AFC Totton
AFC Totton will begin their 2022/23 FA Cup campaign with a Preliminary Round home tie against fellow Southern League Div.1 South side Melksham Town, to be played at the Snows Stadium on Saturday 20 August.
Meanwhile, the draw for the FA Trophy – sponsored from this season by Isuzu – has also presented Jimmy Ball’s men with a home tie. The Stags will entertain Slimbridge AFC at the Snows Stadium in the 1st Qualifying Round on Saturday 10 September.
Totton are among a total of 152 clubs from Steps 3 and 4 who will enter the FA Cup, the world’s oldest national football competition, at the Preliminary Round stage. Last year, Glenn Howes’ team was tripped at the first hurdle by Basingstoke Town of the Isthmian League, going out to a 1-2 defeat despite taking the lead from a Brett Williams penalty early in the second-half.
Ball has been working hard over the summer break to overhaul his AFC Totton squad, bringing in several new faces to add experience and much-needed grit into the mix, and a decent run in the FA Cup would certainly be a welcome boost to the club. The Stags won both league meetings with Melksham Town last season, both by the score of 1-0, and a similar outcome would see them safely into the hat for the 1st Qualifying Round draw, for matches scheduled to be played in early-September.
EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, EVERY STEP YOU TAKE: Callum Baughan maintains a watchful eye over his opponent during the home league encounter with Melksham Town in November 2021.
EMIRATES FA CUP 2022/23 ROUND DATES
Extra Preliminary Round – Saturday 06 August
Preliminary Round – Saturday 20 August
1st Qualifying Round – Saturday 03 September
2nd Qualifying Round – Saturday 17 September
3rd Qualifying Round – Saturday 01 October
4th Qualifying Round – Saturday 15 October
1st Round (Proper) – Saturday 05 November
2nd Round (Proper) – Saturday 26 November
3rd Round (Proper) – Saturday 07 January
4th Round (Proper) – Saturday 28 January
5th Round (Proper) – Wednesday 01 March
Quarter-Final – Saturday 18 March
Semi-Final – Saturday 22 April
Final – Saturday 03 June
For many AFC Totton fans, the club’s historic run in the FA Trophy provided the majority of the highlights of the 2021/22 season.
A bye took the Stags directly to the 2nd Qualifying Round where a thumping 6-0 home win over Barnstaple Town was then followed up by a 2-0 home victory over Southern Premier Division side Dorchester Town in late October – and their newly-installed management duo of Glenn Howes and James Wood, who had quit the Snows Stadium in favour of the Magpies just a fortnight earlier.
READY FREDDIE: AFC Totton midfielder gets to grips with a Dorchester Town player, as Ethan Taylor watches on with interest.
The 1st Round Proper tie with fellow Southern League Div.1 South title-chasers Frome Town had everything, culminating in a penalty shoot-out win for the Stags. And the spectacular 5-0 away mauling of 2019/20 FA Trophy finalists Concord Rangers in the 2nd Round, from two steps further up the English Football Pyramid, was the stand-out team performance of the season, before a disappointing display at Larkhall Athletic brought the FA Trophy dream to a premature end.
The Stags completed last season’s league campaign with a 3-1 victory at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, with Jordan Ragguette contributing one of the more memorable goals of the season. The Swans were the first team to win away at the Snows Stadium earlier in 2021/22, though, racking up three goals without reply to stun the home crowd.
A win for Jimmy Ball’s team on Saturday 10 September would see them progress to yet another home tie in the 2nd Qualifying Round on Saturday 24 September, to take on either Berkhamsted from the Southern League Div.1 Central or Exmouth Town, who are newly-promoted to the Southern League Div.1 South after finishing runners-up in the Western League Premier Division last season.
LET'S DANCE: Jordan Ragguette in possession during the final Southern League Div.1 South match of last season at Slimbridge, in which he scored in a 3-1 victory.
ISUZU FA TROPHY 2022/23 ROUND DATES
1st Qualifying Round – Saturday 10 September
2nd Qualifying Round – Saturday 24 September
3rd Qualifying Round – Saturday 08 October
1st Round (Proper) – Saturday 29 October
2nd Round (Proper) – Saturday 19 November
3rd Round (Proper) – Saturday 17 December
4th Round (Proper) – Saturday 14 January
5th Round (Proper) – Saturday 11 February
Quarter-Final – Saturday 11 March
Semi-Final – Saturday 01 April
Final – Sunday 21 May
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
