AFC Totton
EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL...
Despite a pre-match injury to substitute Connor Bent that necessitated the late inclusion of Tega Agberhiere in the matchday squad, AFC Totton got off to a flying start at the AEI Stadium at Privett Park when Charlie Austin nodded home from Tom Blair's bouncing right-wing cross just four minutes into the Southern League Premier Division South encounter.
And as The Stags continued to dominate against a sub-par Gosport Borough performance, with the likes of Joe Oastler, Luke Hallett, Declan Rose, Adam Tomasso and Roddy Collins all winning their individual battles throughout the middle of the pitch, a swift counter-attack down the right saw Blair head down to Charlie Austin, who spotted Ethan Taylor in space to the left of the penalty spot; the winger had the time to take a touch and fire a low shot under Boro' goalkeeper Adam Parkes to double the visitors' lead before the 25-minute mark.
An injury to Declan Rose took some of the gloss off the evening but Totton continued to threaten, stretching the Gosport defence on several further occasions. And then - just after a minimum of five minutes of first-half stoppage time had been indicated - the lights went out. A power cut; not just in the ground but in the surrounding residential neighbourhood, as well.
The referee waited until 9:00pm but when it became clear that the Electricity Board were unlikely to get the lights back on quickly, he blew the final whistle to confirm that the match had been abandoned.
The game have to be replayed from scratch at a later date, yet to be confirmed. We await advice from Gosport Borough Football Club regarding how and whether those who paid entry into the AEI Stadium will be recognised come the re-arranged fixture.
AFC Totton's first team is next in action on Saturday 16 November, when they go to Lewes in the Second Round of the Isuzu FA Trophy. In the meantime, the Under-23s will entertain Tadley Calleva at the Snows Stadium on Wednesday 13 November at 7:45pm in the Hampshire Combination Challenge Cup.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
