AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#33
Tuesday 11 March 2025 | Alwyns Lane, Chertsey | Att: 348
IRISH EYES ARE SMILING AS STAGS TURN DOMINANCE INTO VICTORY
CHERTSEY TOWN 1
Oliver Turner 41mins
AFC TOTTON 2
Sam Magri 38mins (pen);
Roddy Collins 75mins
GOALS FROM TWO UNLIKELY SOURCES saw AFC Totton bounce back from the weekend’s defeat with a 2-1 away win at Chertsey Town in Surrey, with Sam Magri scoring a first-half penalty and midfielder Roddy Collins notching his first goal for the club to secure all three points for The Stags.
Collins was partnered in midfield for the first time by captain Mike Carter, and the two experienced heads did much to run the game from the outset. Totton had already created and spurned several chances before Collins was brought down in the penalty area to allow Magri to put the visitors ahead with a well-taken spot-kick on 38 minutes. But a spectacular long-range strike by defender Oliver Turner just three minutes later ensured the two sides went in level at the break.
Totton continued to dominate possession and to create the lion’s share of chances, and they got their reward when a corner was knocked on at the front post for Collins to fire home with his left in-step from about 12 yards. Luke Bennett and Charlie Austin both came close to extending the lead, but The Stags were solid defensively and saw the game out comfortably.
Totton lined up with three starting centre-backs, with Joe Oastler taking the central berth between Charlie Kennedy to his right and Sam Magri to his left. Luke Bennett operated as a right-sided wing-back, with Tom Blair and Craig Tanner both given licence to switch flanks at will higher up the pitch, and Charlie Austin named as the only recognised striker with Scott Rendell and Tony Lee both on the bench.
CHERTSEY TOWN: 1. Joshua STRIZOVIC; 2. Isaac OLORUNFEMI; 3. Oliver TURNER; 4. Simbarashe KUDYIWA; 5. Callum DUFFY; Luke ROBERTSON (Capt.); 7. Cole BROWN; 8. Nathan ROGERS; 9. Jack MAZZONE; 10. Sebastian KARCZEWSKI; 11. Conor LEE. Substitutes: 12. Louis DEGAND; 13. Paul McCARTHY; 14. Leo YOUNG; 15. Liam FLANAGHAN; 16. Tobias LITTLE. Substitutions: FLANAGHAN for KUDYIWA (57mins); YOUNG for KARCZEWSKI (75mins). Yellow Cards: None.
AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER; 4. Mike CARTER (Capt.); 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Sam MAGRI; 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 14. Craig TANNER; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 16. Luke BENNETT; 19. Tom BLAIR; 20. Richard McINTYRE. Substitutes: 8. Adam TOMASSO; 9. Scott RENDELL; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 12. Luke HALLETT; 18. Tony LEE. Substitutions: RENDELL for AUSTIN (74mins); TAYLOR for BLAIR (80mins); LEE for TANNER (90mins). Yellow Cards: OASTLER (Foul); BLAIR (Dissent); GOSNEY (Time-Wasting).
With Chertsey Town wearing Totton colours — blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks — The Stags switched to their changed strip of light grey shirts with turquoise shorts and socks.
Totton were quickly on the ball, with Roddy Collins winning possession in the middle and finding Craig Tanner with a short pass, before the attacking midfielder spread the play to Luke Bennett on the right wing. He delivered a cross, looking for Charlie Austin, but he over-hit it and the ball went out of play.
Chertsey won a corner on their right. An in-swinging cross was punched away by Ryan Gosney, despite a crowd of players loitering in his six-yard box. Bennett tried to launch a counter-attack but it was quickly snuffed out by The Curfews.
Tanner’s harrying of Chertsey defenders forced an error, which allowed Charlie Kennedy to cross from the right. Tom Blair headed on and goalkeeper Joshua Strizovic grabbed the ball before Austin could make contact. Then, Sam Magri clipped the ball forward from close to the halfway line for Bennett to head into the box. Austin latched onto it, controlled and went for goal but his marker charged the effort down before another defender cleared.
A long kick from Strizovic was flicked on and required Gosney to come out of his box to kick clear for Totton. Then, Mike Carter drew a foul in the middle of his own half. Kennedy used the free-kick to try and play Bennett into the inside-right channel, but Strizovic read it and came out to claim at the edge of his area. In a flash, Chertsey were raiding down their right, and Cole Brown drove a low shot from a tight angle that Gosney deflected wide for a corner. Again, Gosney reached over a cluster of players to punch the in-swinging cross away.
Carter and Collins exchanged passes in central midfield before releasing Bennett in space on the right. His cross reached Austin in the area, but he already had two defenders in close attendance and couldn’t get a shot away.
