AFC Totton
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AFC TOTTON ARE TO HOST Wessex League Division One side Downton in the Second Round of the SDFA Southampton Senior Cup at the Snows Stadium on Wednesday 29 November (kick-off at 7:45pm).
The Robins defeated BTC Southampton 6-0 in the First Round of the competition, while The Stags received a bye.
The Wiltshire-based outfit are currently second in the Step 6 table, trailling the early-season pacesetters Hamworthy Recreation by four points with a game in-hand, in the same division as Totton & Eling.
Downton won 4-1 at AFC Aldermaston at the weekend, thanks to two goals from striker Joe Smith, one from Tom Molesley and one from substitute Alfie Hawke.
The Robins won silverware in the 2021/22 season when they lifted the Wiltshire Senior Cup for the third time in club’s history, and they have made an encouraging start to the league campaign this season. After 14 games in Div.1, they have drawn once and lost once, winning their other 12 matches.
Among the Downton players is a regular match-going fan at the Snows Stadium in the shape of central defender Tom Rafferty, who was a member of the all-conquering AFC Totton Sunday team that won the League & Cup Double in the 2021/22 season under manager Sam Conway.
At the time, Tom was playing his Saturday football for The Oilers at Fawley AFC and his home games on Sunday at Testwood Recreation Ground on Salisbury Road. He joined Downton that following summer and is now in his second season with the club. He was among the goalscorers in the First Round victory at BTC Southampton.
UP FOR THE CUP: AFC Totton skipper Mike Carter lifts the SDFA Southampton Senior Cup trophy after last season's 3-0 victory over Sholing at St. Mary's Stadium.
The Stags are looking to make it three-in-a-row in the Southampton Senior Cup this season, having lifted the trophy both last season and the season before. In May 2022, goals from Hisham Kasimu, Freddie Read and Lewis Waterfield saw off Foland Sports in the Final at St. Mary's Stadium. And at the same venue last May, two goals from Scott Rendell and a third from Ethan Taylor defeated arch rivals Sholing 3-0 to complete a treble for Jimmy Ball's Southern League Division One South Champions and Champion of Champions Super Cup Winners.
The trophy is to replaced after this season, due to there being no more spaces for the little engraved shields that mark previous winners. As such, a third consecutive triumph would see the trophy come to reside in the cabinet in the Snows Stadium boardroom on a permanent basis.
Our records for matches against Downton date back to the 1988/89 season, since when the two sides have met on 28 occasions with The Stags winning 18 and losing six, with four draws. Totton are unbeaten in their last eight games against The Robins, and have only lost one of the last 18. The biggest win in that sequence is 7-0, a score that has occured twice. Firstly during the 1999/2000 season when there were six names on the scoresheet for The Stags in an away league fixture. The second occasion was also the most recent, in 2007/08 when a Floyd Hamadou hat-trick, two goals from Ashley Jarvis and additional strikes from Graham Mills and Mark Osman brought The Robins down to earth.
For this SDFA Southampton Senior Cup tie on Wednesday 29 November, entry will be charged at £5 for all ages. Purchase tickets online in advance to get a FREE hot dog.
The winners on Wednesday night will face a home tie in the Third Round against Winsor United Green, who split their training sessions between Abbotswood, Hounsdown and Redbridge schools.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs (Club Historian)
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
