AFC Totton
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH | Matchday#21
Saturday 04 January 2025 | Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey | Att: 744
LAST-GASP DEFENSIVE ERROR HANDS WIN TO WALTON
WALTON & HERSHAM 3
Ralph Vigrass 63mins;
Dawid Rogalski 84mins, 90+6mins
AFC TOTTON 2
Tony Lee 52mins;
Scott Rendell 90+2mins
DAWID ROGALSKI’S LAST-GASP WINNER saw Walton & Hersham take the points from a five-goal thriller with AFC Totton at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub in Surrey (on Saturday 04 January 2025).
The home side shaded the first half with debutant Ralph Vigrass heading against the Totton crossbar and Rogalski forcing a fine save from Ryan Gosney to parry a shot from his top-left corner. The Stags had more reason to be grateful for the half-time stalemate but they came flying out of the blocks in the second period and took the lead when Tony Lee applied a close-range finish to Tom Blair’s left-wing cross.
Walton & Hersham substitute Nana Owusu made an immediate impact by setting up Vigrass for a debut goal to level the scores, and then Rogalski fired The Swans into the lead with a well-struck shot after latching onto a clever reverse pass from Alex Body. Scott Rendell, on as sub, appeared to have salvaged a point for The Stags when he headed in two minutes beyond the 90. But a poor pass out of defence handed the ball to Rogalski on the edge of Totton’s box and he kept his cool to win it with virtually the last kick of the game.
Luke Hallett returned to the Totton defence after illness kept him out of the last home game against Poole Town, and Tega Agberhiere came in at left-back. Adam Tomasso returned from suspension to partner with Roddy Collins in midfield. Luke Bennett retained his place in the starting line-up. Sam Magri, Ben Jefford and Scott Rendell all dropped to the bench where they were joined by the fit-again Charlie Austin.
WALTON & HERSHAM: 1. Josiah BARKER; 2. Paul FIELD; 12. Eoin BOLGER; 4. Joseph JONES (Capt.); 5. Julian ECCLESTON; 15. Joshua TOBIN; 18. Elliott BOLTON; 8. Mason OBENG; 9. Dawid ROGALSKI; 10. John POWELL; 11. Ralph VIGRASS. Substitutes: 6. Lucas DEFISE; 14. Anis NUUR; 16. Alexander BODY; 19. Nana OWUSU; 20. Thabo KUAHO. Substitutions: OWUSU for FIELD (59mins); DEFISE for ECCLESTON (74mins); BODY for VIGRASS (81mins); NUUR for POWELL (88mins). Yellow Cards: TOBIN (Dissent).
AFC TOTTON: 13. Ryan GOSNEY; 2. Joe OASTLER (Capt.); 5. Charlie KENNEDY; 8. Adam TOMASSO; 10. Ethan TAYLOR; 12. Luke HALLETT: 15. Roddy COLLINS; 16. Luke BENNETT; 18. Tony LEE; 19. Tom BLAIR; 20. Tega AGBERHIERE. Substitutes: 3. Ben JEFFORD; 4. Mike CARTER; 6. Sam MAGRI; 9. Scott RENDELL; 11. Charlie AUSTIN. Substitutions: RENDELL for AGBERHIERE (65mins); AUSTIN for BLAIR (85mins); CARTER for KENNEDY (91mins); MAGRI for COLLINS (91mins). Yellow Cards: KENNEDY (Foul); COLLINS (Foul); BLAIR (Dissent).
Walton & Hersham took to their 3G pitch wearing their usual home kit of all-red with white trim, while The Stags were decked out in their away kit of light grey shirts with turquoise shorts and socks. This was the first game of 2025 for both teams following whether enforced postponements on New Year’s Day.
Walton defender Paul Field conceded an early free-kick for pulling down Tony Lee after the striker had pounced on a heavy touch. Tom Blair floated the ball into the box and goalkeeper Josiah Barker came out to punch it away. It fell to Ethan Taylor whose half-volley flew over the bar.
Tega Agberhiere was left remonstrating with the match officials when his decision to clear the ball was deemed as reason to play-on after he had been fouled and the ball fell directly back into Walton possession, but the home side were unable to capitalise. Then, Blair delivered a left-wing corner into the six-yard box but Barker was decisive and confident enough to claim the ball before any of the Totton players could prod it towards goal.
Seven minutes into the game, an Eoin Bolger cross was deflected for a corner on the Walton & Hersham right. The delivery to the far post was headed back across goal. Ralph Vigrass headed at goal and onto the crossbar via a deflection off Roddy Collins and a finger-tip save by Ryan Gosney. In the ensuing scramble, Adam Tomasso was pushed and a free-kick was awarded to The Stags.
