AFC Totton
Venue: The Trico Stadium, Bromsgrove Road, Redditch B97 4RN
Tickets: Adults £12; Concessions £9; Student with ID/14-18yo £5; Under-13s £2; Under-5s FREE
Use this link to purchase online from the Redditch United website. Tickets can also be purchased on the gate using cash or card.
Coach: AFC Totton will be running a coach on Saturday morning – book your seat today. Please arrive at the Snows Stadium by 9:30am for booking in. We will leave at 10:00am. The Straker’s Bar will open for breakfast from 8:30am.
Following their success against higher league opposition across the Welsh border in 3rd Round Qualifying, AFC Totton face another away trip in the 1st Round Proper of the Isuzu FA Trophy this weekend.
The Stags overcame Merthyr Town of the Southern League Premier Division South by a single Scott Rendell penalty goal at Penydarren Park on Saturday 08 October. Meanwhile, Worcestershire-based Redditch United eliminated fellow Premier Division Central side Hitchin Town with a handsome 3-0 away win in Hertfordshire.
The draw for the 1st Round Proper has The Reds hosting Totton this Saturday, at their 5,000-capacity Trico Stadium in the West Midlands, approximately 15 miles south of Birmingham. The Stags can expect a bit of needle – the town and its surrounding neighbourhoods produced 90% of the world’s sewing needles during the 19th century, as well being a prominent provider of fishing tackle.
Formed in 1891, originally as Redditch Town, the club spent the majority of its history in the Birmingham & District League and the Birmingham Combination. They changed their name to Redditch United in 1971 and joined the Southern League the following year. They won the Southern League Western Division in 2003/04, gaining promotion to the Conference North where they remained until 2011.
At that point, they came into contact with The Stags in the Southern League Premier Division, where the two sides played each other home-and-away for three consecutive seasons. The first two meetings in 2011/12 were both goalless draws. And honours were shared the following term with both teams winning their home matches; 1-2 to Redditch in October 2012 and 2-0 to Totton in March 2013, courtesy of goals from Luke Roberts and Jonathan Davies. Taylor Edwards was on-target in the first meeting of 2013/14 but The Stags again lost 1-2 in the West Midlands. And in April 2014, Redditch won 3-0 on the return visit to Totton.
Last season, Step 3 Redditch ended the season in 14th position in the Southern League Premier Division Central, only 4 points above the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off slot. But they’ve started the 2022/23 season in better shape, currently sitting in 4th place with 24 points from 14 matches, although several teams below them have two or even three games in-hand.
The win at Hitchin was their first involvement in the FA Trophy this season. In the Emirates FA Cup, they beat Rushall Olympic 4-1 away in the 1st Round Qualifier but were subsequently knocked out of the competition by Peterborough Sports of the National League North, going down 1-0 in a replay after holding them to a 2-2 draw at home in mid-September.
Redditch have won the Birmingham Senior Cup five times throughout their history, most recently in 2005. On Monday 07 November, they entertain Birmingham City in that competition. They’ve also won the Gloucestershire Senior Cup on six occasions, most recently in 2008 and 2014.
By Ben Rochey-Adams
