AFC Totton
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY #2
Saturday 08 July 2023 | Miller Park, Totton | Att: 148
STAGS BAG HALF-A-DOZEN IN SECOND PRE-SEASON RUN-OUT
AFC TOTTON 6
Luke Gray 7mins; Jordan Ragguette 12mins; Conor Whiteley 32mins;
Scott Rendell 34mins; Alfie Stanley 40mins; Brenno Narezzi 49mins
VOLTA SPORTS 1
Justin Bangura 24mins
SIX DIFFERENT PLAYERS got their names on the scoresheet as AFC Totton continued their pre-season programme with a 6-1 defeat of Volta Sports at Miller Park yesterday afternoon (Saturday 08 July 2023).
For the second game of the summer warm-up period, Jimmy Ball brought in a few players still hoping to make The Stags’ squad for the upcoming 2023/24 season. Of the already confirmed members of the playing squad, new defensive signing Sam Magri had to sit this one out with a chest infection, while Jack Masterton - who has just signed a new deal with the club - was also unavailable. Ethan Taylor was not involved at all last week, so he was limited to 30 minutes; winger Matty Burrows was present but not included in the squad while he recovers from a slight knock.
AFC TOTTON
Starting XI
1. Lewis NOICE
2. Dylan WALKER
3. Jordan RAGGUETTE
4. Owen PELHAM
5. Charlie KENNEDY
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Luke GRAY
8. Elliott SIMPSON
9. Scott RENDELL
10. Conor WHITELEY
11. Alfie STANLEY
A short burst of heavy rain in the morning no doubt did the Miller Park pitch a lot of good. The sun was out by the time the match kicked-off at 4:00pm, making for a very pleasant afternoon to be watching football. And it didn’t take long for AFC Totton to nudge themselves in front.
EARLY STRIKE: Luke Gray stretches to fire AFC Totton in front against Volta Sports at Miller Park on Saturday afternoon.
A high ball to the left of the D on the edge of the Volta Sports box was headed down towards the penalty spot by Scott Rendell in the 7th minute. Luke GRAY was able to hold off the defender to his right as he took the ball under control and stretched out his left leg to fire a low shot past goalkeeper Ethan Endacott and into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Volta passed the ball with purpose and intent but they couldn’t prevent themselves slipping further behind five minutes later. Charlie Kennedy’s high diagonal pass found Jordan RAGGUETTE in space on the left-hand side, and the attacking full-back was able to bring the ball down with one touch before slotting past the keeper to double The Stags’ advantage.
BLUES AND TWOS: The clever disguise of a blue shirt wasn't enough to prevent Volta Sports goalkeeper Ethan Endacott conceding a second goal to Jordan Ragguette's calm left-foot finish.
Elliott Simpson almost made it three shortly after, receiving a low centre from Luke Gray’s right-wing free-kick to fire narrowly over the crossbar from just behind the penalty spot. Then, Volta stepped up their game, putting in some strong challenges in midfield. Gray found himself on the wrong end of two robust tackles, the second of which led to a Totton free-kick on the advanced side of the centre-circle. Owen Pelham picked out Conor Whiteley on the left corner of the penalty area. The former Bashley and Sholing forward tried to bundle his way past his marker and went to ground under the challenge, somewhat optimistically voicing appeals for a penalty that the Referee ignored.
Clever play on the left-wing touchline enabled Volta’s tall centre-forward Henry Mott, who spent last season in Brentford FC’s college, to glide past Pelham and full-back Dylan Walker on this way to the byline, but his delivery to the centre had too much fizz on it and eluded his teammates. Then, Simpson and Pelham were both required to make strong tackles around the centre-circle as the temperature of the game continued to rise.
Volta halved the deficit on 24 minutes. Harry Thorpe played an incisive pass into the inside-right channel that put Justin BANGURA in the clear, the forward showing impressive pace and composure to stride towards goal and place a firm shot past Lewis Noice with his right instep. Bangura was part of the John Madejski Academy at Reading FC last season.
Another Rendell knockdown provided Simpson with an opportunity to take aim from about 22 yards out, his effort seemingly heading for the top-right corner but ultimately flashing narrowly high and wide. Then, Charlie Kennedy did well to interrupt Bangura’s progress as the visitors briefly threatened to go in hunt of an equalising goal.
