SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#30
Saturday 22 February 2025 | Webbswood Stadium, Swindon | Att: 406

10-MAN STAGS FORCED TO SETTLE FOR A POINT AT SUPERMARINE

SWINDON SUPERMARINE     1
Ioan Richards 12mins

AFC TOTTON                                   1
Charlie Austin 16mins

MID-TABLE SWINDON SUPERMARINE held AFC Totton to a one-all stalemate at the Webbswood Stadium in Wiltshire on Saturday (22 February 2025), and the home side had good reason to rue not taking all three points for themselves from a contest of limited chances.

Marine’s Michael Elias-Fernandes struck an upright with an early free-kick from 20 yards, and then a headed goal by Ioan Richards from a short corner routine put Swindon in front. But The Stags levelled within five minutes, when Charlie Austin met Ben Seymour’s low centre to sweep home his 11th goal of the campaign.

Totton were reduced to ten men when Ben Jefford received a second yellow card midway through the second half. Despite sending on attacking reinforcements, Jimmy Ball’s men struggled to create opportunities, while at the other end only a fortunate rebound prevented a collision between Ryan Gosney and Sam Magri resulting in an own goal, before a goal line clearance in stoppage time ensured that Totton avoided their third league defeat of the season.

In the absence of both Richard McIntyre and Tega Agberhiere, left-back Ben Jefford was recalled to the starting line-up for the first time since the 3-0 home win over Plymouth Parkway at the end of January. Roddy Collins came in for Mike Carter in the holding midfield role, while the injury sustained against Havant & Waterlooville on Tuesday night meant winger Ethan Taylor was left out and Craig Tanner came in for his third AFC Totton start. It was all-change up front, with the pairing of Charlie Austin and Ben Seymour stepping up to replace Scott Rendell and Tony Lee, who were both named among the Totton substitutes.

SWINDON SUPERMARINE: 1. Fiachra PAGEL; 2. Sam TURL; 3. Ryan CAMPBELL (Capt.); 4. Jake LEE; 5. Ioan RICHARDS; 6. Anton DWORZAK; 7. Zackariah KOTWICA; 8. Nicholas PEARE; 9. Harry WILLIAMS; 10. Michael ELIAS-FERNANDES; 11. Lucias VINE. Substitutes: 12. Oliver MEHEW; 14. James EDGE; 15. Gabriel REIVERS; 16. Henry SPALDING; 17. Oludayo SONOIKI. Substitutions: MEHEW for VINE (61mins); SPALDING for ELIAS-FERNANDES (86mins). Yellow Card: CAMPBELL (Dissent).

AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER (Capt.); 3. Ben JEFFORD; 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 6. Sam MAGRI; 7. Ben SEYMOUR; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 14. Craig TANNER; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 19. Tom BLAIR. Substitutes: 4. Mike CARTER;  9. Scott RENDELL; 12. Luke HALLETT; 16. Luke BENNETT; 18. Tony LEE. Substitutions: BENNETT for BLAIR (56mins); RENDELL for SEYMOUR (61mins); LEE for AUSTIN (61mins); CARTER for COLLINS (75mins); HALLETT for TANNER (84mins). Red Card: JEFFORD (2nd Yellow).

Swindon Supermarine kicked-off, wearing blue-and-white hooped shirts with blue shorts and socks, attacking towards the SwinDome indoor football facility. AFC Totton wore their away kit of light grey shirts with turquoise shorts and socks.

Charlie Kennedy and Roddy Collins made early progress down the right flank but the cross into the box was headed away from Charlie Austin. Craig Tanner tried to keep it alive but the home team’s goalkeeper Fiachra Pagel grabbed the ball.

