tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51098114610475714242024-02-19T08:38:22.302+00:00Stag ArmyA view from the stands at the Testwood Stadium.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-30969016218581442952012-03-18T21:35:00.000+00:002012-03-18T21:35:25.752+00:00AFC Totton 0-0 Redditch United, 17/03/12 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5KFDnLEwy12w-4OV2G5egGYcRg4x5uBkhL2CYW4K0mUJszHIC-HPT5uYvoUBofHJHUy8EMH7-XCdXzMwSd1JpCu7MoSLkIk3f7yL0nooBHl-dBOieHL8Cy2I1NEZ1MXnfb9yie8a_XI/s1600/Redditch+United.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5KFDnLEwy12w-4OV2G5egGYcRg4x5uBkhL2CYW4K0mUJszHIC-HPT5uYvoUBofHJHUy8EMH7-XCdXzMwSd1JpCu7MoSLkIk3f7yL0nooBHl-dBOieHL8Cy2I1NEZ1MXnfb9yie8a_XI/s200/Redditch+United.png" width="121" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span></b><br />
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Totton came into this game on the back of two superb away wins. Last weekend a 1-0 win at Banbury United put Totton firmly back in the title race after Brackley could only draw 1-1 at Totton's league neighbours Bashley. Then on Tuesday evening a rather under-strength Stags side defied the odds to beat a full-strength Havant & Waterlooville of the Conference South in the Hampshire Senior Cup semi final to set up a final clash with Eastleigh at Southampton FC's St Mary's Stadium. Surely the visit of relegation threatened Redditch United would give Totton the chance to make it 3 wins in a row. As we know though, any team can beat any other team in this league, irrespective of league position.<br />
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In the first minute Stefan Brown went down with a worrying looking head injury after a tackle. After a couple of minutes of treatment, thankfully Brown was back on his feet and ready to continue playing.<br />
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In the absence of the injured Mike Gosney, left back Charlie Knight was playing on the left wing and Ian Richardson was pushed out to play at left back. His run down the left wing ended with a cross to Ryan Moss who headed straight at the goalkeeper.<br />
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Nathaniel Sherborne then drew a good save from the keeper when he nearly converted Moss' low cross.<br />
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A good bit of play in the box almost gave Totton the lead when Brown latched onto Moss' knock down and slipped the ball through to Sherborne but his curling shot was just wide of the far post.<br />
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Ross Bottomley then sent one unlucky steward on a long trek to retrieve the ball when his massive clearance from a long ball into the box left the ground and probably wasn't far off reaching Testwood Lake!<br />
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Jamie Whisken went up for a corner but headed over the bar from Ryan Hill's delivery.<br />
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A foul on Hill on the edge of the box gave Totton a free kick. Hill delivered, the ball was headed clear as far as Charlie Knight and he was taken out on the edge of the box. Another free kick, another Hill effort. This time the Redditch wall did it's job as the ball deflected off it for a corner, which came to nothing.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 0-0 Redditch United</b><br />
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In the second half the defences did all the work as there were hardly any clear chances for either side.<br />
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Sherborne cut inside from the right but his cross-shot was gathered by the keeper with Nathan Campbell waiting to pounce.<br />
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Redditch substitute Chris Russell was then denied by James Bittner at the other end after running onto a good ball through the Totton defence.<br />
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Campbell should have been through on goal soon after, but the linesman flagged for offside despite Campbell coming from behind the defender to get to the ball first.<br />
<br />
Stuart Hendrie then worked himself some space in the box but could only shoot wide with just Bittner to beat.<br />
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Jon Davies and John McKie soon entered the game in place of Stefan Brown and Charlie Knight as Totton seemed stuck for ideas.<br />
<br />
Richardson did well to block a goal-bound shot from Lee Osborne finding the net as Redditch continued to threaten.<br />
<br />
The referee then waved away strong penalty appeals from Totton after Davies was felled in the box by Alex Hickman as he ran onto Sherborne's through ball.<br />
<br />
Hickman was then lucky to escape with just a yellow card when he wiped out McKie as the young winger tried to race past him on the left wing, going in studs up and sending McKie flying.<br />
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From the free kick that followed, Campbell was inches away from getting his head on the ball at the back post.<br />
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Bittner then saved a point for Totton when he denied Aaron Forde after he ran into the box, through the defence, and aimed for the bottom corner.<br />
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In the dying seconds, both sides had chances to snatch all 3 points. First, Ryan Moss chested down Hill's high cross to the far post but was denied at point black range by Coleman when it seemed certain he would score.<br />
<br />
Then, Chris Russell did well to bring down a long punt down-field and get it under control, but Carl Pettefer blocked his effort and the ball rolled safely into Bittner's hands.<br />
<br />
<b>Full time: AFC Totton 0-0 Redditch United</b><br />
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After two fantastic results on the road, Totton were stopped in their tracks at the Testwood Stadium by a determined Redditch side. The reverse fixture at Redditch back in November also ended 0-0. With Brackley beating Weymouth 3-1, it opened up a 5 point gap between the league leaders and Totton, but The Stags have a game in hand on The Saints and anything can still happen between now and the end of the season. Next up for Totton is another two home games in a row. Stourbridge visit on Tuesday evening, then next Saturday Leamington are in town.<br />
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AFC Totton: Bittner, Hill, Whisken, Bottomley, Richardson, Brown (Davies 60), Campbell, Pettefer, Knight (McKie 69), Sherborne, Moss. Unused subs: Porter, Odam, Osman.<br />
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Redditch United: Coleman, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-left;">Stringfellow, Robinson, Adkins, Hickman, Grimes, Hendrie, Forde, Deabill (Russell 46), Halsall, Osborne<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unused Subs : Moses-Garvey, Hull, Knott, Bedford.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Officials: Referee: Mr A Laver. Assistants: Mr D Gillespie & Mr D Howard-Tomes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Attendance: 460.</span></span>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-87716482015536321762012-03-04T12:23:00.001+00:002012-03-04T12:27:34.285+00:00AFC Totton 1-1 Frome Town, 03/03/2012 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzdli8nYIRAtzPnuqHJD6T6DSQFbNuGAyVBlZ4iqvhxC1vnQNOU5h7sHarVsogSG0VDiX-N4P9Ct_WaRW4n1I_EfRG7dILD6zaCEZLTAhayNK9d_JIX-2qXvjsHruQvhPDrJ50b2ZJuk/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzdli8nYIRAtzPnuqHJD6T6DSQFbNuGAyVBlZ4iqvhxC1vnQNOU5h7sHarVsogSG0VDiX-N4P9Ct_WaRW4n1I_EfRG7dILD6zaCEZLTAhayNK9d_JIX-2qXvjsHruQvhPDrJ50b2ZJuk/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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Totton are on a pretty poor run at the moment. Since a 3-1 win over Evesham United last month, The Stags have drawn two and lost one, scoring just one goal (a penalty). Surely the visit of lowly Frome Town would give Totton the chance to get back to winning ways. In the away game Totton won 3-1 with two goals for Stefan Brown and one for Mark Osman. Before this game, a minute's applause was held for former Totton press officer and club legend Pete Chilcott who sadly passed away last week at the age of 92.<br />
