HC&DFL CHALLENGE CUP | QUARTER-FINAL
Wednesday 09 April 2025 | Snows Stadium, Totton | Att: ~200

YOUNG BUCKS CLAIM SEMI-FINAL PLACE WITH SHOOT-OUT VICTORY

AFC TOTTON U23s                       2
Connor Bent 26mins;
Hugo Rawlings 43mins

WINCHESTER CITY U23s          2
Lewis Brown 2mins;
Lawson Bright 52mins

AFC Totton U23s won 11-10 on penalties

AN UNDERSTRENGTH AFC TOTTON U23s side booked their place in the semi-finals of the Hampshire Combination & Development Football League Challenge Cup with a mammoth penalty shoot-out victory at the Snows Stadium, after being held to a two-all draw by Winchester City.

Academy product Zach Earley took the captain’s armband in the absence of usual skipper Owen Pelham, and with several players unavailable due to playing for their loan clubs or through injury, Harry Brookwell named only two substitutes from the permitted five.

AFC TOTTON U23s: 1. Max EVANS; 2. Runo AGBERHIERE; 3. Ben JEFFORD; 4. Zachariah EARLEY (Capt.); 5. Cruz WRAGG; 6. Will KEITA; 7. Sam GORDON; 8. Jack GOOD; 9 Connor BENT; 10. Hugo RAWLINGS; 11. Sa-Sean LUTUMBA. Substitutes: 14. Dylan BIRKS; 20. Jack McGIVNEY. Substitutions: Rolling On/Off. Yellow Cards: None.

WINCHESTER CITY U23s: !. James HARWOOD; 2. Henry COOPER; 3. Tom COLE; 4. Adam PUGH; 5. Leo CHANCE (Capt.); 6. Lawson BRIGHT; 7. Henry FOSTER; 8. Raif HOUSE; 9. Ashton PALMER; 10. Lewis ELVIN; 11. Lewis BROWN. Substitutes: 12. Louis THOMPSON; 14. James HENDERSON; 15. Jack PATERSON; 16. Alex VINE; 17. Cooper WOOD. Substitutions: Rolling On/Off. Yellow Cards: PALMER (Foul); WOOD (Foul).

Zach Earley demonstrated his willingness to take on the responsibility associated with being the team captain by tackling back into the left-back area to halt a Winchester raid and regain possession. But a poor pass out of defence by Ben Jefford presented the ball straight to Henry Foster on the Winchester right and from his low centre, Lewis BROWN fired home from close range to give the visitors the lead with just two minutes on the clock.

A long ball forward from Cruz Wragg was knocked down on the edge of the box by Connor Bent, teeing-up Sam Gordon for a shot that lacked the power to trouble James Harwood in the Winchester goal. Then, a push on Bent by Lawson Bright gave Totton a free-kick 30 yards out, left of centre. Earley floated the ball into the box and, after a couple of headers in either direction, the referee turned down a hand-ball claim from the home side, before the ball was cleared.

Hugo Rawlings pressed at the left-wing byline to force a corner, which was turned behind for another attempt, also from the left-hand side. Sa-Sean Lutumba crossed to the far post where Will Keita leapt highest but couldn’t keep his header under the crossbar. Totton should have scored there, and they thought they had done a few minutes later when Lutumba got to the left byline and chipped to the far post. Bent got above his marker and headed down towards the bottom-right corner. Harwood did well to get a hand to the ball and push it onto the post, but the rebound appeared to cross the line before the goalkeeper swiped it away. Appeals from the Totton players and a small cluster of fans behind the goal went unheeded by the referee, who — to be fair to him — did not have official assistants on duty to help him make an accurate call.

Bent was beginning to get the better of the two Winchester central defenders, and from a long kick by Totton ‘keeper Max Evans, the striker fed Lutumba, running into the box at inside-left. But the winger rushed his shot and it skewed wide of the left upright.

Another long, cross-field kick by Evans was well controlled by Lutumba to the left of the Winchester box. He laid it back for Wragg, supporting from left-back, and his deep, curling cross was a fraction too long for Bent to connect on the right of the six-yard box.

Harwood had to stretch to catch a Rawlings cross that threatened to drop in at the far post. Then on 26 minutes, Totton deservedly levelled. Evans launched the ball long down the inside-right channel and, using his shoulders and pace to steal a march on his marker, Connor BENT burst into the penalty area before firing under Harwood.

Bent was brought down on the edge of the Winchester box after latching onto a headed flick-on by Rawlings, but the referee waved away Totton’s appeals for what would have been a free-kick within shooting range. Rawlings chased back to snuff-out a counter-attack at the half-way line before it could get going.

Winchester failed to take full advantage of a rare misplaced pass by Earley, with Keita making a strong tackle close to his goal to force the ball out for a corner. The cross from the left bounced at the near side of the six-yard box; Evans got down quickly and repelled the ball with some force to clear Totton’s lines. Evans made another sharp stop when Ashton Palmer combined with Foster to create an opening from the Winchester right, with the Totton shot-stopper saving low in the centre of his goal.

