had his pocket picked by Harry Reilly from Noice’s pass, but the Banbury full-back ran out of pitch at the near touchline before he could inflict any damage on Totton’s defences. The Puritans were then forced into an early change, with Archie Hollyhead entering the fray in place of one of the trialists, who had received treatment for a knock shortly beforehand.
Totton reclaimed the ball inside their own half, and an arrowed pass by Joe Oastler switched the play to Daws on the right, the winger immediately demonstrating his attacking instinct with a thrust towards the right-hand side of the penalty area, where he was tripped. From the resulting free-kick, Owers shaped as though he was going to bend a shot around the defensive wall but chose instead to lay-off to Oastler on the edge of the area. His forward pass found Daws, near the penalty spot, but his attempt to shoot on the turn was smothered at close quarters.
CHANCE: Harvey Rew goes close with an early opening for The Stags.
Magri headed a cross out of Totton’s area, after good work from Reilly, Hollyhead and one of the trialists to advance Banbury’s threat down the right-hand side. Oastler then got across to block a follow-up cross from Reilly, helping Totton to force their opponents back.
A sweeping pass from midfield by Owers put Daws in behind the Banbury defence, making a diagonal run towards goal from the right. But he had the ball nicked off his toe before he could properly get it under control and get a shot away.
Declan Rose headed out a Banbury cross from their left, after Totton had conceded a free-kick about 10 yards off the corner of their own box. When it was sent forward again, Magri was put under pressure by Reilly and gave away another free-kick on the opposite side. Reilly’s cross hit the one-man defensive wall that was Josh Owers, and when Reilly forced the rebound into the middle, it came out to the trialist in the No.6 shirt, about 16 yards out, whose shot was deflected wide for a corner on the Banbury left. Ethan Taylor headed the cross away, before a push on Rew allowed the visitors to regroup.
Tommy Cartwright stole the ball from Taylor and played in the energetic Reilly and the trialist wearing No.8 down Banbury’s right to deliver a cross into the box, but Hallett cleared Totton’s lines with a firm defensive header. Then, Banbury made the mistake of allowing Owers too much time and space in the middle of the park to pull strings for The Stags. He promptly released Taylor to attack Reilly on the outside and drive in a low cross-shot that ‘keeper Jack Harding did well to parry and quickly grab before the incoming Rew could snaffle up the rebound.
As the teams took a short drinks break, Jimmy Ball could be heard telling his players they could already be two-or-three goals to the good, while a frank exchange between two players about a run and pass that didn’t connect quite as they should showed how seriously they take pre-season matches.
The game entered a lull immediately after the restart, with the attacking ambitions of both teams often running aground in midfield. Daws continued to be thorn in the side of the Banbury defence, and a trip on him resulted in another free-kick not far from the corner of The Puritans’ box, on the Totton right. Owers fancied his chances and bent a left-footed shot narrowly wide of the top-left corner; some Totton players claimed Harding had helped it on its way but the referee indicated for a goal-kick.
The Stags took the lead shortly after. Noice’s pass to the left was quickly controlled and lifted forward by Magri, taking advantage of Taylor having found a pocket of space near the intersection of the half-way line and touchline. Taylor also recognised the value of urgency, chipping the ball forward to match the run of Owers, with Cartwright in close attendance. The defender jumped early and a nudge from Owers was enough to ensure the ball dropped behind him, with open space between the Totton midfielder and Harding in the Banbury goal. From about 25 yards out on the left, and with Harding some 10 yards off his line, Joshua OWERS executed a beautifully-measured lob over the stranded ‘keeper and into the inside-netting at the far post to put Totton one-up. Banbury players complained about the push on Cartwright and the referee briefly consulted with his assistant on that side of the pitch, but ultimately gave the goal.
GOAL!: Midfielder Josh Owers executes a lob over goalkeeper Jack Harding to give AFC Totton the lead at Banbury United.
Another diagonal pass out of defence from Oastler found Taylor’s head on the left wing. He nodded the ball shortly infield for Owers, who scampered past his man and sent in a low cross that Tony Lee flicked on across the penalty area with the outside of his right boot, but a defender hacked the ball away before the incoming Daws could connect.
A strong tackle from Gift Mussa stopped Daws in his tracks in midfield. The forward pass was intercepted by Hallett, whose back-pass required Noice to kick clear under pressure. Banbury ended the first half in Totton territory when Harvey Westwood was bundled over by Oastler in a central position, left of the D about 22 yards from goal. With two players standing over the ball, the trialist wearing the No.10 shirt scuffed his shot along the deck and safely into the waiting arms of Lewis Noice, as the referee took the opportunity to signal it was time for the interval.
