SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#40
Friday 18 April 2025 | Winklebury Sports Complex, Basingstoke | Att: 1,043

STAGS AND ‘STOKE STRUGGLE TO A STALEMATE

BASINGSTOKE TOWN             0

AFC TOTTON                                0

RELEGATION-THREATENED Basingstoke Town held AFC Totton to a goalless draw in their Good Friday Southern League Premier Division South encounter at the Winklebury Sports Complex.

Both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances on the 3G surface, although the home team had perhaps the standout chance of the game within the opening few minutes.

Jimmy Ball made one change from the starting XI that beat Tiverton Town last weekend. He left out Charlie Austin to bring Scott Rendell back into the team, for his 150th AFC Totton appearance, while Ethan Taylor was playing his 200th first team game for The Stags.

BASINGSTOKE TOWN: 1. Simon GRANT; 2. Marcus JOHNSON-SCHUSTER; 3. Lewis COLWELL; 4. Scott ARMSWORTH; 5. Jack BALL; 6. William UPTON (Capt.); 7. Joshua GREEN; 8. Malachi OGUNLEYE; 9. Robbie GALLAGHER; 10. George REID; 11. James DICKSON. Substitutes: 12. Jaden THOMPSON-BRISSETT; 14. James CLARK; 15. Liam FERDINAND; 16. Connor BARRETT; 17. D’Andre BROWN. Substitutions: FERDINAND for REID (88mins). Yellow Cards: ARMSWORTH (Foul); BALL (Foul); JOHNSON-SCHUSTER (Foul).

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; 12. Luke HALLETT; 16. Luke BENNETT; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR. Substitutions: BLAIR for McINTYRE (46mins); LEE for SEYMOUr (60mins); TOMASSO for CARTER (66mins); BENNETT for TAYLOR (73mins). Yellow Cards: CARTER (Foul); TANNER (Foul); TAYLOR (Foul).

Basingstoke wore their traditional home kit of blue-and-yellow striped shirts with blue shorts and socks. Totton wore their changed strip of light grey shirts with turquoise shorts and socks.

The home side came close to opening the scoring within two minutes of the kick-off. Joshua Green got away from Mike Carter in midfield and fed Malachi Ogunleye in the middle, who in turn found Lewis Colwell on the right flank. He turned infield and floated an in-swinging cross into the Totton box, where George Reid escaped Joe Oastler’s attention but directed his header straight at Ryan Gosney.

Roddy Collins won a free-kick about 25 yards out for Totton, but Oastler was called up for a push as he competed for Craig Tanner’s chip into the Basingstoke penalty area. Then, ’Stoke captain Will Upton read Tanner’s dummy, intended to send Ben Seymour away down the right wing.

Seymour tussled for possession with defender Scott Armsworth at the edge of the box. The ball was cleared but Totton regathered it; Charlie Kennedy passed forward to Scott Rendell, who squared to Tanner. Collins provided support on the left, allowing Richard McIntyre to overlap along the touchline, but the full-back’s cross was caught by goalkeeper Simon Grant.

Marcus Johnson-Schuster was given a talking to by the referee for his body-check on Tanner, near the half-way line. Magri clipped the ball forward for Collins to run onto, but Armsworth shovelled the ball into touch. Then, Tanner’s pass released Kennedy to attack the right byline, but his cross floated over the crossbar.

Forward Robbie Gallagher earned a free-kick for The Dragons, just off the right corner of the Totton box. The cross was headed out and, when Gallagher took up possession again close to the right-wing corner flag, his delivery to the middle was flicked away by Magri.

Tanner and Kennedy combined to advance down the right for Totton, again, and a foul on Kennedy presented The Stags with a free-kick just outside the corner of the Basingstoke box. Tanner struck a curling, left-footed effort that Grant palmed over the bar for a corner. Tanner’s cross was headed at goal by Ethan Taylor and cleared off the line by a defender. Basingstoke countered, and McIntyre got back to put the ball out for a throw-in, which was taken quickly and put behind for a corner by Carter. The corner was played short, and Reid bent in a cross that Upton leapt well to meet with his head; again, though, the effort was straight at Gosney who saved comfortably.

Magri cut-out a dangerous through-ball, and was rewarded by being fouled by Johnson-Schuster. Then, Tanner was booked for tripping his opponent, after having dispossessed close to the half-way line; the referee allowed play to continue in the moment, then came back to brandish the yellow card after Basingstoke’s attack had broken down.

Rendell won an aerial challenge to knock the ball down to Carter, who hook it out to the left to enable Taylor to run at goal. Grant was momentarily wrong-footed but Taylor got the ball stuck under his feet and had to settle for a left-wing corner. Taylor’s cross was headed out by Upton.

Mike Carter was booked for a foul about 25 yards out from the Totton goal. Ogunleye floated the ball into the box, between the six0yard box and the penalty spot, and Jack Ball steered his header on-target, forcing Gosney to push it over the bar. The corner from the right was pulled back for Johnson-Schuster to deliver a cross from a deeper position, but Totton dealt with it.

Gallagher and Reid linked-up to raid from the Basingstoke right. Gallagher got to the byline, then made an angle for himself to drive in a low shot that Gosney repelled with his foot. Several players converged upon the loose ball; Gallagher went down and Reid tried to prod it home, but Gosney claimed as the referee crossed and uncrossed his arms to deny the home side’s penalty appeals.

There was only one minute of added time at the end of the first half, during which Green escaped the attentions of Carter and Kennedy to spread the play from left to right, via Ogunleye and Colwell. The latter squared to Green, whose shot was charged down by Magri, and then Tanner conceded a free-kick for a foul 25 yards out in a central position. Ogunleye went for goal, but his shot was high and wide of the target.