Ben Seymour was tripped to the left of the Swindon penalty area after receiving possession from a Ben Jefford throw-in. Tom Blair’s free-kick delivery had Austin sniffing but The Marine defence got it clear to spark a counter-attack, with Michael Elias-Fernandes carrying the ball down the right wing before Swindon shifted it across to the left-hand side, where Sam Magri tripped Harry Williams to give the home side a free-kick 20 yards out, just to the left of the D. Elias-Fernandes went for goal, leaving Ryan Gosney rooted to the spot as the ball struck the left-hand post and bounced back into play, with Totton being awarded a free-kick for a foul in the ensuing penalty box scramble.

Williams took advantage of some untidy midfield play from both sides by bursting through the middle of the Totton defence, but Gosney was alert to the threat and came sliding out to grab the ball close to the penalty spot.

Despite a bobbly, uneven playing surface, Swindon were committed to playing out from the back, and the eagerness of Seymour and Blair to press unsettled Marine’s defenders enough to force Nicholas Peare - easily the biggest player on the pitch - to slice his clearance out of play and into the main stand.

Totton worked the ball to their right, where Collins looped a pass over Peare to play Blair in at inside-right. The winger let the ball bounce and then unleashed a well-struck effort that Pagel parried at his near post for a corner. Swindon dealt with it initially, then when Seymour received a pass at the right byline, his low cross was turned away.

Swindon countered, again, and Elias-Fernandes’ cross from the right was knocked behind by Magri for a left-wing corner. Elias-Fernandes crossed towards the near post where Ioan Richards came flying in, getting his head to the ball before it was deflected wide for a second corner. This time, the set-piece was taken short to Zachariah Kotwica standing just off the left corner of the penalty area; he clipped a high cross towards the six-yard box and Ioan RICHARDS headed it over Gosney and inside the left-hand post to give Swindon Supermarine a 12th-minute lead.

Totton still hadn’t woken up, and full-back Sam Turl tried to take advantage by attacking down the Swindon right but when he pulled the ball back from close to the corner flag, Tanner was in position to intercept. And Tanner sparked Totton’s next attack, riding a challenge in the centre-circle to feed Blair on the right wing, but his delivery arced too far ahead of Austin as the striker arrived at the far post.

A combination of Jefford and Joe Oastler quashed another right-wing threat from Elias-Fernandes, and as Totton progressed the ball forward, a Kennedy through-ball to inside-right enabled Seymour to wriggle himself into a pocket of space where he turned and supplied a low centre for Charlie AUSTIN to level the scores with a swipe of his right in-step from 10 yards out.

Swindon went for goal directly from the restart. It all happened too quickly for some; whoever it was that took the shot came close to restoring his team’s lead, but the ball dropped over the crossbar with Gosney keeping a close eye on it.

Seymour went down in the Supermarine box when he tried to latch onto Tanner’s pass, but the referee saw nothing untoward and allowed play to continue. Then, Jefford’s pass allowed Seymour to spin away from his marker to the left-wing byline before his low cross was hacked clear from the six-yard box.

With the ball at his feet, Gosney launched it forward towards the right touchline, where Kennedy headed back infield from midway inside The Marine half. Blair knocked on to Seymour, who dropped off the front line to take control, turn, advance and then fire at goal from 25 yards, his effort flying over the bar and into a tall row of trees behind Pagel’s goal.

Collins misjudged a header but Oastler intervened before Williams could capitalise at the heart of Totton’s defence. Then, Peare made a well-timed interception to prevent Austin’s pass releasing Seymour to exploit open space at inside-left.

Elias-Fernandes ran at the Totton defence but held onto the ball too long and eventually ran aground against three grey shirts, enabling Magri to usher the ball to Collins to complete the clearance. When Supermarine came forward again, Turl and Elias-Fernandes got to the right-wing corner flag but the cross was a poor one and Adam Tomasso easily intercepted. His pass out to Collins was over-hit, though, enabling Anton Dworzak to regain possession for the home side. The ball was played out to the left, where Lucias Vine performed a couple of stepovers before harmlessly shooting onto the roof of the SwinDome.

