AFC Totton
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THE RECENT COLD WEATHER MAY HAVE slightly disrupted AFC Totton’s preparations for their Southern League Div.1 South match on Saturday, denying them the opportunity to continue their recent run of good form at Melksham Town last weekend. But spare a thought for their upcoming opponents Willand Rovers, who have experienced postponements in four of their last six fixtures.
By the time they arrive at the Snows Stadium, the Devon All-Whites will not have kicked a ball in anger in almost a month, when two Daniel Mason goals consigned them to defeat just down the road at Sholing. Since then, scheduled matches at their own Silver Street ground against Frome Town and Bishop’s Cleeve were postponed, as was their Devon St. Luke’s Challenge Cup tie at Dartmouth AFC a month ago. Meanwhile, Totton have only had one match called-off, so they will be looking to catch their opponents cold when the game gets underway.
Willand are currently a steadfastly middle-of-the-table side. They have won five and lost five of their 16 league matches to date, having opened their 2022/23 campaign with back-to-back draws and then – after their home game against Lymington Town was abandoned on Saturday 27 August – they recorded their first win in the Bank Holiday Monday’s local derby against newly-promoted high-flyers Exmouth Town by a single goal from Douglas Camilo.
It wasn’t until the rescheduled game against Lymington took place in early-October that they recorded their second league win, and as their mid-table position suggests, they have been blowing hot and cold since, with the high point being a comprehensive 4-0 home win over Bristol Manor Farm on 12 November, for whom talismanic forward Owen Howe had a rare off day while Rovers’ Oliver Bray helped himself to a hat-trick.
Scoring goals has been Willand’s major shortfall this season, though. Having played 16 matches in the league so far, they are the division’s joint-lowest goalscorers alongside Larkhall Athletic on 19 goals. Yet, they also boast one of the best defensive records having only conceded 17 times; only Sholing, Totton and Bashley have conceded fewer, with all three clubs currently tied on 14 goals against – it must be something in the Southern Water!
In the Emirates FA Cup, the Devon All-Whites won 2-1 in their Extra-Preliminary Round tie against Somerset-based Wellington AFC on the weekend before the Southern League Div.1 South campaign kicked-off, and Ilfracombe Town – another Western League Premier Division side – were despatched in the Preliminary Round by the same scoreline. A valiant 1-1 draw at home to Swindon Supermarine earned them a second go at the Southern League Premier Division South outfit, but The Marines triumphed by a single goal in the replay at their own Webbswood Stadium. Six days later, Bideford AFC put an early end to Willand’s involvement in the Isuzu FA Trophy with a 3-0 away win at Silver Street.
TAKE YOU ALL ON: AFC Totton's Jake Adams runs at the Willand Rovers defence during February's Southern League Div.1 South meeting at the Snows Stadium.
Encounters between AFC Totton and Willand Rovers are a relatively new phenomenon, Rovers having spent the majority of their history competing in the Devon and Exeter Football League before becoming founder members of the Devon League in 1992/93 and graduating to the Western League in 2001. The clubs met once in each of the two seasons cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second of those a handsome 5-0 away win for The Stags courtesy of two goals from Brett Williams and one each from Craig Feeney, Freddie Read and Ethan Taylor – the last of whom also scored a brace in last season’s 4-1 midweek victory at Silver Street, as did striker Hisham Kasimu. In the return fixture at Snows Stadium in February, goals from Jake Adams and Sam Griffin sealed a 2-0 win, maintaining Totton’s 100% win record against the Devon All-Whites, to date.
Despite last weekend’s postponement at Melksham, Totton come into this match on an 11-match unbeaten run. The in-form Ethan Taylor has eight goals from his last five outings, while the recently returned striker Silvano Obeng will be eager to get his second spell with The Stags off to a flying start. The team will also be keen to take advantage of the two points dropped by Sholing at Hamworthy United last Saturday, to maintain the pressure on the top-of-the-table Boatmen ahead of the showdown at the Imperial Homes Stadium on Monday 02 January.
By Ben Rochey-Adams and Malcolm Tombs, Club Historian
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