HALF-TIME: BASINGSTOKE TOWN 0-0 AFC TOTTON

Winger Tom Blair came on in place of Richard McIntyre, as the two teams re-emerged for the second half. Seymour had an early sniff of the Basingstoke goal, when Green’s under-powered header back to his goalkeeper almost let the loanee striker in; Grant responded by rushing out of his box to kick clear.

Magri conceded a free-kick on the Basingstoke right, close to the touchline but level with the Totton penalty spot. Ogunleye’s low cross was fired past the near post by Reid. Then, Gallagher intercepted a loose pass midway inside the Totton half; he advanced on goal but delayed his shot, allowing Collins to get in the way and take the weight off it, before Gosney claimed it.

Collins made two strong defensive headers, but The Stags struggled to get the ball under control and impose their will upon proceedings. Magri did well to beat Gallagher to Johnson-Schuster’s pass down the Basingstoke left.

Rendell was pulled down while challenging for a high ball in the middle of the home team’s half. Tanner’s free-kick found Oastler at the back post, but his header was comfortable for Grant.

Basingstoke advanced down their left. Green pulled it back to the edge of the area for Ogunleye, who shot over with both Collins and Tanner throwing themselves into the line of fire to protect the Totton goal.

A high, cross-field pass from Magri was knocked down by Rendell to Taylor on the Totton left, and the winger’s cross — looking for Seymour — was headed away by Upton. Totton regained possession and Tanner was brought down by Colwell, who was given a talking to but not booked.

Seymour came off to be replaced by Tony Lee on the hour mark. Tanner’s free-kick took a deflection to cause confusion in the Basingstoke box, before Colwell put it out for a corner; Ball leapt high at the front post to beat Oastler to the cross for another corner. This time, Tanner’s cross from the left flew beyond the far post; Blair headed back into the danger zone but Ball punted clear for a throw-in. Tanner put in another in-swinging cross, which Upton cleared with a diving header.

Tony Lee burrowed his way to the right-wing byline and stood up a cross into the middle, where Grant swatted the ball from just above Rendell’s head. Then, Carter was penalised for a foul on James Dickson, which prompted several Basingstoke players to get around the referee, shortly before Jimmy Ball withdrew his skipper and sent on Adam Tomasso.

Dickson forced the ball to Ogunleye, midway inside the Totton half. He chipped the ball to the left of the six-yard box, where Armsworth tried to steer his header on-target from a narrow angle, but Gosney saved.

Basingstoke’s high press made it difficult for Totton to play out from their own half. But, a swift one-two between Kennedy and Blair earned a right-wing corner. Tanner’s cross eluded Rendell by a fraction before it landed in Grant’s hands.

Ethan Taylor was the third Totton player to have his name taken, after he was muscled off the ball at the edge of the ‘Stoke box and then chased back to prevent Reid exploiting the counter-attack opportunity with a trip on the centre-circle. Taylor was substituted soon after, with Luke Bennett coming on.

Magri headed away at the edge of the Totton box from Ogunleye’s free-kick. Totton swept up the other end, where Bennett’s cross towards Rendell was headed behind for a corner on the right. Tanner bent his in-swinging corner onto the roof of the net.

From the half-way line, Tomasso volleyed the ball out to the right wing for Blair, who charged infield and drew a foul that earned Marcus Johnson-Schuster a yellow card. The free-kick was about 25 yards out, to the right of the penalty area. Taylor played it short and Blair whipped in a pacy delivery that flashed past Lee at the back post, but the striker was unable to get anything on it.

Upton halted Blair’s forward progress down the Totton right. Then, the amplified bounce of the 3G surface played into Grant’s hands, as he beat Lee to an up-and-under pass by Collins.

Reid and Colwell created an opening for Gallagher to shoot; Gosney caught it. Then, Scott Armsworth was booked for a foul on Rendell. Bennett found Lee on the edge of the area, but his shot was deflected into Grant’s arms.

Gosney launched a high, diagonal pass towards the left flank. Lee knocked it on for Bennett, who forced a corner. Tanner’a delivery found Collins, leaping above his marker at the far post, but Grant was well-placed to grab the ball.

Basingstoke made their only substitution of the game with two minutes of normal time to go, sending on striker Liam Ferdinand in place of Robbie Gallagher.

Johnson-Schuster and Rendell collided, leaving both players in need of treatment. The board went up to indicate six minutes of stoppage time before Tanner chipped the free-kick into the box. Jack Ball headed upward rather than out, but was then able to volley the ball clear, unopposed. Totton regathered and Bennett’s cross was a fraction too high for Lee.

Ferdinand exchanged passes with Ogunleye at the edge of the area, before unleashing a shot that was deflected; Gosney scrambled, trying to prevent the ball going out for a corner, but to no avail. Ogunleye’s cross was headed out by Lee, then Jack Ball was booked for a foul on Tom Blair.

Collins was fouled midway inside the Totton half. Keen to get the ball forward quickly in search of a late winner, Gosney rushed out of his goal to take the free-kick. But he misplaced his pass directly to Gallagher, close to the half-way line, who then tried to lift the ball over the rapidly retreating goalkeeper and into the unguarded net; much to Totton’s relief, the ball bounced just wide of the right-hand upright.

Green threatened to snatch a late winner for the home side, as he came infield from the right wing to try and line up a shot from the edge of the area at inside-left. Kennedy came out to block and the two players collided, leaving them both in need of treatment. The referee took that opportunity to blow the full-time whistle, while physios from both teams attended to their respective players.

Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview

Watch RYAN GOSNEY’S Post-Match Interview

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By Ben Rochey-Adams