The LONG READ: Poole Town 0-1 AFC Totton, SLPDS#03

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#03
Saturday 17 August 2024 | BlackGold Stadium, Poole | Att: 841

TOTTON TOUGH IT OUT UNDER PRESSURE FROM POOLE TO MAINTAIN MAXIMUM POINTS

POOLE TOWN 0

AFC TOTTON 1
Scott Rendell 15mins

AFC TOTTON MAINTAINED their perfect start to the 2024/25 season with a single-goal victory at Poole Town’s BlackGold Stadium in Dorset.

Scott Rendell scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 15th minute, sweeping home Tom Blair’s low centre from close range. The home side threatened an equaliser when Toby Holmes escaped Sam Magri to go clear through the middle, only to stumble at the crucial moment. The introduction of Tyler Forbes to Poole’s right wing enabled The Dolphins to press Totton back and apply lots of late pressure, but a penalty awarded to the visitors for a trip on Ethan Taylor following a late counter-attack gave Rendell the chance to wrap things up. Young goalkeeper Cameron Plain had other ideas, though, making a brilliant double-save to deny The Stags skipper’s spot-kick and the subsequent rebound.

Totton held on to win despite a late onslaught, meaning that after three rounds of league matches, they sit in second place behind Basingstoke Town and are the only team in the Southern League Premier Division South yet to concede a goal.

POOLE TOWN: 1. Cameron PLAIN; 2. Oakley HANGER; 4. Joshua STAUNTON; 5. Jamie WHISKEN; 6. Billy LOWES; 7. Jake McCARTHY; 8. Charlie DAVIS; 9. Tobias HOLMES; 3. Antonio DIAZ; 15. Harry THOMAS; 17. Harvey SLADE. Substitutes: 10. Jack HOEY; 16. Luke HOLMES; 18. Jamar SMITH; 19. Tyrique CLARKE; 20. Tyler FORBES. Substitutions: SMITH for DIAZ (58mins); CLARKE for DAVIS (58mins); FORBES for HANGER (58mins); HOEY for T.HOLMES (75mins); L.HOLMES for SLADE (75mins). Yellow Cards: HANGER (Foul); DIAZ (Simulation).

AFC TOTTON: 13. Joshua GOULD; 2. Joe OASTLER; 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Sam MAGRI; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 9. Scott RENDELL (Capt.); 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 12. Luke HALLETT; 17. Declan ROSE; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR. Substitutes: 7. Harvey REW; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 15. Logan LAIRD; 16. Luke BENNETT; 20. Marcus DAWS. Substitutions: DAWS for AUSTIN (67mins); TAYLOR for BLAIR (67mins). Yellow Cards: ROSE (Foul); TOMASSO (Foul).

Striker Charlie Austin was named in the AFC Totton starting line-up for the first time, to make his full Stags debut at the home of one of his former clubs. For the second game in a row, Totton’s opponents wore red-and-white halved shirts; Poole’s shorts and socks were red. Totton wore their away kit of light-grey-and-turquoise, with turquoise shorts and socks.

The Stags kicked-off but Poole Town were the first to threaten their opponents’ goal when a long kick from goalkeeper Cameron Plain was headed on at the left-wing touchline by Antonio Diaz to play Toby Holmes in at inside-left. Luke Hallett blocked his forward progress, forcing The Dolphins to recycle possession around the edge of the Totton box and out to the right-hand side. A cross to the near post area found ex-Totton midfielder Billy Lowes, who struck on-target but Hallett stood tall and made the block, before Joe Oastler cleared.

NOT ON MY WATCH: Totton defender Luke Hallett gets the better of Poole Town wing-back Antonio Diaz during their Southern League Premier Division South encounter.

Diaz briefly got behind the Totton defence from a long ball over the top, but Hallett recovered the ground and turned the ball away. Declan Rose controlled it on the right flank and hit a high diagonal that enabled Charlie Austin to escape the attentions of Oakley Hanger, coming from the left flank, to present himself with a one-on-one opportunity against the goalkeeper. But the ball got stuck under the striker’s feet, giving Plain time to close the angle and make the save. The rebound came back to Austin’s head, but he could only guide the ball over the crossbar.