Bright risked conceding a free-kick for a high boot as Bent tried to race onto Earley’s through-ball down the centre, but the referee again waved play-on. But a free-kick was awarded to Totton 30 yards out on the right, from which Earley clipped the ball into the box. It flew beyond the ruck of players lined up across the area to Bent on the far side. His header appeared to have the beating of the wrong-footed Harwood, but Hugo RAWLINGS made sure by bundling the ball over the line from close range to put The Young Bucks in front.

Wragg whipped in another dangerous cross from deep on the left, but Winchester dealt with it this time. Then, shortly before the break, Wragg’s forward pass slipped Bent in from the left of the penalty area, but his shot from a tight angle was high into the side-netting behind the left-hand post.

HALF-TIME: AFC TOTTON U23s 2-1 WINCHESTER CITY U23s

Winchester won a free-kick to the left of the Totton box for a foul by Earley; Evans commanded his area and claimed the high cross with confidence. Then, two strong tackles in quick succession by Keita kept the visitors at bay; when they did get in on their right, substitute Dylan Birks hooked the ball out to touch.

After an early second-half lull, Winchester City drew themselves level. A swift attack that moved through the middle and out to the right via substitute Alex Vine resulted in a right-wing corner. The cross came in low across the six-yard box; it was prodded out but only as far as Lawson BRIGHT, whose shot from close to the penalty spot took a deflection on its way into the bottom-left corner.

Ashton Palmer was shown the yellow card for a foul on Bruno Agberhiere. Vine attempted a curling shot with the outside of his right foot from the edge of Totton’s box, but Evans was equal to it. Then, a high bouncing ball had Keita and Jefford back-peddling in their own box, until Jefford’s sliding tackle caused the ball to ricochet off the incoming forward for Evans to save low at his left-hand post. The goalkeeper was then required to swipe a right-wing corner delivery away with one hand, as Winchester’s superior numbers and the fresh legs introduced from their bench began to tell.

The referee was left apologising to the Winchester players when he omitted to play the advantage, after sub Louis Thompson skipped away from Earley only to be tripped by Keita to the left of the D. The loose ball had run on to a striker in a dangerous position but the match official had already awarded the free-kick, which was bent high and wide of the right-hand post.

An inviting cross by Cooper Wood from deep on the Winchester left put Vine into a goal-scoring position but although he did well to get ahead of his marker and jump to volley, his shot squirmed away to the left. Vine regathered the ball and aimed a shot to the near bottom corner; Evans had it covered.

Cooper Wood was booked for a foul on Jack Good. Wragg carried the ball forward from right-back and, as space opened up ahead of him, dragged the ball infield to let fly with a 25-yard effort that Harwood parried and grabbed at the second attempt. Then, Jack McGivney was unfortunate to be called-up for a foul on the half-way line when everyone sitting in the SFS Main Stand could see that he had cleanly taken the ball on the blindside of the referee.

Winchester City had three bites of the cherry late on, as they pushed for a late winner, but Keita and Jefford both got their bodies in the way to make crucial blocks, before Earley chased the ball out of the box and stuck to his task under pressure long enough to win a free-kick, shortly before the final whistle took the cup tie directly to a penalty shoot-out.

Firing at the goal nearest to the Calmore Industrial Estate, the home side went first. Hugo Rawlings struck the ball well but James Harwood anticipated it well, dived to his left and parried; Louis THOMPSON smashed the ball down the middle, getting it stuck between the top of the advertising hoarding and the horizontal bar of the perimeter fence; TOT 0-1 WIN. Connor Bent blasted his spot-kick over the crossbar; Ashton Palmer failed to take full advantage by following suit with a shot into the same square of the safety netting behind the goal; TOT 0-1 WIN. Sa-Sean LUTUMBA got Totton off the mark with a confident finish into the top-right corner; Max Evans made it count by saving Adam Pugh’s shot; TOT 1-1 WIN. Both teams successfully converted their remaining spot-kicks to make it TOT 3-3 WIN by the end of the regulation five, taking the shoot-out into Sudden Death, and the subsequent 12 penalties were all scored, taking it to TOT 9-9 WIN.

Hugo RAWLINGS redeemed himself from his earlier miss with a powerful shot into the top-left corner; Louis THOMPSON went high to the other top corner for Winchester; TOT 10-10 WIN; Striker Connor BENT also put his earlier miss behind him by squeezing his second penalty under the crossbar; Ashton Palmer ended the contest by blasting high over the crossbar to send Totton through; TOT 11-10 WIN.

AFC Totton U23s will face Hamble Club U23s in the semi-final, at a time and plce to be determined.

By Ben Rochey-Adams