AFC Totton
HAMPSHIRE COMBINATION & DEVELOPMENT FOOTBALL LEAGUE | U23 PREMIER DIVISION
Wednesday 04 September 2024 | The Avenue Stadium, Dorchester, Dorset | Att: ~30
UNDER-23s PRODUCE SIX OF THE BEST TO TRIUMPH AT DORCHESTER
DORCHESTER TOWN U23s 1
Connor Ford 13mins
AFC TOTTON U23s 6
Harvey Rew 11mins; Connor Bent 16mins;
Marcel McIntosh 29mins, 36mins;
Remus Nixon 51mins, 57mins
HARRY BROOKWELL’S AFC TOTTON U23s made it two wins from two in the Hampshire Combination & Development Football League U23 Premier Division with a resounding 6-1 victory at Dorchester Town on Wednesday night.
With a team largely made up of players on the fringes of the first team, those who are currently out on loan for their Saturday football and several others who took part in the FA Youth Cup just two days prior, Totton set about their business in confident mood on The Magpies’ 3G pitch at The Avenue Stadium in Dorset.
McIntosh looked bright in the early exchanges, beating two defenders with a stepover and whipping a cross in from the right that flashed across the face of Dorchester’s goal. Then, Rew made a driving run down the left flank and sent the ball low into the box, but again it passed the goalmouth without the vital finishing touch being applied.
The Stags got the formula right on 11 minutes. Redwood did well to retrieve an over-hit cross close to the right-wing corner flag and passed back to McIntosh. His square pass into the D was received by Harvey REW, who took a touch and smashed the ball high into the goal beyond the outstretchd arm of Dorchester goalkeeper Tom Jobe.
Dorchester hit back immediately, with Connor Ford cutting in from the left to curl a shot towards the top-right corner, which Trojanowski brilliantly pushed away for a corner. It was taken short, but when the ball was eventually delivered into the box, Connor FORD was there to head into the bottom-left corner to level the scores.
Three minutes later, The Stags retook the lead, after Earley’s angled pass from the centre-circle allowed captain Owen Pelham and McIntosh to progress down the right and earn a corner. Rew centred and Connor BENT was left unmarked to head home.
Earley smacked the foot of the right-hand post with a long-range piledriver, which bounced back to McIntosh, who fired his follow-up shot into Jobe’s shins. But Totton went three-one up in the 29th minute, from a free-kick 20 yards out, to the left of the D. Marcel McINTOSH steered his well-struck effort under the defensive wall; Jobe got a hand to it but could only deflect the ball into the top-right corner of the goal.
Bennett, operating at centre-back, made a telling block to deny the hosts, after they raided upon the Totton goal from their left. Leo Taylor followed up with a well-timed, strong tackle to quash a secondary attack. Then, nine minutes before the break, Nixon made progress down the left, and checked to cross right-footed. Marcel McINTOSH jumped between a defender and the goalkeeper, and nodded in off the right-hand post.
Aaron Mathews fired across the Totton goal from the Dorchester left. Then, Earley wound up another long shot, but belted the ball onto the roof of the stand behind the goal, shortly before the hat-trick-hunting McIntosh twisted away from his man at the edge of the box to advance into the inside-right channel and fire into the side-netting.
Trojanowski stood up to make a smart save when Dorchester broke through just before the half-time whistle, keeping The Stags’ 4-1 lead in tact at the interval.
HALF-TIME: DORCHESTER TOWN 1-4 AFC TOTTON U23s
The match continued in much the same vien after the break. Bennett carried the ball out of defence and found Nixon on the left touchline. His first-time pass freed Bent to dart in behind the defence and send a low, angled shot across goal which McIntosh was a whisker away from converting at the far post. Then, Pelham made a run into the box from midfield and crossed to the lively McIntosh, whose shot was deflected high into the air before Dorchester managed to scramble it clear.
Totton extended their lead six minutes into the second half. Bent received the ball from a throw-in high on the left wing and neatly turned away from his marker to deliver a low cross into the six-yard box. Remus NIXON appeared to miss-hit his first attempt, but the ball came back off the goalkeeper and he struck the rebound into the net.
Harvey Rew intercepted a pass out from the Dorchester defence and went for goal with a low shot that Jobe saved close to his right-hand post. Then, Leo Taylor did well to get in front of two incoming Dorchester forwards on the edge of the Totton six-yard box to head a right-wing cross away.
The Bent-Nixon combination came up trumps for Totton again, in the 57th minute, when a brave challenge by Bent — sticking his head into a challenge near the centre-circle, just as a Dorchester player was about to kick the high-bouncing ball away — sent Remus NIXON into the clear to go one-on-one with Jobe; Nixon kept his composure and confidently slotted the ball home.
Despite his side already being in a strong, winning position, Leo Taylor made a brilliant recovery tackle to save Logan Laird’s blushes after an under-hit pass across the back line threatened to give Dorchester a clear run on Trojanowski’s goal. Harry Brookwell then made three changes, with Jack McGivney, Ebenezer Asare-Akoto and Hugo Rawlings all coming onto the pitch.
Another Totton attacking wave had Taylor bursting through on goal from the right, but Jobe did well to block the low shot with his knees. Then, shortly into the last 10 minutes, Rew struck the foot of the left-hand post with a free-kick from about 20 yards out, to the right of the D; Jobe was left stranded as the ball bounced, hit the post and flew out across his goalmouth, before a Dorchester defender hooked it away.
Taylor’s determination to keep Totton’s Goals Against column to an absolute minimum saw the tenacious defender making a sliding tackle inside the right corner of the Totton box, with the referee well-placed to see that he took the ball cleanly. And another strong challenge by Ethan Taylor’s younger brother enabled Nixon to cut infield from the right flank and shoot narrowly wide of the right-hand post from distance.
In the last five minutes, Hugo Rawlings had a shot tipped wide by Jobe, the ‘keeper also reacting well to Pelham’s angled snapshot from the right, to push the ball wide for a left-wing corner. Nixon had one last chance to complete his hat-trick; he dummied his way through two defenders on the left of the Dorchester penalty area and struck a cross-shot that hit one of his team-mates in the middle and bounced to safety for the home side, shortly before the referee called time on a comprehensive away win.
After the match, AFC Totton U23s Manager Harry Brookwell said:
“It was a very pleasing run-out and a fantastic performance from the whole team. We looked good on the ball from the start and moved it into plenty of dangerous areas quickly and with real purpose, and took our chances when we created them.
“All the lads have worked hard and played very well, and I’ve been well-supported by Jimmy Ball from the bench, too, so I’ve really enjoyed it.
“This is a great young team in the making here and, of course, we are allowed to bring some of the older lads into this competition, as well, so I think we can expect plenty more good football from our U23 team.
“We’ve got a home game coming up against Fareham on 11 September. It would be great to get some fans into the ground to come and support these young players, who really represent the future of this football club. There’s been some great football on show tonight, and I’m sure it will be the same against Fareham.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