Totton worked the ball out to the left wing, where Ragguette was able to find a pocket of space to deliver a cross that Rendell headed onto the head of his marker and over. It wouldn’t have counted, though, because the Referee pulled The Stags’ Golden Boot winner up for a push. Then, swift work on the deck between Alfie Stanley, Rendell and the impressive Gray had them zig-zagging their way through Volta’s defensive ranks. Rendell tried a curling shot from the edge of the area but it was too close to Endacott.
AMONGST THE GOALS: Conor Whiteley scored Totton's third goal of the game.
The goalkeeper wasn’t so fortunate in the 32nd minute, though, when he reacted sharply to parry a fiercely-struck effort by Stanley. The ball fell invitingly for Conor WHITELEY who was following up as all good strikers should, and the Totton No.10 side-footed into the empty net.
Totton’s fourth goal came just two minutes later. Jordan Ragguette shrugged off two defenders on a powerful run down the left, before forcing a corner with a blocked cross. Gray took it short, finding Stanley inside the area who was able to stand a cross up to the far post for Scott RENDELL to head home, despite Endacott getting a hand to it.
Simpson made a determined charge down the centre of the pitch, hurdling one challenge before crashing into another. Pelham was quick to pounce on the loose ball and find Rendell on the left of the D, who in turn teed up the incoming Alfie Stanley for a long-range shot that Endacott parried. The offside flag prevented Whiteley from capitalising on another rebound.
STRIK-ER POSE: Alfie Stanley's audition for the next X-Men movie was not a success - but the Village People are still recruiting and would like a word.
But on 40 minutes, Totton passed their way forward, again. Gray received the ball in the centre, midway inside the Volta Sports half, and he found a teammate in the left corner of the box. Alfie STANLEY took a touch and fired a powerful shot home to make it 5-1.
Endacott thrust his left hand up to make a smart save from a Scott Rendell shot. From the resulting corner, Gray’s high curling delivery to the far post was tailor-made for The Stags’ talismanic centre-forward but a defender leapt well to flick the ball away. Then, Whiteley made a promising incursion into the inside-right channel before being crowded out by two defenders, before the Referee brought the first half to a close.
HALF-TIME
AFC TOTTON 5
VOLTA SPORTS 1
AFC TOTTON
Second-Half Line Up
1. Lewis NOICE
6. Luke HALLETT
7. Charlie DAVIS
11. Alfie STANLEY
12. Josh CARMICHAEL
13. Sami MAKHLOUFI
14. Mike CARTER
17. Adam TOMASSO
18. Benny READ (pictured, right)
19. Trialist
(Blank) Brenno NAREZZI
Substitute:
15. Ethan TAYLOR
As he did in the match against Baffins Milton Rovers last weekend, Totton Manager Jimmy Ball made a raft of changes during the interval. Only goalkeeper Lewis Noice, central defender Luke Hallett and forward Alfie Stanley returned for the second half. Among those coming into the game were club captain Mike Carter, the back-from-injury Josh Carmichael and a trialist left-back.
Three minutes into the second half, Alfie Stanley was involved in an altercation with the much taller central defender Eldad Adjei, who shoved him to the ground. The Referee defused the situation with a stern lecture to both players. But Stanley had the last laugh just a minute later by playing a pivotal role in Totton’s sixth goal of the game. Sami Makhloufi received the ball near the centre-circle and fed Stanley in the inside-left channel. The forward made his way to the byline and cut the ball back into the middle for the late-arriving Brenno NAREZZI to fire high into the net.
A similar move on 52 minutes saw Narezzi - wearing a shirt with no number on the back - feeding the overlapping run of the left-back trailist, who delivered a low cross that took a deflection and held up long enough to allow the defence to punt clear. Then, a couple of incisive passes from deep by Josh Carmichael - making an encouraging return from the ankle injury that had him wearing a moon boot at the tail end of last season - were well-read and cut-out by the Volta defence.
OUT THE WAY, SON: Mick Carter gets to grip with the opposition during Saturday's match against Volta Sports at Miller Park.