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Totton began the game in promising fashion. Charlie Knight's cross was pushed into Jon Davies' path by Frome keeper Darren Chitty and the winger's shot was blocked by the defence and the ball was cleared.<br />
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Ryan Hill then crossed to Nathan Campbell in the box and he laid the ball off for Mike Gosney who shot high over the bar.<br />
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Frome started to get themselves back in the game and Totton had to be at their defensive best to keep the away side at bay.<br />
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A foul by Hill gave Frome a free kick out on the right wing. The ball was headed clear by Gosney only as far as Mark Cooper 20 yards out but the defender's shot was high and wide.<br />
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Totton threatened again when Hill's throw in found Nathaniel Sherborne in the box and his shot on the turn was straight at Chitty.<br />
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Totton have gone off the boil a bit in recent weeks and there were more frustrated groans from the home fans when Frome took the lead.<br />
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Matt Smith's volley was saved well by James Bittner but he could only parry the ball onto the head of Luke Ballinger who lofted a header over the keeper and into the net.<br />
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A couple of half chances for Frome followed, but it was Totton who came closest to scoring next.<br />
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Dean Flockton's foul on Davies earned him a yellow card and Totton a free kick. Gosney's effort looked destined for the top corner until Chitty's glove intercepted at the expense of a corner.<br />
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Just before half time, Gosney came close with another free kick from a similar distance. This time the keeper was getting nowhere near it, but he didn't need to be as the ball whistled past the post.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 0-1 Frome Town</b><br />
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Totton came out fighting in the second half, but with the wind in their faces the football wasn't exactly pretty.<br />
<br />
A foul on Ryan Moss gave Totton a free kick out wide on the left. Hill played it to the far post where it was headed back across goal and after some frantic pinball in the box the ball was eventually scrambled clear by the Frome defence.<br />
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Soon after, Totton made a double change with Jon Davies and Ryan Hill making way for Nathan Jack and Ian Richardson, and Jack instantly began to make an impact.<br />
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A dangerous cross from the substitute was put behind for a corner and Gosney's delivery was volleyed just past the post by Sherborne.<br />
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Another good cross from Jack found Charlie Knight on the far post but the full back couldn't get the ball on target and it just cleared the crossbar.<br />
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The wind died down with about 20 minutes to go and Bittner became a focal point for starting attacks with his long punts down-field no longer being held up by the blustery conditions.<br />
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A long ball forward from the 'keeper found Gosney in the opposite penalty area and he controlled it, turned and shot in one move, only to see his shot bounce agonisingly off the post.<br />
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Minutes later another blast from Bittner's right boot found Jamie Whisken who flicked the ball on with his head, but there was no one anticipating the flick on and the ball rolled out for a goal kick.<br />
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Stefan Brown entered the action in place of Charlie Knight with 15 minutes remaining and within seconds Totton were finally on level terms.<br />
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Brown did well to retain possession 25 yards out and played the ball out wide to Jack on the right wing. Jack cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a powerful low drive that found it's way through the packed penalty area, across goal and into the bottom corner.<br />
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Totton piled forward in search of a late winner, but they were almost made to pay for their attacking intent with 5 minutes left.<br />
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Frome played the ball out to the wing and after getting away from Ian Richardson, Ballinger cut inside, drew Bittner out of his goal and squared the ball for Smith who shot wide with the open goal at his mercy.<br />
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But it was Totton who would come closest in the dying minutes when Gosney's corner was headed onto the top of the crossbar by Brown.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 1-1 Frome Town</b><br />
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Another frustrating afternoon for Totton fans who now haven't witnessed a Stags victory for 4 games. A 0-0 draw with Swindon Supermarine, a 1-0 defeat at Cambridge City and a 1-1 draw with St Albans City preceded this disappointing result to make it 3 points from a possible 12 and just 2 goals scored in that time. Tuesday evening will provide a welcome break from the league when Clevedon Town visit the Testwood Stadium for the Red Insure Cup semi final, kicking off at 7:45pm. The next league outing is next Saturday when we travel to Banbury United.<br />
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AFC Totton: Bittner, Hill (Richardson 58), Whisken, Bottomley, Knight (Brown 74), Davies (Jack 58), Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne, Moss. Unused subs: Stockford, McKie.<br />
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Frome Town: Chitty, Cooper, Reaney, Flockton, Evans, Lapham, Ballinger (Brigham 90+2), Smith, Walsh (Benison 55), Perrott, Thomson. Unused subs: Ledgister, Quelch, Bennett.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Totton: Jack (75)<br />
Frome: Ballinger (19)<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr M Derrien. Assistants: Mr M Desborough & Mr A Carter.<br />
