AFC Totton
The Venue:
The Snows Stadium, Salisbury Road, Totton, Southampton SO40 2RW
IT’S FINALLY HERE – the biggest game of the whole Southern League Premier Division South 2024/25 season takes place at the Snows Stadium this Saturday, when AFC Totton host the current leaders Merthyr Town in a top-of-the-table clash that could go a long way in determining which side wins the league and gains automatic promotion to the National League South.
Last weekend, The Stags drew 1-1 at Swindon Supermarine despite playing the last 30 minutes with just 10 men. Swindon’s Ioan Richards gave the home side the lead on 11 minutes, but Charlie Austin levelled within five minutes. A second yellow for Ben Jefford put Totton on the backfoot, but Jimmy Ball’s men dug in to come away with a point.
MERTHYR TOWN – THEIR SEASON SO FAR:
Merthyr currently sit top of the pile, with 72 points from 32 games played. After missing out on the Promotion Play-Offs on the final day of last season, The Martyrs set out to put that right this term.
They put their stamp on the league early on with a big 6-0 home win over Tiverton Town in the first game of the 2024/25 campaign, following that with a 2-0 win at Frome Town. They suffered a 2-5 defeat to Walton & Hersham in game three, bounced back to beat Hanwell Town 2-1 but then 1-2 at Gloucester City.
A victory over Cribbs in First Round Qualifying for the Emirates FA Cup sparked them back into good form, which continued with a 3-0 defeat of Sholing and a 5-1 thrashing of Swindon Supermarine at the Webbswood Stadium.
Merthyr’s FA Cup run ended at the hands of Bath City in Second Round Qualifying, but their hot league form was unaffected, with a goalless draw against Gosport Borough preceding 3-1 and 6-0 victories against Winchester City and Wimborne Town, respectively. Then came a Third Round Qualifying tie for the Isuzu FA Trophy at the Snows Stadium in October, in which 10-man Totton saw out a 1-0 win despite the first-half dismissal of Charlie Kennedy.
In their next five games, Merthyr Town went unbeaten, winning four and drawing at Dorchester Town – and have since extended that unbeaten run to 22 games in all competitions stretching back to that previous visit to SO40. Among the highlights in that sequence are a 6-1 mauling of Poole Town in Dorset and a 5-2 win against Walton & Hersham in December, exacting revenge for that previous defeat by the same score earlier in the season.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Penydarren Park club, though. Since the turn of the year, Gloucester City, Tiverton, Dorchester, Totton, Basingstoke, Plymouth Parkway and Wimborne have all held The Martyrs to a draw – and they were lucky to escape defeat at New Cuthbury, where The Magpies had a potential winning goal controversially ruled out for offside. But Merthyr rediscovered their shooting boots in time to give Bracknell Town a 5-1 hiding in South Wales last weekend, with the division’s top scorer Ricardo Rees taking his season’s tally to 27 league goals.
AFC TOTTON – LAST FIVE:
Gloucester City (Away) | SLPDS | Drew 0-0
Gosport Borough (Away) | SLPDS | Won 2-1
Marlow (Home) | SLPDS | Won 6-1
Havant & Waterlooville (Home) | SLPDS | Won 3-1
Swindon Supermarine (Away) | SLPDS | Drew 1-1
MERTHYR TOWN – LAST FIVE:
Marlow (Away) | SLPDS | Won 1-0
Basingstoke Town (Home) | SLPDS | Drew 1-1
Plymouth Parkway (Home) | SLPDS | Drew 2-2
Wimborne Town (Away) | SLPDS | Drew 1-1
Bracknell Town (Home) | SLPDS | Won 5-1
Luke Bennett competes for possession in midfield against Merthyr Town during the one-all draw at Penydarren Park in January.
IN THE REVERSE FIXTURE…
A strong defensive rearguard action saw AFC Totton battle their way to a point at Penydarren Park in the Tuesday night top-of-the-table clash with Southern League Premier Division South leaders Merthyr Town in South Wales on 14 January.
A long ball from deep enabled Ricardo Rees to race away from Luke Bennett into the inside-left channel. Ryan Gosney came out to narrow the angle at the corner of the penalty area; Ricardo REES side-stepped the ‘keeper and, despite two blue shirts frantically trying to get back to block the path to goal, steered the ball home from a tight angle to give The Martyrs the lead on 35 minutes.
The announcement for six minutes of first-half stoppage time came as Ethan Taylor drove a left-wing corner across Merthyr’s penalty area and onto the head of the rapidly incoming Joe OASTLER who powerfully despatched the ball past Jaimie Cogman and into the bottom-left corner to level the scores.
Merthyr bossed possession in the second half but Totton’s determined defending reduced the space for the home side to work in and limited shooting opportunities to a minimum. Gosney made a fine save to deny Tom Handley from a well-struck free-kick, and Rees prodded the ball against an upright during a goalmouth scramble, but The Stags held on to ensure they took a well-earned point back to Hampshire.
STAGS RADIO:
If you can’t be there for the biggest game of the season so far, then don’t miss any of the action – there will be LIVE commentary from Benjy Rees and Josh Cole on StagsRadio via X (Twitter). The pre-match build-up begins at 2:45pm.
By Joshua Cole
Image courtesy of Dayton Jenkins
#GoStags
