AFC Totton
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Date signed | 1st Jul 2024 |
| Debut | vs Walton & Hersham (home), Southern League Prem Div South, Sat10Aug2024 |
| Previous clubs | Southampton, AFC Bournemouth, Poole Town (loan), Luton Town, Dorchester Town |
| Sponsor | Home Kit: BRENDA & CHAD ANDREWS; Away Kit: STEVE MAC CONNELL; Cup Kit: AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR |
20-year-old attacking midfielder Marcus Daws was in the Southampton Academy before joining AFC Bournemouth’s U18s in July 2020. He spent the second half of the 2021/22 season in the Southern League Premier Division South while on loan at Poole Town.
Usually a right winger, Marcus Daws can also play on the left or in the more central role as a No.10. He graduated to Bournemouth’s U21s in the summer of 2022, and made his Northern Ireland U21 debut as a substitute in a 1-1 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifying draw against Lithuania at the Alytus Stadium in Alytus, Lithuania in July 2022, having four months earlier been an unused sub in a heavy home defeat to Spain.
Daws had done well enough during his first loan stint at the Tatnam Ground to earn a return invitation in time for the whole 2022/23 season. He ended the campaign with 41 appearances and six goals to his name, as well as a Dorset Senior Cup winner’s medal, having played his part in the 4-0 victory over Weymouth in the Final.
The Cherries released Daws in the summer of 2023. He signed for Luton Town in September, but after just four months with The Hatters, he was reunited with his former Poole Town boss Tom Killick by agreeing to a permanent deal with Dorchester Town.
Daws hit the ground running by scoring a goal on his Magpies debut in a 2-0 away win at Harrow Borough on Saturday 13 January, adding another in the away win a Tiverton Town in April. He also played for Dorchester in their 0-4 home defeat to AFC Totton on the final day of the regular season. Showing confidence on the ball and the skill required to escape his marker, Daws went close to scoring from distance on at least two occasions, and he might have done better with a back-post header from a right-wing cross, having timed his jump well but steering his effort over the crossbar.
Scored both Totton goals in the 2-3 pre-season defeat to a Southampton XI early in The Stags' pre-season campaign, and notched the winning goal on his competitive AFC Totton in the 1-0 opening day victory over Walton & Hersham.