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Attendance: 540.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-3904512780526473242012-02-20T12:45:00.000+00:002012-02-20T12:45:54.586+00:00AFC Totton 3-1 Evesham United, 18/02/12 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61YXRA-nRXwLa7Ns9dBYNFjQnZP2w_RKqH-McjyaAmMcjRKThfCksd5abg7hxOUIiMRyXYatvjh2HFNbynwuicSR6jE9zF-C1Nw2bic9ingNGYN6YURgi4cybO2T9yqjIzlxGoFLffU/s1600/Evesham+United.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61YXRA-nRXwLa7Ns9dBYNFjQnZP2w_RKqH-McjyaAmMcjRKThfCksd5abg7hxOUIiMRyXYatvjh2HFNbynwuicSR6jE9zF-C1Nw2bic9ingNGYN6YURgi4cybO2T9yqjIzlxGoFLffU/s200/Evesham+United.gif" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzdli8nYIRAtzPnuqHJD6T6DSQFbNuGAyVBlZ4iqvhxC1vnQNOU5h7sHarVsogSG0VDiX-N4P9Ct_WaRW4n1I_EfRG7dILD6zaCEZLTAhayNK9d_JIX-2qXvjsHruQvhPDrJ50b2ZJuk/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzdli8nYIRAtzPnuqHJD6T6DSQFbNuGAyVBlZ4iqvhxC1vnQNOU5h7sHarVsogSG0VDiX-N4P9Ct_WaRW4n1I_EfRG7dILD6zaCEZLTAhayNK9d_JIX-2qXvjsHruQvhPDrJ50b2ZJuk/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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It was a year ago this weekend that Totton began life at their new Testwood Stadium home with a 5-1 win over Paulton Rovers in the Zamaretto League South & West Division. A year on, The Stags were hoping to celebrate that anniversary with another 3 points towards achieving promotion for a second successive season.<br />
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It's been a while since Totton were last in league action thanks to the Arctic weather conditions over the last few weeks.<br />
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Frozen pitches across the country have meant only 2 games in the last 3 weeks for Totton; the 7-2 defeat of AFC Portchester in the Hampshire Senior Cup quarter finals and a 6-1 win over North Greenford United in the Red Insure Cup quarter finals.<br />
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In the reverse fixture back in October, Evesham won 1-0 thanks to a Craig Wilding goal, while Totton had Ryan Scott sent off.<br />
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New signing Ryan Moss scored a hattrick on his debut in the game against North Greenford and was named in the starting line up for this game in a three-man attack along with Nathaniel Sherborne and Nathan Jack.<br />
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There was a place on the bench for new loan signing from Portsmouth, Lewis Stockford, but there was no Michael Charles as the striker has joined former club Farnborough on a one month loan.<br />
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It had poured down for an hour or so before kick off and the game started slowly as both teams struggled to cope with the awful conditions.<br />
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The driving rain and strong winds played havoc with the ball spending more time in the air than on the pitch for the first 5 minutes or so.<br />
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Totton were the first to settle down and play though and on 7 minutes they took the lead. Mike Gosney controlled the ball in midfield and ran to the edge of the box before playing a defence-splitting pass for Nathaniel Sherborne to run onto before rounding the keeper and slotting home.<br />
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Evesham responded well to this setback and looked the more likely to score during the remainder of the first half.<br />
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They won a free kick shortly after the goal which was comfortably held by Grant Porter and then a 25 yard shot by Evesham's Jack Winter was deflected just wide by Benjamin Pugh,<br />
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For all their attacking intent, Evesham were usually restricted to shots from distance by the Totton defence and Josh Quaynor fired wide with a 30 yard strike on 20 minutes.<br />
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A minute before half time Totton twice came close to grabbing a second goal against the run of play. Nathan Jack found time and space to shoot but his effort was parried by Daniel Platt in the Evesham goal and the ball was eventually cleared.<br />
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Gosney then tested the keeper with a shot from 25 yards out that was saved and pushed out to Ryan Moss, but the new number 9 was flagged for offside.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 1-0 Evesham United</b><br />
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After the break the game became very scrappy as the weather picked up again after seeming to calm down during half time.<br />
<br />
Players were slipping on the wet surface, defenders found it difficult to get the ball away, strikers couldn't find the target and both goalkeepers had very little to do.<br />
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Eventually the weather subsided and the improved conditions coincided with the timing of Totton's second goal.<br />
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Just after the hour mark Totton got a corner. Nathan Jack played it short to Gosney and his first time cross found Sherborne who got above his marker to head the ball past Platt and into the far corner.<br />
<br />
Ryan Hill then stung Platt's palms with a rasping shot from an angle 25 yards out that swerved and had to be pushed behind for a corner.<br />
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Evesham had deserved a goal for their efforts during the game, although their goal on 86 minutes was slightly against the run of play.<br />
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Quaynor received the ball on the edge of the box and turned Jamie Whisken before running to the by-line and playing a low cross for Henry Eze to slide in ahead of Ross Bottomley and poke it over the line.<br />
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The Robins pushed for an equaliser in the last few minutes and their attacking intent left them vulnerable to a counter attack.<br />
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Substitute Stefan Brown raced away down the right and, with Platt stranded in the middle of his box, lobbed the ball up and over the helpless goalkeeper and it bounced safely over the line to make certain all 3 points.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 3-1 Evesham United</b><br />
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1 year on from that first game at the Testwood Stadium against Paulton Rovers, Totton are still pushing for promotion, but this time a division higher. The 3 points from this game keep up the pressure at the top on Brackley, who have played 2 games more than The Stags. Stefan Brown's goal was a mirror image of the goal he scored against Paulton 12 months ago when he lobbed the keeper at the other end and with his opposite foot. If you play the videos of the two goals side by side they should look almost identical.<br />
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Next up for Totton is one of our games in hand on Brackley as we travel to Swindon Supermarine who are struggling down in 21st place, 2nd from bottom. Then this weekend, a big game in the promotion race with a trip to Cambridge City, who currently side 3rd, 4 points behind Totton having played 2 games more.<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Whisken, Bottomley, Richardson, Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney, Jack (Davies 81), Moss, Sherborne (Brown 87). Unused subs: Stockford, Knight, Osman.<br />
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Evesham United: Platt, Wilson, Tasker, Daniel, Eze, Fitter, Wilding, Pugh (Spencer 80), Palmer, Quaynor. Unused subs: Keen, Clarke.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Totton: Sherborne (7 & 62), Brown (90)<br />
Evesham: Eze (86)<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr R Hulme. Assistants: Mr K Williams & Mr A Fricker.<br />