The already busy Hallett headed away a near-post cross from Harvey Slade. Then, Magri had to block one shot and quickly hook the loose ball away over his own head before Holmes could latch onto it through the middle. Holmes did manage to put the ball in the Totton net shortly after, but he was ruled offside.

A poor clearance from Poole ‘keeper Plain presented Totton with a throw-in close to the right-wing corner flag, which in turn led to a free-kick on the right for a foul on Charlie Kennedy by Jake McCarthy, after a period of Totton passing possession in midfield. Tom Blair put the ball into the Poole penalty area where Tony Lee headed down towards Austin, but Jamie Whisken pumped the ball forward to trigger a counter-attack that instantly fell foul of the offside flag.

Joe Oastler headed clear an Oakley Hanger cross from deep on the right. Then, Hanger tripped Blair just off the corner of the Poole area, on Totton’s left wing. Blair’s in-swinging cross was flicked away from the near post for a throw-in. Rose found Adam Tomasso, who sent the ball into the six-yard box before it was repelled by a red-and-white shirt. Totton quickly regained possession and played it out to the left. Blair drove the Poole defence into retreat towards the byline, before his low centre cut through a crowded penalty area to find the left in-step of Scott RENDELL four yards out to sweep the ball home for his second goal in two matches.

BACK OF THE NET: AFC Totton skipper Scott Rendell sweeps the ball home from close range to give his side the lead at Poole Town's BlackGold Stadium.

Hanger tried to let the ball run out of play for a goal-kick, but was rushed into a hasty clearance by Blair’s press. His kick was intercepted by Rendell close to the corner of the penalty area, and he lofted the ball into the middle where Lee had it taken off his head by the jumping Plain.

Oastler and Magri teamed up to block a Holmes cross-shot for a corner. Kennedy headed Charlie Davis’s delivery out to the edge of the box, where Hanger intercepted and returned a curling shot that hit Lee and, after a couple of ricochets, Totton hacked away.

A strong tackle from Declan Rose prevent Slade building an attack on the Poole left. Then, Rose headed out to set-up a counter-attack between the two former Poole strikers Austin and Lee, which triggered an offside flag. Poole quickly got the ball out to the right flank, allowing Davis to hang a dangerous-looking high cross to the far post, only to find two defenders in attendance to tidy up for Totton.

Rose then got involved in Totton’s attacking play, linking up with Austin to deliver a cross towards Lee. Whisken intervened with a defensive header, which Tomasso picked up and returned to Rose on the right, via Lee. Rose centred again, this time finding Austin whose header hit a defender and went behind for a corner. Blair’s in-swinger was flicked on by Magri at the near post before flying across goal and narrowly wide of the right-hand upright.

Ex-Stags skipper Jamie Whisken nicked the ball off Lee’s foot at inside-left, as he tried to latch onto Rendell’s headed knock-down. Holmes took a heavy touch as Poole tried to counter, allowing Magri to take the ball and find a light-grey-and-turquoise shirt. Then, Austin was caught in possession near the centre-circle and the ball was played forward into the path of Holmes, but Hallett had the pace and physical presence to shrug the centre-forward off the ball and find Kennedy. His clearance struck McCarthy and bounced kindly for Holmes, still lurking at inside-left. Holmes drove infield onto his right foot to evade Hallett and, from 14 yards, shot straight at Josh Gould who parried and then clutched the ball safely to his midriff.

I'LL BE WATCHING YOU: Charlie Austin tracks the progress of former AFC Totton midfielder Billy Lowes during The Stags' 1-0 win at the BlackGold Stadium.

Rendell conceded a free-kick on the Poole right but redeemed himself with a defensive header, after Oastler’s initial clearance. Slade redirected the ball out to Davis, still on the right touchline, but his cross was also turned away. Then, the left side of Totton’s defence was briefly exposed when Blair and Oastler were both caught upfield. Magri managed to stall The Dolphins’ forward progress long enough for Oastler to get back and put a decisive foot in to dismantle the attack before Magri cleared.