As the sun gave way to a light rain shower, Lewis Noice was called into action to make a flying one-handed save to push the ball over the crossbar from a fiercely-struck effort by Volta’s Harry Thorpe, who was with Grimsby Town last season. Then, Charlie Davis tried his luck with a low left-footed shot from distance, after good work in midfield first by the trialist and then Narezzi. Davis’s directed the ball a fraction wide of the left-hand post.
READY, AIM, FIRE: Stags midfielder Charlie Davis lets rip from distance.
Ethan Taylor stepped off the bench on the hour mark, to replace Alfie Stanley. A cross-field ball by Mike Carter picked out Davis in an advanced position in the inside-right. Neat control and a short lay-off by the former Salisbury and Poole Town midfielder enabled Makhloufi and Narezzi to work the ball from right-to-left, with the trialist getting forward from his left-back position to deliver a cross from the byline that fizzed across goal and narrowly wide of the top-right corner.
Sami Makhloufi was the next to take aim at the Volta Sports goal with a long-range shot, which flew just wide to the right. Then, the trailist fed a low angled pass into the diagonal run of Ethan Taylor who, with a defender at his back, took one touch and then tried a shot on the turn from a tight angle that briefly troubled Endacott but was always going wide.
Energetic closing down by Makhloufi forced a defensive error and put Taylor through on goal, one-on-one with the keeper. But Endacott - who was a member of the Sandhurst Town team that had to play 13 matches in 24 days on their way to winning the Combined Counties League Division One title at the end of last season - thrust his left foot in the way of Taylor’s shot and was able to deflect the ball into his own hands to complete a smart save.
On 70 minutes, Charlie Davis was caught in possession near the halfway line. Incensed, he raced back towards his own goal to atone for his error, making a strong sliding tackle to dispossess Jordan Boateng, who went down clutching his foot in some pain. The tackle was deemed to have been fair by the Referee, but the forward did have to be helped off the pitch by two of his teammates.
LET'S PLAY: Second-half substitute Ethan Taylor takes on a Volta Sports defender.
That served to inject a bit more grit into proceedings, which isn’t always evident in pre-season friendlies - not that Jimmy Ball will have minded. Taylor was booked for a late foul near the Totton right-wing touchline. Then, Makhloufi did well to win possession in the centre, turn away from his man and set off on a forward run, but his pass towards the right flank found Benny Read surrounded by Volta players, and unable to make the return pass into Makhloufi’s promising run.
Read was able to play Davis in down the right flank shortly after, though, and the roaming midfielder left the nearest defender for dead as he strode into the side of the penalty area and clipped the ball to just behind the penalty spot, where Taylor had to jump to connect with a left-footed volley. Endacott got behind the shot and pushed the ball out. Makhloufi pounced on it but couldn’t find a way past the two defenders facing up to him, so he slipped the ball to the left for Narezzi to try a snapshot which Endacott parried, once again, allowing his defenders to complete the clearance.
The trialist won a free-kick in the centre-circle, which was taken quickly to release Taylor in behind the defence. With just the goalkeeper to beat, AFC Totton’s second-top goalscorer from each of the last two seasons attempted to chip the ball over Endacott and inside the right-hand upright, but he got his angles a little off and the ball bounced wide.
Volta rallied late on and managed to get at the Totton back four a couple of times, without breaching the defensive line. They picked up on a loose ball in midfield to get the ball wide and deliver a near post cross that Luke Hallett read and leapt high to head clear, shortly before the Referee’s final whistle brought the match to a conclusion.
After the match, AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball (pictured) said:
“It was another good run out for the lads against decent opposition. They had something about them; I thought we showed ourselves to be the better side but some of the individuals in the Volta team were very capable and competed well, so it wasn’t quite as one-sided as the final score might suggest. But I thought we moved the ball with pace and purpose, and everyone produced at the levels we set for them at this point of our pre-season programme, so I’m pleased. We had four new lads in the group today, and I was very encouraged with what I saw from all of them. They’ve certainly not done their chances any harm.
“Now, the players will have a couple of days to rest and get ready for Wednesday night’s game against Totton & Eling in the Linden Cup, when we’ll be looking for that little bit extra progression in terms of performance, energy levels and staying power.
“But for today, we played well, everyone did what was expected of them and we came through without any injuries, despite some strong challenges during the game, so I’m very happy with a solid afternoon’s work.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