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Attendance: 406.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-37461772344070251972012-01-30T13:42:00.001+00:002012-01-30T13:42:55.963+00:00Cirencester Town 1-2 AFC Totton, 28/01/12 3pm<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56Bbj8z2ZC3OzSwnbroOE-wq-P4-cerxWk8jYOlq_w-gBTzQPrhyphenhyphenI_fMDeUMAQ82k5nDZCYwQKoEpep-5RgLUxLLxuhudFOySpFPIdp6OQ8o_udNNEm1ls-doAspCE4j2mxO1JpSezEc/s1600/Cirencester+Town.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56Bbj8z2ZC3OzSwnbroOE-wq-P4-cerxWk8jYOlq_w-gBTzQPrhyphenhyphenI_fMDeUMAQ82k5nDZCYwQKoEpep-5RgLUxLLxuhudFOySpFPIdp6OQ8o_udNNEm1ls-doAspCE4j2mxO1JpSezEc/s200/Cirencester+Town.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div><div><br />
</div><div> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span></div><div><br />
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</div><div>Totton are still keeping up with Brackley at the top of the league despite not winning away from the Testwood Stadium since mid-November. 3 away defeats on the bounce (Chippenham, Weymouth and Barwell) have put a small dent in The Stags' promotion bid, but the teams around us have also been slipping up so the situation is not as bad it could have been. This time we were away at Cirencester Town. The Centurions are second from bottom and lost 3-0 in the reverse fixture at the Testwood Stadium back in October.</div><div><br />
</div>The first real chance of this game fell to Totton after 14 minutes when Mike Gosney's free kick was headed goalwards by Jamie Whisken, but the ball was tipped over the bar by Cirencester keeper Charles Steward.<br />
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A few minutes later Gosney had another free kick 20 yards from goal. The Cirencester goal was never in any danger though as the ball cleared not only the crossbar but also the stand behind the goal, which echoed with the disappointed groans of the Totton fans.<br />
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Cirencester's first chance came in the 20th minute when Scott Griffin lost his marker and sent a curling left footed shot towards the far corner, but Dan Thomas made a superb diving save to turn the ball behind for a corner.<br />
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Griffin was at it again soon after when he found himself in a good position but was thwarted by Thomas who raced off his line to block well and concede a corner.<br />
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Nathan Davies had to be replaced by Aiden Bennett just after the half-hour mark after picking up an unfortunate off-the-ball hamstring injury.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Totton were then denied the lead when Nathan Jack's header from Jon Davies' cross looked destined for the back of the net with Steward well beaten, but Andy Gunn and Wayne Turk cleared the ball off the line.</div><div><br />
</div><div>With 2 minutes to go in the first half, Cirencester took the lead against the run of play. James Mortimer-Jones was given too much time and space just outside the box and unleashed a superb long range shot that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal with Thomas rooted to the spot.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Half time: Cirencester Town 1-0 AFC Totton</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>The second half was just a few minutes old when Cirencester had the crossbar to thank for keeping them in front. Gosney swung in another good ball from the left and Scott Claridge inexplicably crashed a header against his own crossbar before the ball was scrambled away from danger.<br />
<br />
Jon Davies then worked himself a bit of space in the box and hit a powerful shot that was tipped over the bar at full stretch by Steward.<br />
<br />
Totton's dominance finally told just after the hour. Gosney whipped in another low corner towards the near post and Steward got down to parry it, but the ball bounced up kindly for Jamie Whisken who poked it over the line for his first goal of the season to bring The Stags level.<br />
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Cirencester didn't let the equaliser get them down and continued to push forward. Jon Else didn't really trouble Thomas with a couple of long range efforts and Scott Griffin headed wide from Lee Smith's cross.<br />
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The referee, who didn't exactly endear himself to either set of supporters, management or players then sent Jon Davies off after a second yellow card for talking back to the linesman. Davies was angry as he felt he had been fouled but the linesman flagged in Cirencester's favour.<br />
<br />
The sending off didn't seem to affect Totton. If anything, it spurred them on even more. If Barwell could do it with 10 men last week, Totton could do it this week. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the 82nd minute, their endeavour paid off. Cirencester failed to deal with a Totton corner and after a bit of pinball in the box, Stefan Brown fired home at the second attempt to send the away fans wild.<br />
<br />
Cirencester threatened to bring the scoreline level in the final minutes as Zak Westlake headed wide from a corner, then Wayne Turk volleyed just wide when a clearance from a corner fell for him on the edge of the box but Totton held firm to claim all 3 points.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Full time: Cirencester Town 1-2 AFC Totton</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>Totton grabbed their first away win since a 2-1 win at Bedford on November 19th. Some will feel it was a deserved victory as The Stags dominated for most of the game and were slightly aggrieved at the dismissal of Jon Davies and a booking for Ross Bottomley for kicking the ball away, when it wasn't actually him who kicked it. Totton have now done the double over Cirencester who remain second from bottom, now level on points with near neighbours Swindon Supermarine after their 4-3 win at Evesham. Next up for Totton is the rearranged Hampshire Senior Cup quarter final tie at home against AFC Portchester. The winner will be away to Havant & Waterlooville in the semi finals. In the league, our next game is a home match with St Albans City next Saturday.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Cirencester Town: Steward, Claridge, Dunton (Bevan 86), Gunn, Davies (Bennett 32), Westlake, Turk, Mortimer-Jones, Smith (Bryant 75), Griffin, Else. Unused subs: Dunn.</div><div><br />
</div><div>AFC Totton: Thomas, Hill, Whisken, Bottomley, Baddeley, Davies, Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney, Jack, Brown. Subs: Porter, Richardson, Charles, Sherborne, Osman.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Goals:</div><div>Cirencester: Mortimer-Jones (43)</div><div>Totton: Whisken (65), Brown (82)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Officials: Referee: Mr B Durie. Assistants: Mr O Ballinger & Mr P Moungarret.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Attendance: 126</div>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-33043577443986411822012-01-19T11:22:00.002+00:002012-01-19T17:29:02.782+00:00AFC Totton 2-1 Banbury United, 17/01/12 7:45pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow1UyAsoRaVGmH5PmfV5GdeSsyRQjlkHYpuHinVg6B7wJieR1rhbR7Z4MRYIP3UEjPrt1wsGb36KYyHGHJ0rfjfiFPg_c3wmf4xLbVZcsn1KEdaZy2vNY8fmk2JHA2V4LCn_yKIvIuLw/s1600/Banbury+United.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow1UyAsoRaVGmH5PmfV5GdeSsyRQjlkHYpuHinVg6B7wJieR1rhbR7Z4MRYIP3UEjPrt1wsGb36KYyHGHJ0rfjfiFPg_c3wmf4xLbVZcsn1KEdaZy2vNY8fmk2JHA2V4LCn_yKIvIuLw/s1600/Banbury+United.png" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><b>V</b></span></span></div><br />