Oakley Hanger was booked for a late aerial challenge on Oastler. Totton worked the ball forward and Rose tested Plain with a long-range curler with the outside of his right-boot that the goalkeeper reacted well to prevent going into the top-left corner.

Three minutes before the break, the home side thought they should have had a penalty when a bouncing ball down the middle caught out Magri, who stumbled to the ground to leave Holmes free to go through on-goal. Just when it looked as though he was going to take advantage of a gift, Toby Holmes got the ball stuck between his shins and inadvertently knocked it out of reach to the left. Diaz still saw a chance and raced towards it, with Gould coming out to narrow the angle. The wing-back went down, prompting loud appeals for a penalty, but the referee was well-placed. He crossed and uncrossed his arms to indicate “no penalty” and then produced the yellow card to book Antonio Diaz for simulation.

Austin dropped deep to lay the ball back to Oastler, who swept it out to the left to release Blair. The winger won a corner with a blocked cross. His delivery arced agonisingly over Rendell’s head and fell to Austin, who prodded at goal through a ruck of red-and-white shirts. It struck one of the defenders, prompting Austin to appeal for hand-ball, but the referee didn’t see anything untoward and the ball was scrambled away.

Hallett and Kennedy combined to slam the door in the face of another Poole attack. Lee was pulled down by Joshua Staunton on the Totton right, midway inside The Dolphins’ half. Blair hung the cross to the far side of the penalty spot, where Austin won the header but sent it wide of the left-hand post.

HALF-TIME: POOLE TOWN 0-1 AFC TOTTON

With neither side making any changes, ex-Totton and Sholing midfielder Charlie Davis got the game back underway for the home side. Tony Lee was apparently offside in his own half of the pitch, if the placement of the resulting free-kick was a guide, but he got back to ensure Poole Town didn’t benefit.

Austin ran at the Poole defence. The ball was hooked out as far as Rendell, who attempted an uncharacteristic long-shot that cannoned off a closing defender. Then, Tomasso directed a high diagonal from right-to-left. Austin’s headed knock-down released Blair behind Hanger, who tripped him before he could reach the penalty area, resulting in a Totton free-kick about six yards from the left-wing byline. With bodies crowded close to goal in the box, Blair went for a right-footed curler towards the far top-corner. Plain got both hands behind it and, as the ball bounced around in the area, there was a shout of “hand-ball” from at least one Totton player, but Poole cleared their lines.

GET OUT: Poole Town captain Jamie Whisken heads away under pressure from Tony Lee.

Blair won a corner on the left, from Oastler’s long pass. His high cross to the far post was punched away by Plain, who was then awarded a free-kick for a push.

Poole boss Steve Tulley decided to mix things up by making three substitutions just before the hour mark, withdrawing Antonio Diaz and Oakley Hanger, who were both on yellow cards, and Charlie Davis to send on Jamar Smith, Tyrique Clarke and winger Tyler Forbes.

A foul by Harry Thomas — who played for Totton in a Hampshire Senior Cup tie at Hartley Wintney last season, while on loan from Peterborough United — gave Blair the chance to deliver from close to the left-wing touchline, midway in the Poole half. Lee challenged for the high cross, which was knocked down to the edge of the box; Kennedy attempted a half-volley that flew wide to the right.

A well-timed forceful sliding tackle by Oastler took the ball off Holmes in the centre-circle. Then, Jimmy Ball made his first changes of the afternoon by sending on wingers Marcus Daws and Ethan Taylor to replace Tom Blair and Charlie Austin. Taylor was straight into the action, latching onto Lee’s flick-on to win a left-wing corner. But from two attempts, Daws couldn’t beat Forbes at the near post, who headed the first corner behind and the second away.

Poole sprung forward, with Holmes holding the ball up long enough to allow Forbes to race up the right-hand side. Rose tried to shepherd him out wide but Forbes got to the byline and fired in a low cross that Gould did well to gather at his near post. The lively Forbes then won a corner off Taylor, on Poole’s right wing. Forbes took it himself and Kennedy headed away, before it came back to him and he kicked to complete the clearance.