Seymour and Blair combined to attack from Totton’s right, but again the service into the box was intercepted by one of Swindon’s three central defenders before it could reach Austin. When Seymour next gained possession to the right of the D on the edge of the crowded Swindon box, he laid it square to Collins who fed it wide for Jefford to cross, a deflection resulting in a Totton corner. Blair’s in-swinging cross was headed off the goal line by Richards; Collins picked up the loose ball in midfield and returned it to Blair, who went down under a late challenge for a free-kick 25 yards from goal, on Totton’s left. Blair curled his cross into the box where it rebounded away off Kotwica’s knee.

A shove on Tomasso meant Totton’s next free-kick was from close to the right-wing corner flag. Tanner put the ball into the box but Austin was called-up for hand-ball.

Vine went for something spectacular, attempting to chest control and volley on the turn from midway inside The Stags’ half of the pitch, but his effort posed a greater threat to passing aircraft than Gosney’s goal. Elias-Fernandes was the next to threaten; Jefford got his knee in the way of the winger’s cross before Oastler tidied up to ensure the two sides remained level at the break.

HALF-TIME: SWINDON SUPERMARINE 1-1 AFC TOTTON

With the Webbswood Stadium pitch already in a bobbly, uneven state prior to kick-off, fans were treated at half-time to the sight of around 30 children — all of them wearing football boots — running around on a large section of the playing surface to make it even worse. When the apparently less important matter of the Southern League Premier Division South fixture between Swindon Supermarine and AFC Totton resumed, Jefford had an early cross from the left intercepted by ‘keeper Pagel, and as he retreated to his left-back position, Jefford handled the ball from a Supermarine pass, earning himself a yellow card.

Good work from Kennedy and Blair won a corner for Totton on their right, but Tanner’s delivery was well-claimed by Pagel. Then, Gosney came out of his area to hit a cross field free-kick that Kennedy headed on down the right wing. Blair ran on to it and picked out Austin arriving from the far side of the penalty spot; the striker was under pressure and scuffed his volley wide.

Peare cut-out Kennedy’s pass seeking to send Seymour away at inside-right. Tomasso won the ball back before finding Collins on the left. A short pass to Austin enabled the former Swindon Town forward to arc a cross over Peare to Seymour at the far post; the Torquay United loanee took a touch and went for goal from a tight angle, bringing a smart reaction save from Pagel, the goalkeeper thrusting his right boot to deflect the shot before a defender thrashed it clear.

Totton came again with Blair, Seymour and Austin exchanging quick, short passes but the Swindon Supermarine defence had regrouped and stood up to the test.

But just as Totton appeared to be gaining the upper hand in the contest, they were reduced to 10 men when Ben Jefford receiving his second yellow card for a foul on Sam Turl midway inside his own half. Had the referee allowed play to continue, Williams was clean through in the middle and he did in fact lob the ball over Gosney into the net, albeit by then the free-kick had already been awarded to Swindon. It was taken short and Tanner intercepted, charging forward into the opposition half until he was dispossessed.

On 56 minutes, Jimmy Ball withdrew Tom Blair and sent on the versatile Luke Bennett. Collins came close to providing Seymour with an assist with a straight pass through the middle of The Marine’s defence, but although Seymour got the better of two flat-footed defenders, Pagel reacted smartly by rushing out to head the ball away; Tomasso got it under control but was crowded out before he could try to lob Pagel as the ‘keeper returned to his goalmouth.

Swindon went forward, trying to make their numerical advantage count. Turl linked up with Vine on their right wing to supply a cross into the box. A deflection took it higher than intended and Gosney saw the opportunity to leap above a cluster of bodies to claim the ball back into Stags possession.

Supermarine captain Ryan Campbell was booked for dissent after complaining about the referee awarding him a free-kick for a foul by Tomasso in midfield rather than taking a moment to see whether an advantage might accrue to the player in possession, who had ridden the foul and remained upright. Then, Elias-Fernandes dragged the ball infield from Swindon’s right and fired a low shot across goal from outside the Totton box, that bounced wide of the left-hand post.