The home side kept up the pressure, Bolger and Powell working the ball from the middle to the right to tee up Rogalski for a shot from just outside the Totton box that bend into the waiting arms of Gosney. The Stags’ goalkeeper then had to come rushing out of his box to made an improvised stop with his shins as a Walton forward tried to run onto a long ball down the middle.
Lee received the ball on the advanced side of the centre-circle from Gosney’s ground kick and played a precise first-time pass out to Blair on the right flank. The winger took the opportunity to run at Bolger and cross into the box. Lee made only partial contact with his header but the ball fell to Agberhiere who found Taylor. He was well-placed to shoot but the ball had bounced up too close to his body, so he tried to feed Lee but missed him with the pass.
Gosney had to clear under pressure inside his own penalty area as Walton pressed high up the pitch to disrupt Totton’s passing game. Lee again played a first-time pass out to Blair to give the Totton attack some impetus but Mason Obeng tracked back well to win the ball for the home team.
Agberhiere made an important interception to prevent Vigrass pulling away on the right wing. But then a long ball picked out Vigrass who did well to keep the ball in play and pass infield to Rogalski. The striker arrowed a well-struck shot towards the top-right corner, forcing Gosney into an impressive reaction save to parry wide for a corner, which Totton defended.
A high ball caught out Joe Oastler, who mistimed his jump, but Luke Hallett swept up behind him. Oastler was then turned sharply just inside the Walton half, which he remedied by pulling his opponent back and conceding a free-kick. Bolger sent a high ball into the box which Tobin leapt to meet but could only steer over the bar.
Collins covered behind Agberhiere to prevent Vigrass crossing into the Totton box. A disputed foul resulted in a free-kick to Walton on their right from which Bolger found Obeng on the left. His shot was blocked by Tomasso and when the ball was played back to Bolger, who had moved infield, his curling shot was caught by Gosney.
Charlie Kennedy was shown a yellow card for pulling Tobin back by his arm near the centre-circle. The free-kick was knocked out for a corner by Lee. Kennedy headed the cross away from the front post and the ball dropped to Tobin whose volley veered away from the frame of the goal and wide to the right. From the goal-kick, Gosney played it short to Hallett on the right and when the ball came back to him, he was immediately under pressure and had to quickly punt upfield.
Roddy Collins was booked for a similar foul to Kennedy’s for pulling his opponent back by his arm. Totton withstood the resulting free-kick and made the next attack of note with Blair’s cross forcing Elliott Bolton to head clear at the far post before a rash challenge from Taylor on Field let The Swans off the hook.
Bolton fed Vigrass on the right. The former Bracknell Town man managed to squeeze a low cross past Taylor for Rogalski to try a shot that was blocked. Oastler then had to block a cross from the Walton left, as the home side continued to probe Totton’s defence.
Agberhiere was almost put clean through for a run on goal by Blair but Obeng was again chasing back to keep the door shut for Walton. Then, the lively Vigrass received on the right and passed infield to Powell who laid it off for Tobin to drive a low shot from the edge of the box that Gosney saved diving to his left.
A cross from Vigrass from the right was headed by Hallett but the ball flew more up than out. He tried to kick it clear but only succeeded in striking the ball into the back of Tomasso, and in the resulting confusion Totton conceded a free-kick on the very edge of their box in a central position. Obeng’s shot hit the defensive wall and Totton were able to clear. Walton initially regained possession but Oastler won the ball on the edge of his own box and then carried it into the opposition half before feeding Blair on the left. The winger advanced to the edge of the box, cut infield and shot right-footed with an effort that bent beyond the top-right corner.
Josiah Barker came very close to handling the ball outside his penalty area on his right-hand side; his feet strayed beyond the white line but whether the ball did likewise was left to conjecture. Collins made a smart recovery tackle to prevent Powell racing away from him. From the resulting corner, Bolger sent an in-swinging cross into the box where a Walton player headed against a Totton defender. The subsequent delivery came back to Bolton who scuffed his shot over the bar.
HALF-TIME: WALTON & HERSHAM 0-0 AFC TOTTON
‘When the going gets tough; the tough get going’ crooned Billy Ocean on the Walton & Hersham sound system as the two teams returned to the pitch without having made any changes to their respective starting line-ups.
Vigrass struck the first effort of the second half, turning sharply to momentarily escape Agberhiere and bring a save from Gosney with a strike towards the near post from a tight angle.
Blair, Taylor and Lee exchanged quick passes to move the ball forward for The Stags. Blair took possession on the left-hand side and hung a high cross towards Bennett but the cross flew towards the top-right corner, forcing Barker to push it wide for a corner. The delivery was knocked out for another corner and from that cross, the ball dropped to Collins on the edge of the box, and his shot was deflected over. Walton & Hersham successfully defended the next corner and set-off on a counter-attack but to no avail.