One Holmes departed as another arrived, as Toby Holmes and Harvey Slade stepped off the pitch to be replaced by Luke Holmes and another ex-Totton player in Jack Hoey, with 15 minutes to go.

MIDFIELD ENGINE: Charlie Kennedy plays the ball forward for AFC Totton.

Forbes continued to look like the home side’s most likely source of a goalscoring opportunity, Hallett having to head clear one of the winger’s crosses before Kennedy got his body in the way of a follow-up cross-shot.

Poole were by now dominating possession, forcing Totton to hunker down in and around their own penalty area to protect their slender lead. Hallett diverted a Luke Holmes cross away, then McCarthy tried his luck from distance with a shot that flew a long way over the crossbar.

Declan Rose was booked against his former club for a trip on Poole’s left flank, midway inside Totton’s half. They tried to take it quickly but the players in red-and-white were not on the same wavelength, enabling Oastler to usher the ball out of play for a goal-kick.

Oastler fouled Forbes to give Poole a free-kick on the right. Forbes quickly played a short pass to Hoey to put him in at inside-right, Magri stepping across to block Hoey’s progress before falling on top of the forward after both players had already left the pitch at the right-wing byline. Hoey was left in need of treatment, while play continued with the home side temporarily down to 10 men.

Josh Staunton put the kibosh on one AFC Totton attack. Tyrique Clarke took up the loose ball and ran at Totton’s defence through the middle. Adam Tomasso sensed danger and slid in to trip Clarke from behind, prompting an angry exchange between several players from either side and an eventual yellow card for Tomasso. Hallett diverted the free-kick out for a left-wing corner. Forbes’s cross dropped inside the box and Poole appeared to have at least two chances to poke it home before it somehow squirmed wide of the left-hand post for another corner. Tony Lee headed out from the next Forbes delivery, before going down clutching his head to bring a stoppage in play.

While Lee was receiving treatment, the referee made his way over to the Poole Town dug-out and waved the yellow card in the general direction of somebody in the home team’s backroom staff.

SAFETY FIRST: Totton winger Tom Blair puts in a defensive shift to prevent the lively Tyler Forbes inflicted any damage from The Dolphins' right flank.

Play resumed with an uncontested drop-ball in midfield, from which Forbes skipped away from Taylor and crossed to the far post, where Daws headed out for another left-wing corner. It was taken short, before the cross was knocked out on the far side for another corner on the Poole right. Forbes again found the head of Tony Lee, and Taylor was able to knock the ball past an opponent at the edge of the box and set-off on a one-man counter-attack, progressing to midway inside the Poole half before Luke Holmes made a sliding tackle to force the ball out of play for a throw-in.

Five minutes of stoppage time were indicated. Hallett got in Hoey’s way down the Poole right. Then, Staunton joined The Dolphins’ attack to compete for a Cameron Plain free-kick from 15 yards inside the home team’s half of the pitch. Staunton forced it wide to Forbes, but he couldn’t control it and the ball went out for a goal-kick.

Gould kicked forward and Daws brought the ball under control on the Totton right, dribbling across the centre-circle and poking the ball on to Taylor before colliding with a defender. Taylor glided past the last defender and went down inside the box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot to give Scott Rendell the chance to wrap up the win by a two-goal margin. The young former AFC Bournemouth Academy goalkeeper Cameron Plain had other ideas, though, making a brilliant double-save to deny The Stags skipper’s spot-kick and the subsequent rebound.

The missed penalty gave The Dolphins’ late hope of rescuing a result, but it only served to harden the Totton defence’s resolve that they were not to be breached. Poole delivered more crosses that Totton repelled one after another, and Kennedy won a late free-kick on the edge of his own area to relieve the pressure. The referee waited until a Josh Gould goal-kick was airborne before calling time on proceedings and confirming three-wins-from-three for The Stags’ 2024/25 campaign to date.

View the GALLERY from Poole Town 0-1 AFC Totton

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Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview

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By Ben Rochey-Adams

Images courtesy of Ian Middlebrook