Blair was afforded space on the left flank to check onto his right foot and pick out the run of Bennett at inside-right. The high, arcing cross eluded the defender and Bennett did well to control the ball on the run, but he blazed his shot high over the crossbar. Meanwhile, Chertsey’s Conor Lee took out Tanner with a shoulder charge which, had the match officials seen it, might have resulted in a free-kick on the edge of the box and a yellow card for The Curfews’ No.11.
Collins played Richard McIntyre into a crossing position close to the left-wing corner flag, but a defender managed to flick it away from the edge of the six-yard box with Totton players arriving in good number. Then, Tanner’s pressing forced a misplaced pass into midfield, enabling Carter to feed Austin’s run at inside-left. His marker tracked him all the way, and Austin fired over the bar at the near post.
A right-wing Totton raid was disrupted when the ball was passed back to the ‘keeper, but Strizovic took a touch and a considerable risk with Collins closing in on him before he cleared in the nick of time. Then, Austin got to the right-wing byline and cut the ball back to Tanner, whose shot was blocked, so too the follow-up effort from Collins before Chertsey cleared their lines.
Austin pressed Strizovic into rushing his kick from a pass-back; Tanner intercepted and fed Blair on the left, who cut inside on his right foot and struck a shot that was turned away by a covering defender.
Totton continued to dominate the ball and when a free-kick was awarded to Totton for a shove on Blair in front of the away team dug-out, that became the cue for Strizovic to sit on the floor pretending to be injured and for the Chertsey physio to run onto the pitch to pretend to treat him, while the rest of their team gathered around the home dug-out for an impromptu tactical time-out — exactly as not actually permitted in the Laws of the Game.
Strizovic had by now demonstrated that his kicking, whether under pressure from back-passes or from placed kicks, was generally quite poor. Tanner intercepted his next effort and prodded the ball forward to Blair, who raced past the full-back and aimed his shot just inside the near post, forcing Strizovic to parry wide. Blair’s corner was long but Oastler kept it in play; Chertsey struggled to clear their lines but managed to do so eventually.
Collins reclaimed the ball in midfield, once again, and fed Bennett on the right flank. A one-two between Bennett and Kennedy covered almost half the length of the pitch, before the former’s cross was deflected behind by a defender. Blair played the corner short to Austin and went for the return pass, entering the area from the Totton right, but he then miss-hit his cross and merely presented the ball to the grateful Strizovic, covering his near post.
Magri swapped passes with Tanner to go on a gallop upfield that took him into the Chertsey box, where his attempted cross struck a defender and fell kindly for Strizovic. Then, as Heathrow-bound aircraft passed overhead, Carter had to react quickly to prevent Chertsey pouncing on a loose pass from McIntyre.
A darting forward run down the Totton right by Kennedy unsettled the Chertsey defence in the 38th minute. As they scrambled to close him down and knock the ball away from his possession, a gap opened up for Collins to charge into the penalty area and directly for goal. Strizovic came out and made a sliding challenge with his feet, catching the Irish midfielder’s shin and sending him crashing to the ground. The referee was well-placed and pointed to the penalty spot. With neither Scott Rendell, Ethan Taylor nor Tony Lee on the pitch, spot-kick duties fell to Sam MAGRI who finished confidently to put AFC Totton into a deserved lead.
However, it only took three minutes for The Curfews to draw themselves level. A move that began on Chertsey’s left wing progressed across the pitch until McIntyre was tempted to try and intervene to the left of the D on the edge of the Totton box. Chertsey managed to get two players around the left-back to isolate him, first shifting the ball wide before an infield pass found Oliver TURNER stepping up from the back to join the attack; he took a touch and from 22 yards, fired an arcing shot into the top-left corner that gave Gosney no chance.
Bennett flicked the ball over his marker on the right touchline and sent in a low cross that a covering defender slid full-length to divert wide for a corner. Tanner’s cross found Magri unmarked but he was too far out to power his header directly to goal; a defender repelled it as a far as the edge of the area, where Collins controlled and tried to volley at goal but sent it over the bar.
A cross-field pass to Blair on the left was headed on before Calum Duffy hacked the ball out of the ground. From the resulting throw-in, McIntyre forced a corner but Blair’s cross flew across the Chertsey goal without anybody getting a touch, shortly before the whistle sounded for half-time.
HALF-TIME: CHERTSEY TOWN 1-1 AFC TOTTON
Totton began the second half on the front foot, as they had spent much of the first. Blair swung in a high cross from the left, which dropped agonisingly over Tanner who was trying to attack the far post. Then, Magri’s forward pass from the centre-circle found Austin, advancing into the inside-left channel, where his shot was deflected wide for a corner, which was headed away at the near post.
Oastler was penalised for a hand-ball near the centre-circle. Turner’s high free-kick to the right of the Totton box was headed down for Nathan Rogers to strike on the volley, but he missed his kick. Totton countered and Austin fired a low cross from the right that was turned away by a defender as far as Collins, who fed Blair to the left of the penalty spot; he hit a first-time curler that had Strizovic beaten all ends-up but bounced back of the right-hand upright. The rebound fell to Austin but he was flagged offside.