HALF-TIME: BANBURY UNITED 0-1 AFC TOTTON
The Puritans got the second half underway but were soon defending their own box, the trialist wearing No.6 leaping high to head clear Oastler’s delivery, with Daws poised to race in behind him at the Banbury goal. Then, Rose nipped in to win the ball high up the pitch. He and Daws worked the ball forward, but Rew wasn’t quite on the same wavelength and allowed the pass to escape him at inside-right.
Banbury substitute Dylan Reason took aim from range, but Noice claimed comfortably. Then, Owers carried the ball up the left-hand side for Totton, before checking back to find Rose, who had shifted into the middle of the pitch from his right-back berth. He sent Daws towards the byline with a low pass, the winger getting there before his marker to hang a high cross the back post, where Lee escaped the attentions of the impressive Yaw Ofosu, heading down and on-target only for Harding to repel the ball with his knees, close to his right-hand post.
WELL UP: Totton striker Tony Lee beats Banbury defender Yaw Ofosu to direct a strong downward header on target, but goalkeeper Jack Harding kept it out with his legs.
A Marcus Daws ball-juggling cameo on the right touchline promised much but delivered little when the winger ran straight into a defender, losing possession. Then, Reason headed over amid a cluster of players from a right-wing free-kick for the home side.
Banbury goalkeeper Jack Harding was replaced by Logan Elliott. Taylor was pulled back near the centre-circle, while running through the middle of the Banbury defence. Oastler took the free-kick before The Puritans were done querying the referee, and Rose almost managed to take full advantage with a cross from an advanced position on the right, but it was headed behind for a corner. Rose took it; his cross was knocked out to the edge of the box where Oastler met it on the volley, firing narrowly wide.
Daws popped up on the left-hand side to win the ball in the Banbury half, but Totton’s passing became too intricate to work their way through the well-populated red-and-yellow defences. The home side then had an appeal for a penalty turned down, when substitute Matthew Donaldson hit the deck in a coming together with Rose, as both players tracked the flight of an over-hit cross from the Banbury right.
Shortly after the hour mark, Hallett, Oastler and Daws were all withdrawn from the action, to be replaced by Luke Bennett and two AFC Totton trialists. Then, Banbury levelled the scores. From a throw-in, they managed to work the ball into a crossing position from the left wing. The delivery landed at the far post where the trialist wearing No.11 finished with a low shot into the far corner.
CONSTANT THREAT: Winger Marcus Daws helped to create several chances for AFC Totton.
Totton came close to re-taking the lead within a minute. Taylor was afforded the room to shoot from just outside the box, after the Totton trialist wearing No.21 and playing at right-back crossed into the middle. Elliott parried, diving to his left. Lee followed up but his diving header was diverted wide by Ofosu. Taylor’s cross from the corner was met on the volley by Oastler, arriving at the near side, the former Havant & Waterlooville man hooking his effort wide.
Banbury let Totton off the hook when some slack passing at the back put The Stags under unnecessary pressure, but the cross was over-hit with red shirts arriving at the far post. Then, Noice had to have his wits about him to catch a long-range effort. He quickly distributed the ball forward and Totton looked to be on for a swift counter-attack until a defender came across at left-back to knock it out of play.
The Totton trialists in the No.22 and No.4 shirts both contributed positively to the construction of an attack that carved out room for Bennett to cross from the left, but the ball was turned away by the Banbury defence. Then, Banbury went forward and won a corner on their right, which they took short, resulting in a shot from outside the box flying over the Totton bar.
OUT YOU GET: Central defender Luke Hallett, doing what he does best.
Two Banbury players got in each other’s way trying to attack a left-wing cross. Then, Reason showed strong centre-forward instincts to roll away from Oastler and latch onto an incisive diagonal pass at inside-left, before letting fly with a strong shot that Noice had to parry to thrust past his left-hand post. The delivery was initially cleared but when the ball came forward, again, No.6 directed a strong header down and on-target, pulling a smart save from Noice at the foot of his left-hand post.
Cartwright tried to create another chance for the home side with a cross from Banbury’s right but Oastler stabbed the ball clear. Then, Bennett and Totton’s No.4 combined to release No.21 into a crossing position from high on the Totton right, but Elliott caught it. Oastler was called into defensive action again, clearing a low cross from Banbury’s left at the near post.
Bennett pounced on some loose control by Mussa on the half-way line, and set off on a direct run that took him into the home side’s penalty area. He went down under a challenge but it didn’t look worthy of a penalty-kick and it didn’t get one.
Banbury had the last kick in anger, winning a free-kick about 22 yards out, right of the D on the edge of Totton’s box. The scorer of their first goal stepped up and curled a shot wide of the right-hand post, shortly before the referee blew the full-time whistle.
View the BANBURY UNITED vs AFC TOTTON GALLERY
Images courtesy of Sayers Sports Photography
Watch JIMMY BALL’s Post-Match Interview
AFC Totton FIXTURES Season 2024/25
By Ben Rochey-Adams