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Totton have started to find their feet again after two straight defeats over the new year period. A 3-0 win over Chesham was followed by a victory of the same scoreline against Swindon Supermarine in the Red Insure Cup. A 2-2 draw with Brackley at the weekend made it 3 games unbeaten in all competitions for The Stags now. To extend that run we would have to get something against Brackley's local rivals Banbury United. The Puritans' recent form has been indifferent at best; 2 wins, 2 defeats and 2 draws from their last 6 games. Returning to the Totton starting line up for this game were wingers Mike Gosney and Jon Davies who both started on the bench against Brackley. Salisbury loanee Charlie Knight retained his place at left back, and Ross Bottomley once more took up a central midfield role.<br />
<br />
For the first 20 minutes of this game, you could have watched the cars go by on Salisbury Road or gazed at the flocks of crows and jackdaws flying overhead to their night-time roost over by Testwood Lakes.<br />
<br />
Anything would have been more interesting to watch than whatever was going on out on the pitch. There were no real chances to speak of for either side and 90% of the play seemed to be going on around the halfway line.<br />
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Eventually I had something worth noting down. Ben Thackeray was found with an excellent ball over the defence and the Banbury striker took control of the ball before smashing it into the side netting.<br />
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As it turned out, the linesman had raised his flag for offside so it wouldn't have counted if it had gone the right side of the post.<br />
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On 27 minutes Totton should really have taken the lead. Mike Gosney was put through on goal by Mark Osman and tried to place his shot in the far corner but the ball went across goal and wide of the post.<br />
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With half an hour played, a Banbury cross was headed clear by Jamie Whisken as far as Josh Cole 30 yards out and his first time shot was well wide of the goal.<br />
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Totton finally broke the deadlock in the 36th minute. A free kick into the box was headed down by Osman for Michael Charles to control and turn on a sixpence before firing home to give Totton the lead.<br />
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Josh Blake was denied an equaliser just before the break by Dan Thomas who dived to his right to push the ball behind for a corner, which was headed wide for a goal kick.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 1-0 Banbury United</b><br />
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With the second half just 7 minutes old, Banbury capitalised on a defensive mix-up to grab an equaliser.<br />
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Jamie Whisken turned to pass the ball back to Thomas in the Totton goal but the pass was intercepted as Blake pounced to get to the ball before Thomas, rounded the keeper and slotted home.<br />
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5 minutes later a shot from the edge of the box from Osman was tipped over the bar by Banbury goalkeeper Andy Kemp who appeared to pull his hamstring in the process but carried on.<br />
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With 15 minutes remaining Totton regained the lead. A long ball forward fell to Charles who, with his back to goal, flicked the ball up and over his head for Jon Davies to race onto ahead of the defenders and take a touch before placing his shot into the bottom corner.<br />
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Shortly after the goal Davies came close again when his curling effort from the corner of the box was just high and wide of the far corner of the goal.<br />
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Banbury then wasted a golden opportunity to equalise when Totton lost possession out wide on the left and the ball was crossed into the box for Thackeray, but his shot was straight at Thomas.<br />
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With 5 minutes of normal time to go Totton thought they were home and dry. Gosney's corner was headed back across goal by Whisken to Charles who thought he'd scored but his close range header was cleared off the line by the head of Tommy Kinch.<br />
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Into added time and Dan Thomas pulled off another excellent save to deny Banbury a point. Substitute Joe Eyre went on a run to the edge of the box and pulled the trigger but Thomas scrambled across goal to get down and tip the ball behind for a corner which came to nothing.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 2-1 Banbury United</b><br />
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For the first 20 minutes you wouldn't have thought the rest of the game would be so end-to-end. It was a frantic finish to the game after Totton re-took the lead and Banbury may feel they deserved a point from it. Totton are now unbeaten in 4 games in all competitions and we have the chance to extend that further when we visit Barwell on Saturday for our longest away trip of the season. In the home fixture back in September, Barwell were masters of their own downfall. With the score level at 1-1, Barwell wasted copious amounts of time as they seemed happy to settle for a point. The referee played 8 minutes of injury time as a result and Barwell paid the price as Ryan Hill's free kick in the 7th minute of added time won the game for Totton. So yeah, 3pm, Barwell, this Saturday. See you there!<br />
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AFC Totton: Thomas, Hill, Whisken, Richardson, Knight, Davies (Campbell 87), Bottomley, Pettefer, Gosney, Osman (Jack 90), Charles (Sherborne 90). Unused subs: Baddeley, Brown.<br />
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Banbury United: Kemp, Coleman, Kinch, Dolman, Chilton, Howell (L. Cole 88), Williams, J. Cole, Blake (Fraser 88), Thackeray (Eyre 83), Polk. Unused subs: Lamb.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Totton: Charles (36), Davies (75)<br />
Banbury: Blake (52)<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr A Tranter. Assistants: Mr P Byfield & Mr J Rake.<br />
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Attendance: 328.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-52750165592166369462012-01-15T12:14:00.001+00:002012-01-15T22:13:35.511+00:00AFC Totton 2-2 Brackley Town, 14/01/12 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Ku1b-MLyY6NqPbaEpRsmtbAmda1L9t_y-fqzaQEoavHqTLLDyYxsLtPcWT3fq2katNzTI3mNZlv8VTfFEbGs3fDgRzvk0hhz6p9OuK8XD8oW66A1ck_w0owr4TtOo7sDmy1izU7PFY/s1600/Brackley+Town.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-Ku1b-MLyY6NqPbaEpRsmtbAmda1L9t_y-fqzaQEoavHqTLLDyYxsLtPcWT3fq2katNzTI3mNZlv8VTfFEbGs3fDgRzvk0hhz6p9OuK8XD8oW66A1ck_w0owr4TtOo7sDmy1izU7PFY/s1600/Brackley+Town.png" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span></b><br />
