AFC Totton
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Gloucestershire-based Slimbridge AFC will make the 113-mile journey from their Thornhill Park home to the Snows Stadium on Saturday hoping to kickstart their season when they face AFC Totton in 1st Round Qualifying for the 2022/23 Isuzu Football Association Challenge Trophy.
The Swans are yet to register a win from four matches in the Southern League Div.1 South, so far. A 1-3 opening day defeat at home to Sholing was followed by a 1-2 defeat at Cinderford Town, with The Foresters striking in the 88th minute and again four minutes into stoppage time to overturn a slender Slimbridge lead. A creditable 1-1 draw at Hamworthy United and the same score at home to Bristol Manor Farm have put 2 points on the board for The Swans, who sit in 18th position in the early season league table; the team in that position at season’s end will face a promotion/relegation play-off to retain their Step 4 status.
While Slimbridge’s league form has been poor, the Emirates FA Cup has provided solace. They won 2-1 at neighbours Tuffley Rovers in the Extra Preliminary Round in early-August, before overcoming Flackwell Heath from High Wycombe by a single goal in the Preliminary Round. At the weekend, they held Sholing to a goalless draw at Thornhill Park, leading in a 1st Round Qualifying Replay at the Imperial Homes Stadium on Portsmouth Road on Tuesday night – their third meeting with The Boatmen in less than a month and an ideal opportunity for Jimmy Ball to his upcoming opponents. The final result will be edited into this article just as soon as we know it!
One cause for optimism among the Slimbridge camp will be the memory of their most recent visit to the Snows Stadium around this time last year, when they became the first team to inflict Southern League Div.1 South defeat upon The Stags with a comprehensive 3-0 away win. A Totton effort was cleared off the goal-line in the opening minutes, before Jack Hoey missed an early penalty. Will Hawes scored for Slimbridge against the run of play and defender Nathan Dennis bundled home a second goal from a corner on the stroke of half-time. Then, with Totton pressing forward in search of a way back into the game, substitute striker Jordan Annear was granted the freedom of Southern Hampshire to descend upon Lewis Noice’s goal and wrap up a handsome away win for the Swans.
Totton made amends in the return match on the final day of the league season in April with a 3-1 win. Brett Williams got the ball rolling in the 25th minute before Jordan Ragguette added a second with one of the goals of the season. Edjidja Mbunga pulled a goal back five minutes before the break, but Ethan Taylor put the result beyond doubt eight minutes from the end.
Brett Williams and Ethan Taylor (No.10) celebrate a goal at Slimbridge AFC at Thornhill Park in Gloucestershire on the final day of the 2021/22 league campaign.
Overall, from 12 meetings between The Stags and The Swans since 2015/16, the honours are shared at 6 wins each. They have previously met in the FA Trophy Preliminary Round in the ultimately curtailed 2019/20 season, when a goal from Totton’s Andy McWilliam made the difference between the two sides at Thornhill Park. The first league meeting of that season was also in Gloucestershire, The Swans triumphing 5-2 despite goals from Pip Nolan and Craig Feeney for the visitors, although the return fixture never took place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One familiar face in the Slimbridge squad is midfielder Ben McLean, who played for AFC Totton on loan as an 18-year-old in 2018/19 while he was contracted to Birmingham City. His fellow midfielder Marley Thomas is a creative force and set-piece specialist for The Swans, having returned to the club after spells with Evesham United and Cinderford Town. Young striker Ethan Dunbar is a product of Slimbridge’s U18s team, who spent last season at Longlevens AFC in the Hellenic League Premier Division and has already begun scoring goals in the Southern League in the 2022/23 campaign.
Manager Tom Speers has been in the Slimbridge hot seat since part-way through last season. A former Slimbridge player with experience of coaching and managing in Australia and New Zealand, he holds the OFA B/UEFA B licence.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
