SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#38
Tuesday 08 April 2025 | Cygnet Healthcare Stadium, Taunton, Somerset | Att: 497

MAGIC MAGRI ON THE SPOT AGAIN TO CLAIM A POINT FROM PEACOCKS

TAUNTON TOWN                        1
Jayden Nielsen 78mins

AFC TOTTON                                  1
Sam Magri 86mins (pen)

SAM MAGRI’S THIRD SUCCESSFUL strike from the penalty spot in the space of a month earned 10-man AFC Totton a point at mid-table Taunton Town, after fellow central defender Luke Hallett had been sent-off.

Magri’s fifth goal of the season overall levelled the scores after substitute Jayden Nielsen applied the finishing touch to a swift Taunton Town counter-attack, 12 minutes from the end of the Southern League Premier Division South encounter at Wordsworth Drive in Somerset.

Jimmy Ball made two changes to the side that won 3-0 at Hungerford Town at the weekend, with the two wide men Luke Bennett and Ethan Taylor both having picked up knocks at Bulpit Lane. Tom Blair and Richard McIntyre came into the starting XI.

TAUNTON TOWN: 1. Joshua GOULD; 4. Nicholas GRIMES (Capt.); 5. Oliver WOODHOUSE; 6. Latrell HUMPHREY-EWERS; 7. Tom PURRINGTON; 9. Christopher ZEBROSKI; 10. Owen BRAIN; 11. Jacob HODGSON; 12. Alfie MOULDEN; 14. Jack MATTHEWS; 20. Obinna ANAEBONAM. Substitutes: 15. Jayden NIELSEN; 16. Archie MORGAN; 17. Harris FELTHAM; 18. Ryan CAINEY; 19. Bailey CROOME. Substitutions: NIELSEN for BRAIN (70mins); CROOME for ZEBROSKI (77mins). Yellow Cards: HODGSON (Foul);  ANAEBONAM (Hand-ball); WOODHOUSE (Foul); MOULDEN (Foul); CROOME (Time-wasting).

AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER; 4. Mike CARTER (Capt.); 6. Sam MAGRI; 9. Scott RENDELL; 11. Charlie AUSTIN; 12. Luke HALLETT; 15. Roddy COLLINS; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR; 20. Richard McINTYRE. Substitutes: 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 7. Ben SEYMOUR; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 14. Craig TANNER; 16. Luke BENNETT. Substitutions: BENNETT for BLAIR (64mins); TAYLOR for AUSTIN (76mins); TANNER for RENDELL (83mins); SEYMOUR for LEE (83mins); KENNEDY for CARTER (86mins). Yellow Cards: COLLINS (Foul); BENNETT (Foul). Red Card: HALLETT (Foul).

Taunton wore claret shirts with light blue shorts and socks, while Totton wore their away kit of light grey shirts with turquoise shorts and socks. The home side mounted the first attack, with Obinna Anaebonam advancing down the left and sending in a low cross that Roddy Collins diverted out to the edge of the box. Alfie Moulden collected the loose ball and attempted a left-footed shot that he dragged wide of the right-hand post. Then, Owen Brain drove forward down the right flank and fired in a low cross that flashed across the Totton goal, without a claret and blue shirt on-hand to apply the finished touch.

ROUGH AND TUMBLE PLAY: Sam Magri gets down and dirty at Taunton Town.

Totton sat back and allowed Jack Matthews to carry the ball forward from the halfway line, until he tried to play Anaebonam in at inside-left and Sam Magri was able to intervene, with the two players tumbling over one another as the ball ran out of play.

Luke Hallett and Joe Oastler shifted the ball across the Totton defensive line while Taunton tried to press. Charlie Austin dropped into the centre-circle to receive a forward pass and hook it out to Tom Blair on the right wing. Blair scampered to the byline but his low cross was turned away by a covering defender. Then, Richard McIntyre received Hallett’s high, cross-field pass on the Totton left. His ball infield was flicked on by Scott Rendell to Tony Lee, on the left corner of the penalty area, and his side-foot shot flew over the bar.

McIntyre brought down Brain on the Taunton right, prompting The Peacocks’ manager Richard Luffman to demand the referee show the Oxford United loanee a yellow card — advice not heeded by the match official. The free-kick reached Anaebonam to the left of the box, but his shot hit Austin and was cleared by Rendell.