Totton had made a bright start to the second half and continued to take the game to their hosts. Taylor advanced down the right flank before crossing towards the far post. The ball was knocked away but only as far as Blair, about 25 yards out on the left-hand side. He arced a cross towards the near side of the six-yard box and as the ball bounced in front of Barker, Tony LEE poked it past the ‘keeper at his near post to give Totton the lead.
Tobin went down under pressure from Bennett. The referee waved play-on - much to the annoyance of the home crowd - and Totton continued to attack with Taylor passing to Blair on the left, who cut inside his marker and drove a shot that was blocked, before Lee fired the rebound over the crossbar.
A poor pass by Field gave possession to Blair on the Totton left but his pass into the middle required Lee to stretch to make a connection on it and he couldn’t steer his effort on target. Field was then substituted by the former Bracknell Town forward Nana Owusu, whose first contribution was to run at Kennedy down the Walton & Hersham left; Kennedy managed to keep him at bay on this occasion.
Totton went close to extending their lead when Gosney’s long kick caused confusion in the home defence, one of their defenders sending the ball high into the air. Lee brought it under control and side-stepped a defender on the edge of the box before blasting a left-footed shot over the bar with Barker exposed.
The home side drew level on 63 minutes when Tobin brought the ball out of defence and found Owusu on the left wing. He ran at Kennedy, got to the byline and hung a high cross to the far post where the debutant Ralph VIGRASS leapt high to head home from close range.
Owusu was straight into the action again once Walton & Hersham had regained possession after the restart. This time, Oastler got across to make a vital challenge to prevent a cross being delivered. Jimmy Ball then withdrew Tega Agberhiere and sent on Scott Rendell, with Luke Bennett shifting into the left-back slot.
Obeng crossed from a right-wing corner. The ball struck Lee on the back of the head but Gosney, who had thought about coming out for the cross, was back on his line in time to make the catch.
With Totton sitting back and allowing their hosts to keep the ball among their defenders Tobin, who had moved into central defence when Field was substituted, began to emerge as the home side’s primary playmaker having the skill and confidence to advance into midfield and pull the strings for The Swans.
Lee shot wide from a half-chance when a deflected clearance fell to him to the right of the penalty spot. The striker then had another chance, chopping onto his left foot and forcing Barker to parry wide for a corner. Blair’s cross was headed out by Rogalski and although Totton regained possession, they were unable to fashion another shooting chance.
Obeng tried to take on Tomasso and Hallett on the Walton right, the latter making an important block to repel an angled shot. Tobin then made a timely intervention to prevent Lee running onto Rendell’s headed flick-on.
Vigrass made his exit to be replaced by Alexander Body with 10 minutes to go. Walton won a corner on their right. The cross was delivered to the far post where Jones headed back across goal. It was knocked out as far as Defise but he couldn’t control his shot and blazed it over the top.
Gosney came out of his area to kick into touch from an over-hit through-ball. The Swans took the throw-in on their right wing and Body wrong-footed the Totton defence with an incisive reverse pass that played Dawid ROGALSKI into space in the inside-right channel with time to pick his spot and drive the ball under Gosney to give Walton & Hersham the lead.
Charlie Austin was immediately introduced from the bench with Blair making way. Totton took the fight to their opponents, forcing them back into their final third to defend their slender advantage. When The Swans counter-attacked, Body’s fierce cross-shot was too hot for Rogalski to handle and Totton were let off the hook. Then, Bennett did well to nick the ball off Rogalski’s toe as he threatened to run through on goal.
Oastler lofted the ball forward from the half-way line and Rendell headed on to Taylor, whose left-footed hook shot was pushed wide by Barker at the far post. Two minutes into stoppage time, Mike Carter stepped off the bench to finally make his return to first team action for the first time since being injured at Sholing on 17 October 2023. He replaced Kennedy, while Sam Magri also came on in place of Collins.
The change had an immediate impact. Taylor’s left-wing corner found Austin on the far post; he headed back into the middle and Scott RENDELL looped his header beyond Barker. Lee appeared to kick the ball on its way in but it was later confirmed that the ball was already over the goal line. Walton players complained to the referee and Tobin was booked for dissent, but the goal stood.
Carter won the ball in midfield and passed to Rendell, who found Taylor on the left. He beat his man to get into the box but his pass was behind the arriving Lee and the chance went begging.
And there was a sting in the tail for Totton. Sam Magri made light work of dispossessing the much smaller figure of Owusu at the byline but then cleared the ball directly to Josh Tobin. He directed the ball to his team’s No.9, lurking inside the D on the edge of Totton’s area. Hallett tried to fling himself in the way, as did Oastler, but Dawid ROGALSKI kept his cool to shoot into the bottom-left corner and win the three points for Walton & Hersham with virtually the last kick of the game.
Watch JIMMY BALL’S Post-Match Interview
Watch MIKE CARTER’S Post-Match Interview
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By Ben Rochey-Adams
