MATCH PREVIEW: TOTTON FLY TO SUPERMARINE ON SATURDAY

The Venue:
Webbswood Stadium, Supermarine Road, Swindon SN3 4BZ

AFC TOTTON FACE ANOTHER TRICKY away trip on Saturday when they take on Swindon Supermarine at the Webbswood Stadium.

Despite having last weekend’s visit to Taunton Town postponed, The Stags still managed to reduce the gap at the top of the Southern League Premier Division South table by two points this week, capitalising on Merthyr Town’s one-all draw at Wimborne Town by taking maximum points against Havant & Waterlooville at the Snows Stadium on Tuesday night.

Scott Rendell’s brace and a second goal in as many games from on-loan striker Ben Seymour underlined an impressive performance from Jimmy Ball’s men, leaving them four points behind The Martyrs with two games in-hand and the big showdown with the current league leaders still to come on 01 March.

SWINDON SUPERMARINE – THEIR SEASON SO FAR:
Swindon Supermarine currently sit in the middle of the table in 13^th place, with 36 points from 30 games. Their campaign didn’t start well; The Marine were winless in their first four games, with three straight defeats and a draw. However, at the fifth time of asking, they notched their first victory of the season with a 2-0 away win at Hungerford Town.

In First Round Qualifying for the Emirates FA Cup, Supermarine drew at home to Poole Town before losing the replay 0-2 in Dorset. Ironically, Poole were their next opponents in the league, making it three games in a row against The Dolphins; this time, Supermarine exacted revenge with an emphatic 5-0 home win. But a visit from Merthyr Town in their next outing brought them crashing back down to earth, with The Martyrs running out 5-1 winners.

A draw with Wimborne Town and back-to-back defeats against Taunton Town in the league and Winchester City in the Isuzu FA Trophy followed, as Swindon’s 2024/25 season continued to splutter into gear, but they finally put more points on the board with consecutive home wins over Tiverton Town and Winchester City by scores of 4-0 and 2-0, respectively. However, in midtable the only consistency is inconsistency and two away defeats followed at Gosport Borough and Bracknell Town.

When they came to the Snows Stadium on Saturday 30 November, Swindon Supermarine were unbeaten in six matches, including one in the Wiltshire Premier Shield and an impressive 4-3 away win at Chertsey Town. But a 1-2 defeat courtesy of goals from Charlie Austin and Tom Blair ensured The Stags took all three points. Swindon then went winless in their next four games, drawing once, before getting back to winning ways with a 5-3 success at Sholing on 04 January and a 3-2 win at Plymouth Parkway the following weekend.

A single-goal home victory completed the double over Chertsey Town but just two goals in their last four games, which include a goalless draw at home to Gosport, have seen them take one point from a possible 12, causing Swindon Supermarine to drift away from the coveted Promotion Play-Off places.

SWINDON SUPERMARINE – LAST FIVE:
Chertsey Town (Home) | SLPDS | Won 1-0
Winchester City (Away) | SLPDS | Lost 0-1
Gosport Borough (Home) | SLPDS | Drew 0-0
Dorchester Town (Away) | SLPDS | Lost 1-4
Bracknell Town (Home) | SLPDS | Lost 1-2

AFC TOTTON – LAST FIVE:
Plymouth Parkway (Home) | SLPDS | Won 4-0
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

IN THE REVERSE FIXTURE…

DID HE DIVE OR WAS HE TRIPPED?: Luke Bennett hits the deck moments before being shown a controversial second yellow card during Swindon Supermarine's visit to the Snows Stadium on 30 November 2025 in the Southern League Premier Division South.

SWINDON SUPERMARINE fell short at AFC Totton when they visited the Snows Stadium (on Saturday 30 November 2025), as the hosts were able to see out a 2-1 win despite the loss of Luke Bennett to a red card midway through the second half.

Totton were quickly out of the blocks, having three corners within seven minutes. Charlie AUSTIN scored from the third corner, tapping in a rebound from close range after Joe Oastler’s header was saved by the goalkeeper. And Totton got their second six minutes later, after a quick counter from a Swindon corner. Tom BLAIR combined with Austin for a one-two on the left, before blasting a low shot into the bottom right.

Luke Bennett was booked in the 57th minute for a late challenge on Campbell. Then, 10 minutes later, Bennett was controversially shown a second yellow after a supposed dive on the edge of the box, leaving Totton with 10 men with 25 minutes to go.

Swindon pulled a goal back on 81 minutes, as a ball into the box by Elias-Fernandes fell to David SIMS-BURGESS who rifled into the top-left corner from close range. But Totton defended their reduced lead and held on for the win.

AFC TOTTON GOALSCORING CHART:
All Senior Men’s Competitions, Season 2024/25 (up to Fri 21 Feb 2025)

TOTAL Scored: 73 goals.

STAGS RADIO:
Can’t travel to Swindon? Don’t worry – you can listen to all the action via StagsRadio on X (Twitter) with LIVE commentary from Benjy Rees and Joshua Cole. Tune in for all the pre-match build-up from 2:45pm.

By Joshua Cole

#GoStags