Jacob Hodgson was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Mike Carter, seemingly exacting revenge for an off-the-ball incident a few moments prior. Luffman was also booked for his protests from the home dug-out. Carter fed Blair on the right, and his cross was deflected behind for a corner. Blair delivered to the back post but Taunton managed to smuggle the ball away, forcing Totton to retreat.

Brain won the ball midway inside the Taunton half, skipped away from Carter’s challenge and played a short through-ball to Moulden, triggering Ryan Gosney to come out of his box and kick clear. Then, Carter’s tackle resulted in a corner to Taunton on their right, but a foul on Blair relinquished possession back to The Stags.

HEADS I WIN: Defender Luke Hallett gets stuck in against the Taunton front line.

Another foul on Blair in a more advanced position, just off the right corner of the Taunton penalty area, enabled the winger to deliver into the box for Oastler to rise high at the back post and head over the crossbar. Then, Lee’s flick-on sat up invitingly for Austin to strike from 30 yards out, but his effort flew wide to the left.

The home side struggled to clear their lines from a Totton free-kick, and McIntyre forced a left-wing corner. Blair’s cross was high, flying beyond the far post, and it was too far wide for Oastler to direct his header on-target. Then, a strong defensive header by Magri sent the ball up to Lee, who won another corner on the right. Blair delivered, once again, and Magri leapt behind Lee, almost pushing the striker out of his way, but the big defender’s header was too high.

Magri used his strength to prevent Anaebonam stealing in to the left of the Totton area. Then, veteran forward Chris Zebroski — a member of the Bristol Rovers side that famously faced Totton in the FA Cup in November 2010 — stole a march through the centre to meet a cross from the Taunton right, but could only steer his header directly at Gosney with the goal at his mercy. Obinna Anaebonam jumped in the way of Gosney’s attempted quick clearance, and earned himself a yellow card for hand-ball.

McIntyre was caught in possession high on the Totton left, and as Taunton raided down the flank, Oastler came across and miss-kicked his clearance out for a corner. Collins headed the delivery away and Totton quickly countered, but former Totton goalkeeper Josh Gould got to the loose ball before Blair could run onto it and kicked clear for the home side.

Zebroski was spoken to by the referee for catching Hallett with a high boot near the centre-circle. Taunton regained possession, though, and forced a corner on their right, from which Oliver Woodhouse should have opened the scoring with a six-yard header that he couldn’t direct below Gosney’s crossbar.

Alfie Moulden picked up a yellow card for a shove on Collins, after the Irish midfielder had already launched himself into an aerial challenge, shortly before the referee brought the first half to a close.

HALF-TIME: TAUNTON TOWN 0-0 AFC TOTTON

The Stags got the second half underway. Austin struck the first shot in anger of the second 45 minutes, receiving the ball to the left of the D from Carter’s forward surge, his low, curling shot squeezing between two defenders but going straight to Gould.

A rapid raid down the right wing carved out Totton’s best chance of the game so far, as Blair raced forward and centred with a low cross. Lee slid into the six-yard box to connect with the ball before Gould could get close to it, but the striker lifted his effort over the crossbar and the chance was gone.

Tom Purrington picked up a loose ball in midfield and found Brain on the right wing. Magri blocked the cross for a corner on the Taunton left. Brain’s near post delivery was headed clear by Collins.

ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DANCE: Roddy Collins channels his inner Swan Lake at the Cygnet Healthcare Stadium in Somerset.

Magri conceded another corner from Anaebonam. Brain’s high cross was headed at goal by Woodhouse but Austin deflected it wide for another corner, which was this time taken short, giving Hodgson the chance to drive in angled shot that was turned away at the near post for yet another corner. This time, the cross arced across the Totton goalmouth and out of play for a goal-kick.

Hallett lost his right boot defending a long ball down the middle of the pitch; when Cinderella was once more suitably attired, play was allowed to continue. Woodhouse read the situation well to prevent the ball reaching Rendell on the edge of the Taunton box. Then, Oastler did likewise to repel Brain’s lobbed pass into the Totton penalty area.