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Totton got back to winning ways last week with a far from comfortable 3-0 win over Chesham United at the Testwood Stadium. Despite going down to 10 men, Chesham were by far the superior side and the scoreline didn't reflect the game at all. Still, 3 points on the board after two straight defeats and now we could move on to what was being billed as the biggest game of the season in the Southern Premier League. 2nd v 1st at the top of the table as Totton hosted Brackley Town. In the reverse fixture back in September, Totton won 3-0. Like the Chesham game last week, the scoreline flattered Totton and we should have been about 4-0 down at half time. Never mind though, eh? This is a results business, forget the "what if"s and the "should have"s. On loan Salisbury left back Charlie Knight started this one, as did Dan Thomas is goal and central defender Ross Bottomley in midfield.<br />
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Totton only managed one shot on target in the first 10 minutes of this game. As it happens though, this shot went in.<br />
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From the kick off, a long ball forward was headed on by Nathaniel Sherborne and the ball fell for Michael Charles who, from a tight angle just outside the box, expertly lobbed the ball up and over Brackley keeper Billy Turley and over the line to give Totton the lead after just 14 SECONDS.<br />
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Brackley responded well to this early setback and steadied the ship after a couple more half-chances for Totton.<br />
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A foul by Nathan Campbell provided Brackley the opportunity to work Dan Thomas in the Totton goal with a free kick 25 yards out.<br />
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Instead, the on-loan Bournemouth keeper almost got a crick in his neck as he watched the ball soar a mile over his crossbar.<br />
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Brackley's Josh Green picked up a booking for a foul on Sherborne out wide on the right and gave Totton the chance to put another good ball into the box.<br />
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Ryan Hill did just that and caused panic at the far post where the ball was eventually headed behind by Carl Palmer for a corner.<br />
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Michael Charles was soon in on goal again, despite protests for offside by the Brackley defence. Their preference to stand around disputing it allowed Charles to race clear and get one on one with Turley but his rising shot was a whisker wide of the post.<br />
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With 5 minutes to go until half time, Brackley scored a fortuitous but deserved equaliser.<br />
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Elliot Sandy collected the ball out near the corner flag and cut inside before firing in a goal almost identical to the one Mike Gosney scored against Bashley on Boxing Day as the ball flew through a packed penalty area and into the far corner of the net.<br />
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Totton almost regained the lead straight away when Ryan Hill's low, hard cross was met by Ian Richardson at the near post but he could only manage to poke the ball an inch wide of the post with the goal at his mercy.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 1-1 Brackley Town</b><br />
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The Stags nearly began the second half the way they did in the first half. Ryan Hill's long ball forward was flicked on by Sherborne's header but this time Turley beat Charles to the ball.<br />
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With just over an hour played, Brackley completed the turn-around as they took the lead against Totton for the first time this season.<br />
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A cross from the right was headed back across goal and Glenn Walker scored with a powerful header which Thomas stretched for but couldn't get to as he was moving in the opposite direction.<br />
<br />
The balance of power had quickly shifted to Brackley and they nearly extended their lead when a shot across goal rolled just wide of the far post with no one able to get the touch that would have turned it in.<br />
<br />
But just as it looked as if the away side would go on to stamp their authority on the game, Totton equalised with a rather untidy looking goal.<br />
<br />
Ross Bottomley did well to control the ball on the edge of the box before playing a precise through ball for substitute Mike Gosney to run on to.<br />
<br />
Gosney fizzed a low cross into the box and an initial shot from somewhere in the crowd of bodies was blocked on the line by Turley and bounced back into the melee. Eventually the net bulged as Mark Osman, also fresh off the bench, stabbed the ball under Turley and over the line.<br />
<br />
The travelling Brackley support were soon cheering again when a header from a corner appeared to have given them the lead once more, but their glee was cut short as Jamie Whisken made a superb acrobatic overhead clearance on the line.<br />
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With seconds remaining, Totton had the chance to snatch all 3 points. A free kick was awarded 30 yards from goal and Ryan Hill stood over it. His long range effort wasn't far wide of the right hand post and the referee blew the whistle shortly after the resulting goal kick.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 2-2 Brackley Town</b><br />
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What a topsy-turvy game that was! Totton scored the fastest goal of the season after just 14 seconds. There were still one or two stragglers making their way through the turnstiles when the ball crossed the line. Brackley were always a threat and it was clear to see why they are top of the league. But if Totton can take advantage of our three games in hand, The Saints might not be top for much longer. It was a typical top-of-the-table clash at any level, with both sides cancelling each other out at times and in the end a point apiece was a fair result. Also, if you'd asked me before the game, I'd have snatched your hand off for a point from this game. Next up for Totton is the visit of Brackley's near neighbours Banbury United on Tuesday evening for a 7:45pm kick off.<br />
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AFC Totton: Thomas, Hill, Whisken, Richardson, Knight, Pettefer (Davies 70), Campbell, Bottomley, Jack (Gosney 65), Charles (Osman 61), Sherborne. Unused subs: Baddeley, Brown.<br />
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Brackley Town<span style="font-family: inherit;">: <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-left;">Turley, Clifton, Nisevic, Palmer, J. Green (Kemp 17), Marshall, Story, Solkhon, Sandy, Louis, Walker. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: -webkit-left;">Unused Subs : Myles, Magunda, W. Green, Diggin.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: -webkit-left;">Goals:</span><br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Totton: Charles (1), Osman (72)</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Brackley: Sandy (40), Walker (64)</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Officials: Referee: Mr M Derrien. Assistants: Mr A Baker & Mr P Knight.</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Attendance: 654.</div>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-52042173477745425232012-01-13T11:29:00.000+00:002012-01-13T11:29:06.206+00:00Transfer News: Knight Rides InAFC Totton have completed the signing of Charlie Knight from Salisbury City on loan until the end of the season.<br />
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Knight, 24, can play anywhere down the left side, in defence or midfield. He has had two spells at Salisbury either side of a stint with Bashley, and will be an excellent addition to the Totton squad.<br />