One minute past the hour, Seymour and Austin both came off to be replaced by Scott Rendell and Tony Lee, signalling Jimmy Ball’s intent to try to win the game despite having had a player dismissed. Supermarine Manager Stuart Fleetwood made an attacking change of his own, sending on Oliver Mehew for Vine.

Williams got to the left-wing byline to pull back for Campbell to cross but Oastler got it away. Then, Supermarine came within a whisker of retaking the lead when an attack down their right-hand side resulted in a low cross being fizzed into the box. Gosney came out to smother the ball at the near post but as he did so, he collided with Magri and the ball ricocheted off the defender to bounce across the open goalmouth — fortunately for Totton, Oastler was able to prevent the striker following-up getting a touch and the ball squirmed wide for a corner. Kotwica took it short and Elias-Fernandes put the cross in but Oastler read it and was able to run the ball half the length of the pitch to relieve the pressure on The Stags’ back line.

Elias-Fernandes came off worse from an aerial challenge with Tomasso, with about 18 minutes to go. The referee allowed play to continue but Vine was unable to take any advantage, sending his shot wide of the target.

Ioan Richards was booked for a foul on Lee, just off the right corner of the Swindon penalty area after Magri had played a dangerous, searching ball towards the inside-right channel. Tanner curled the free-kick into the box; Pagel stepped forward to make a confident catch amid all the bodies clustered inside his penalty area.

Roddy Collins came off for the last 15 minutes to make way for Mike Carter, who was immediately handed the captain’s armband by Oastler.

Supermarine briefly opened up the Totton defence when Peare chipped a pass between the central defenders to send Elias-Fernandes scampering through on goal. He passed up the opportunity to lob Gosney in favour of continuing to drive forward, to get closer to goal. That hesitation proved fatal, as Oastler made up the ground and used his left shoulder to strong effect to force the forward wide to the left. The Swindon No.10 retained possession but by the time he got the ball under control and looked up for support, Totton had numbers back and dealt with the threat.

A painful collision left Totton’s Bennett and Swindon’s Campbell on the ground, both needing treatment for a clash of heads. Before play resumed, Luke Hallett came on for Craig Tanner, as Totton went to three central defenders. Two minutes later, Swindon sent on new signing Harry Spalding — now in his fourth spell at the Webbswood Stadium — in place of Elias-Fernandes.

Richards had to stretch to get to Lee’s headed flick on before Rendell and Tomasso could fashion a shooting chance. From the resulting left-wing corner, Tomasso’s delivery was headed out and when Carter returned it into the home team’s area, they managed to scrape it clear, again.

Carter had his pocket picked 20 yards from his own goal, but Williams couldn’t get his shot away. Then, Spalding found space to attack on the Supermarine left, but his cross landed into the grateful, waiting gloves of Gosney.

During five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, Hallett halted Campbell’s progress down the home side’s left wing, then Oastler was well-positioned to head away the follow-up cross.

Williams nearly fashioned a late winner, as he raided from the left of the box. His low cross was stabbed towards goal; Gosney got his arm to it but the ball bounced behind him, only to be hacked off the line by the covering Sam Magri.

Totton had a late chance of their own. With a throw-in from an advanced position on the left touchline, Lee hurled the ball into the box. Hallett got something on it at the near post to knock it down and Bennett tried to contort his body to strike off the bounce, but couldn’t keep his effort down.

A foul by Tomasso on Williams 30 yards out gave Spalding the chance to deliver some late quality into the Totton box; the cross was over-hit and Oastler’s clearing header proved the last act before the referee blew the final whistle.

Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview

Watch CHARLIE AUSTIN’S Post-Match Interview

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Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#31 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton, Southampton SO40 2RW | Saturday 01 March 2025 | Kick-Off 3:00pm

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By Ben Rochey-Adams