A rare mistake by Carter enabled Jack Mazzone to run clean through on the Totton goal in the 52nd minute; the striker — who scored against AFC Totton for Horsham in last season’s Isuzu FA Trophy — opted to lob Gosney but got too much elevation on the shot and could only watch as the ball landed on the top of the net.
Bennett had another chance to open his first team scoring account when McIntyre advanced down the left touchline and sent a high cross towards the far post. The defender got a faintest of touches on the ball, doing enough to put Bennett off and he side-footed over the crossbar from 10 yards.
Chertsey made the game’s first substitution, withdrawing Simba Kudyiwa and sending on Liam Flanaghan in the 57th minute. Then, a high cross from Blair was seemingly well-taken by a jumping Strizovic, but as he returned to terra firma, he accidentally dropped the ball directly on Bennett’s head and was relieved to see it bounce wide of the post.
Austin won a corner on the right. Tanner crossed to the far post and Oastler won his header under pressure; it was on-target for the top-left corner but Strizovic was well-placed to catch. Then, Oastler’s long cross-field pass was turned behind for a left-wing corner. Blair and Tanner exchanged short passes to play the former in at the edge of the box, but he skewed his shot with the outside of his right foot to send the ball veering away from goal.
Joe Oastler was shown a yellow card after an aerial challenge in the centre-circle; a booking seemed harsh for that offence in itself, so perhaps it was predicated more on his verbal response to the referee. Chertsey wasted the possession the free-kick afforded them by over-hitting the ball straight into Gosney’s waiting arms.
Carter dropped back to sweep up behind Totton’s defensive line and a quick succession of passes soon had Bennett in possession on the left flank, where he advanced towards the corner flag before turning to lay the ball back to Tanner, close to the left corner of the penalty area. He struck a first-time curling cross into the middle that Austin came sliding in to finish at close range; he may have got a slight touch on the ball but not enough to direct it at goal.
Totton were racking up the missed chances and although they continued to endeavour, they were given a stark warning as to what could happen when Mazzone swung a cross in from the Chertsey right and Brown came racing into the box; but just as he looked as though he was going to place a firm header into the back of the Totton net, he took his eye off the ball and missed it completely, letting Totton off the hook as the ball ran out of the play on the far side.
On 73 minutes, Scott Rendell came on in place of Austin. Within two minutes, The Stags were back in front. Magri sent a deep free-kick down the left for Bennett, whose cross was turned behind for a corner. Blair’s cross towards the near post was headed on by Oastler and fell to Roddy COLLINS 12 yards out, who guided the ball inside the right-hand post with his left in-step to register his first AFC Totton goal.
Chertsey responded by sending on Leo Young in place of Set Karczewski. Mazzone had a brief sight of the Totton goal but his shot was charged down and cleared. Then, Collins had an opportunity to double his personal goals tally when the ball dropped to him at the edge of the home side’s box, but he slipped as he struck the ball and drove it straight at a defender.
Tom Blair was booked for dissent after contesting the referee’s decision to award Chertsey a free-kick, high up on their right wing. He lined-up in a two-man wall to defend the free-kick but never had the chance to do so, as Jimmy Ball then hooked him to send on Ethan Taylor in his place. Conor Lee sent a curling delivery into the box; Gosney claimed it confidently.
Tanner darted forward at inside-left, trying to latch onto McIntyre’s pass which proved a fraction too long, Strizovic coming out to claim it. Then, Magri had to intervene to block a shot from a tight angle at the left-wing byline at the expense of a corner. The cross was over-hit and Rendell was able to shepherd the ball out to safety.
Roger’s tried to play Mazzone in with a through-ball, but put too much weight on the pass, much to Totton’s relief. Then, Tanner received possession midway inside the Chertsey half on the Totton right, and dribbled his way towards the D before firing a bouncing left-footed effort narrowly wide of the left-hand post.
Rendell had to withstand a strong shoulder from his marker to run onto Carter’s hooked forward pass, but his shot was blocked. Then, during five minutes of stoppage time, Totton were largely content to retain possession without over-stretching themselves to go in search of a third goal to kill the match as a contest.
Tony Lee came on for Tanner, before Gosney was shown the yellow card for taking too long over a free-kick. Lee had half a chance from a tight angle on the left, but he couldn’t generate enough power in his shot to trouble Strizovic.
Chertsey tried to catch Totton out with a spot of multi-ball at the death, throwing on a replacement football while the previous one was within easy retrieving distance, but Gosney caught Young’s eventual cross to ensure they returned to Hampshire with all three points in the bag.
Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview
Watch RODDY COLLINS’ Post-Match Interview
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Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#34 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton, Southampton SO40 2RW | Saturday 15 March 2025 | Kick-Off 3:00pm
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By Ben Rochey-Adams