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Knight was an 81st minute substitute in Salisbury's FA Cup 3rd Round defeat at Sheffield United in January.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-51208280044217020442012-01-13T11:18:00.000+00:002012-01-13T11:18:36.168+00:00Ritch RewardAFC Totton manager Stuart Ritchie has signed a new 2 and a half year deal with the club to remain as manager until at least the end of the 2013/14 season.<br />
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The news comes after weeks of <a href="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/9435983.Ritchie__My_work_s_not_finished_at_Totton/">local media reports</a> that Ritchie was close to agreeing a new contract. The former Aston Villa and Crewe Alexandra midfielder has been in charge at Totton since 2004 and the new contract will take him up to a decade at the helm.<br />
<br />
There has been recent speculation that Ritchie was being looked at by clubs in higher divisions as he spoke of his desire to achieve bigger things.<br />
<br />
Back in December Ritchie told the Southern Daily Echo: "I'm ambitious to go higher and I've proved my credibility as a manager. The idea of talking to the club is to see what they're thinking, weigh up my options and take it from there."<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>There was never any suggestion that Ritchie was looking to leave Totton after seven success-filled seasons, but with his contract due to expire at the end of the current season, he wanted assurances that the club's ambitions matched his own.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Under the management of Ritchie and his assistant Sean New, Totton have improved their league position every single season since the pair took over back in 2004. From mid-table obscurity in the Wessex League, Totton have risen to the dizzy heights of 2nd in the Southern Premier League ahead of this weekend's top-of-the-table clash against current league leaders Brackley Town.</div><div><br />
</div><div>As well as the incredible rise up through the leagues, including 2 promotions, Ritchie's tenure has also seen the club win the Hampshire Senior Cup twice, play in the FA Vase final in front of a crowd of over 32,000 at the New Wembley Stadium, reach the 2nd round of the FA Cup having never even qualified for the first round before, play against a league side for the first time and play in a live televised game for the first time.<br />
<br />
Here's to more success in the not-too-distant future for Totton and Stuart!</div>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-66146168953176662612012-01-08T20:45:00.001+00:002012-01-08T23:50:39.579+00:00AFC Totton 3-0 Chesham United, 07/01/11 3pm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="148" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-XXKlu_fpXHJQTpxYe75yXNuT0GackgdD_mNWe_C5Ijxt_dlTu7W30CPkb2QcPnsPbUzuno34_beGeoneeA3JdJS6h2889TxCsx9-gKIPn-aOCxeG7zEqNyYXNDgR4uqCapsw6OzKOk/s1600/Chesham+United.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-XXKlu_fpXHJQTpxYe75yXNuT0GackgdD_mNWe_C5Ijxt_dlTu7W30CPkb2QcPnsPbUzuno34_beGeoneeA3JdJS6h2889TxCsx9-gKIPn-aOCxeG7zEqNyYXNDgR4uqCapsw6OzKOk/s200/Chesham+United.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> V</b></span><br />
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After torrential rain and near-hurricane force winds all week, the skies cleared on Friday just in time for the football. Totton were hoping to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats, away at Chippenham and Weymouth. In this game we came up against promotion chasing Chesham United. The Generals aren't exactly on fire either at the moment. Despite their lofty position of 2nd place, they have won only once in their last 6 before this game and that was in their last match when they beat Arlesey Town 2-0 at home. On loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Dan Thomas started between the sticks for Totton, but returning defender Ross Bottomley wasn't registered in time for the game and had to make do with watching on from the sidelines.<br />
<br />
Chesham made a good start, with Chris Watters sending a shot wide of the post in the 4th minute. Then a free kick was won out wide on the right but it was taken quickly with no one else ready and rolled out for a goal kick.<br />
<br />
2 minutes later Chesham were awarded another free kick in an almost identical position to the last. This time though, they managed to make more of it. The free kick was swung over towards the far post where Rob Bartley rose highest but sent his header a whisker wide of the upright.<br />
<br />
With 10 minutes played Totton won a free kick on the right. It was played in by Mike Gosney and Jamie Whisken just failed to get his head on the ball as it went straight into the keeper's hands.<br />
<br />
Up the other end, Chesham came close again when a cross came in and Simon Thomas' header seemed to be heading for the back of the net until it was cleared off the line with Dan Thomas wrong-footed.<br />
<br />
After Steve Wales stung the palms of Dan Thomas with a long range strike, Totton were denied a corner when Michael Charles was clean through on goal and his shot was deflected wide, but the referee gave Chesham a goal kick.<br />
<br />
With almost a quarter of an hour gone, Totton were given the chance to take the lead. Jon Davies played a lobbed ball over the defence for Charles. The striker timed his run well to remain onside, but his progress was brought to an abrupt halt just inside the box by Rob Bartley.<br />
<br />
The referee pointed to the spot and, after waving away the Chesham players' protests, showed Bartley a straight red card. Mike Gosney (as usual) scored the penalty, sending Shane Gore the wrong way.<br />
<br />
This was becoming a game of free kicks, and shortly after the penalty, Chesham came close with yet another set piece. The free kick was headed behind at the far post.<br />
<br />
Gosney's low cross on 25 minutes found Michael Charles and his first time shot was blocked by a defender and went behind for a corner.<br />
<br />
From the corner, Ian Richardson headed the ball back across goal and Charles' header beat Gore but failed to beat the woodwork as it came down off the underside of the crossbar and was cleared for a throw-in.<br />
<br />
Chris Watters then came closer to the corner flag than the goal with a wayward shot from the edge of the box.<br />
<br />
Gosney was booked for a foul with less than 5 minutes to go in the first half, but then made amends by clearing the resulting free kick.<br />
<br />
<b>Half time: AFC Totton 1-0 Chesham United</b><br />
<br />
3 minutes into the second half Chesham were denied twice in just a few seconds. First, a lobbed shot over Dan Thomas was headed off the line by Ryan Hill, then a shot from the edge of the box cannoned off the bottom of the post and went out for a goal kick.<br />
<br />
For the next 20 minutes the game became a bit scrappy with both sides having one or two half chances, but Chesham had the lion's share of possession.<br />
<br />
Nathaniel Sherborne, who had come on in place of Stefan Brown earlier in the second half, then sparked the crowd into life when he skipped past 3 Chesham players to get into a good goal-scoring position, but he couldn't beat the final defender who managed to get a leg in front of the shot and the ball rolled harmlessly into the keeper's hands.<br />
<br />