Gosney kept his side on level terms with a double-save, first to deny Anaebonam’s angled shot from a cute lay-off from Moulden, then to block Zebroski’s follow-up effort from the right. Then, Totton got forward with Rendell knocking the ball down for Collins to send in a high centre; Austin met it with a close-range header but Gould was right on top of him and made the catch.

Jimmy Ball made the game’s first substitution with the introduction of Luke Bennett in place of Tom Blair on 64 minutes. Collins was booked for a foul midway inside the Taunton half.

Owen Brain was replaced by Jayden Nielsen for the hosts on 70 minutes. Collins, Austin and McIntyre combined down the left wing, creating an opening for Collins to bend an in-swinging cross into the box. Lee got ahead of his marker to stab a right-footed effort towards the near corner; Gould was equal to it.

The home fans were incensed by the referee’s decision not to award a free-kick for an apparent shove by Carter, right in front of the home dug-out, before Totton forced a left-wing corner. Bennett’s cross found Austin’s head but the striker barely connected with it, his effort glancing harmlessly across goal. The Taunton fans were somewhat appeased shortly after, though, when the Totton skipper’s name was finally taken for a foul on Moulden.

REARGUARD ACTION: AFC Totton defend a corner against Taunton Town in the Southern League Premier Division South encounter in Somerset.

Ethan Taylor replaced Charlie Austin for Totton. Then, an attack from the right flank presented Collins with an opportunity to shoot from the edge of the box, firing wide to the right of goal.

Zebroski departed to be replaced by Bailey Croome for the home side, and within a minute, Taunton took the lead. A Totton attack broke down deep in the Taunton half and a long ball up to Moulden, on the right side of the halfway line, enabled him to carry the ball forward and infield, before switching it to Anaebonam on the left. With the Totton defence stretched, Anaebonam got to the byline and pulled the ball back towards the penalty spot, where the unmarked Jayden NIELSEN took a touch and fired a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner.

Taunton repelled Totton’s attempt to get themselves straight back into the game, Rendell and Collins trying to play McIntyre in down the left. Then, Totton’s situation went from bad to worse when Bailey Croome raced onto the ball on a Taunton counter-attack and Luke Hallett came sliding in to bring The Peacocks’ No.19 down. Despite the defender’s protests that he hadn’t touched his opponent, the referee deemed Hallett to have been the last man and produced a straight red card to send The Stags down to 10 men. Jimmy Ball responded by sending on Ben Seymour and Craig Tanner in place of Rendell and Lee.

Magri put his body in the way of Anaebonam’s raid to concede a corner on the Taunton left, which Gosney collected at his near post. Then, somewhat against the run of play, Totton were handed a lifeline. Seymour was brought down for a free-kick on the left, about 35 yards from goal. Craig Tanner’s delivery was slightly overhit, seemingly requiring nothing more than a routine clearance. But, a Taunton defender misjudged the flight of the ball and, raising his arms, handled the ball in the area, giving the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot. Sam MAGRI’S strike flashed past Josh Gould to level the scores with four minutes remaining.

Charlie Kennedy came on for Mike Carter. Seymour and Taylor combined to win a corner on the left, but Tanner’s delivery was turned away at the near post. Then, another promising attack from the same side was halted when Taylor was penalised for a high boot as he tried to execute an overhead-kick in the crowded Taunton box.

During five minutes of stoppage time, Taylor had a shot blocked from Seymour’s lay-off. Then, Tanner had a couple of opportunities to deliver from right-wing corners, the second being flicked on by Magri at the near post but eluding Seymour at the far. Tanner took a corner from the left and Kennedy met it with a firm header, thumping the ball wide of the left-hand post.

Croome and Latrell Humphrey-Ewers threatened to snatch a late winner for the home side, until Oastler made a brilliant sliding tackle to win the ball back for Totton. Croome was then booked for preventing Gosney taking a free-kick, before the referee blew the final whistle.

Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview

Watch SAM MAGRI’S Post-Match Interview

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Next Up: AFC TOTTON vs TIVERTON TOWN
Southern League Premier Division South | Matchday#39 | Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton, Southampton SO40 2RW | Saturday 12 April 2025 | Kick-Off 3:00pm

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By Ben Rochey-Adams

Images courtesy of Debbie Gould