Sherborne was then presented with a golden opportunity to double the lead when the Chesham left back slipped, allowing Charles to get into the box. His run drew the keeper out of his goal and he squared the ball to Sherborne who scooped a shot high over the open goal.<br />
<br />
Gosney was replaced by Nathan Jack with 20 minutes remaining and the substitute single-handedly made sure of all 3 points for Totton.<br />
<br />
First, on 75 minutes, Jack received the ball out wide on the left an cut inside, beating 2 Chesham defenders on the way, before curling a brilliant effort into the top corner with his right foot.<br />
<br />
Then, with 2 minutes of normal time to play, Davies did well to get past a couple of Chesham players down the right and ran to the edge of the box. With Nathan Jack unmarked to his left, he played the ball across and Jack let fly with a left footed strike that flew inside the near post to put the result beyond doubt.<br />
<br />
<b>Full time: AFC Totton 3-0 Chesham United</b><br />
<br />
Not exactly a vintage display by Totton, but the players got the job done in the end. Chesham outplayed us for most of the game, even with 10 men. But despite their dominance, the away side hardly had a shot on target in the game. The introduction of Nathan Jack in the second half made all the difference as he pretty much won the game on his own. So Totton still aren't playing at their best, but 3 points is 3 points and for now that will do. But the standard will have to raise for the visit of top-of-the-table Brackley Town next Saturday.<br />
<br />
AFC Totton: Thomas, Hill, Whisken, Richardson, Baddeley, Davies, Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney (Jack 69), Brown (Sherborne 56), Charles (Osman 84). Unused subs: Porter, McKie.<br />
<br />
Chesham United: Gore, Kyriacou, Gudgeon, Lambert, Bartley, Wilson (Thomas 81), Fotheringham, Wales, Potton (Archer 74), Thomas, Watters (Wadkins 69). Unused subs: Watson, Elenge.<br />
<br />
Goals:<br />
Totton: Gosney (15 pen), Jack (75, 88).<br />
<br />
Officials: Referee: Mr C Wade. Assistants: Mr B Williamson & Mr S Tobin.<br />
<br />
Attendance: 579.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-39510509918139672942012-01-06T11:47:00.004+00:002012-01-08T23:49:51.888+00:00Transfer News: Two In, One OutAFC Totton are pleased to announce the signings of defender Ross Bottomley on a permanent contract and goalkeeper Dan Thomas on a one month loan.<br />
<br />
Bottomley, a central defender, is no stranger to Stags fans, having played for us before. He was a member of the squad that played in the FA Vase final at the new Wembley Stadium in 2007, alongside current club stalwarts Mark Osman and Mike Gosney.<br />
<br />
Ross left the club in December 2009, joining local neighbours Bashley on loan, before eventually signing a permanent deal with Eastleigh. Before joining Totton, Ross played for Fareham Town and Hamble ASSC. Ross will go straight into the squad for tomorrow's home league match against 2nd place Chesham United.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAspBaLfoaPtPBTQkANxZerPvWlU3EODHUzog6eJwOo7wyz1mt5fzpMdGDqehx6trx3bwrPYRkxnS_rbh_TbWfx7KQTCIotIdK_H6lP4_lmdYffXlFiwoEuLI_moI88zoEWDzES0pdR0/s1600/danthomas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAspBaLfoaPtPBTQkANxZerPvWlU3EODHUzog6eJwOo7wyz1mt5fzpMdGDqehx6trx3bwrPYRkxnS_rbh_TbWfx7KQTCIotIdK_H6lP4_lmdYffXlFiwoEuLI_moI88zoEWDzES0pdR0/s200/danthomas.jpg" width="200" /></a>Goalkeeper Dan Thomas (left), joins The Stags on a one month loan deal from League One side AFC Bournemouth. The 20 year old has made 3 appearances for the Cherries first team and has spent time on loan at Dorchester Town and Welling United.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oi4ZxSfm-1GXxEBN3pNuYOhPcKmhrjB3VxTfsycTadzsYY-c_TwMz1hIbmnI-XYAj_I6eAqCJch2uuPRzWmSIWoMMaafbvZNXaUldvxmw8qOgWa1I2aYfwALkwKuupNwu2pLobRwoZ0/s1600/Aidan+Lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oi4ZxSfm-1GXxEBN3pNuYOhPcKmhrjB3VxTfsycTadzsYY-c_TwMz1hIbmnI-XYAj_I6eAqCJch2uuPRzWmSIWoMMaafbvZNXaUldvxmw8qOgWa1I2aYfwALkwKuupNwu2pLobRwoZ0/s200/Aidan+Lewis.jpg" width="142" /></a><br />
Meanwhile, Totton right back Aidan Lewis has joined Gosport Borough on a 3 month loan deal. Aidan (right) has found it difficult to get games this season with Ryan Hill and Scott Sampson preferred at right back and has made only a handful of appearances for the first team, mainly in cup games, also playing a few times for the reserves this season.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-62818245905857217302012-01-01T23:48:00.001+00:002012-01-08T23:49:12.906+00:00Chippenham Town 2-1 AFC Totton, 31/12/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7k_0ZNdVaatAtFrQ0Ce8F2dap2pGXJdymn4-GqVJY_tAx1dMg7Pqtx3txBvIlqXcaw-RiU780ICtA2RbrZ6iKpkY-8lxvgnMp9Kq9P_nGeCvtm1r5cQH01frAzXqZbP6R9hbvk3TzHU8/s1600/Chippenham+Town.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7k_0ZNdVaatAtFrQ0Ce8F2dap2pGXJdymn4-GqVJY_tAx1dMg7Pqtx3txBvIlqXcaw-RiU780ICtA2RbrZ6iKpkY-8lxvgnMp9Kq9P_nGeCvtm1r5cQH01frAzXqZbP6R9hbvk3TzHU8/s1600/Chippenham+Town.png" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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Totton were hoping to end the year on a high after the 2-0 derby day win over Bashley on Boxing Day. Any sort of result at Chippenham would be a good one as the Bluebirds are one of the form sides in the division at the moment. They are unbeaten in their last 8 games, stretching back to a 5-3 defeat at Barwell on 8th October.<br />
<br />
The game began very end to end, with Chippenham slightly edging the play.<br />
<br />
Nathaniel Sherborne lofted an attempted lob over the bar when he spotted Chippenham keeper Will Puddy off his line.<br />
<br />
Chippenham's Ross Stearn then crossed for Steve Casey whose headed effort was cleared off the Totton goal-line.<br />
<br />
Referee Andrew Newell turned down two good shouts for Totton penalties in the first half.<br />
<br />
The first when Nathaniel Sherborne burst into the box and went past one defender before being bundled over by a combination of three others. The referee couldn't have had a better view but he waved play on.<br />
<br />
Then former Chippenham player Jon Davies ran to the by-line and attempted to play the ball into the box but his cross appeared to be blocked by the arm of a Chippenham defender.<br />
<br />
<b>Half time: Chippenham Town 0-0 AFC Totton</b><br />
<br />
Ross Stearn drew a fine save from Totton keeper Grant Porter in the second half and then Andy Sandell fired over the bar from the rebound.<br />
<br />
Chippenham tried their luck from distance many times in the second half with the ball frequently ending up in the next field or in the locals' gardens.<br />
<br />
It seemed as if The Bluebirds would have been happy with a point from the game with plenty of time wasting with goal kicks and the taking of free kicks, throw-ins and corners.<br />
<br />
With 15 minutes to go, a Totton attack ended with Chippenham keeper Puddy safely claiming the ball and launching it up-field.<br />
<br />
While play was going on in midfield a Chippenham defender tangled with Jon Davies in the box and shoved him in the chest.<br />
<br />
The linesman spotted the incident and raised his flag to his chest to indicate a penalty. After a 5 minute discussion with his assistant, and arguments from the Chippenham players, the referee pointed to the spot and booked the wrong player in the process.<br />
<br />
Mike Gosney did what he does best and sent Puddy the wrong way to give Totton what looked like a late winner, with just 10 minutes remaining.<br />
<br />
4 minutes later Chippenham were level. Lewis Powell crashed a header against the crossbar from a cross on the right. The ball bounced down onto the line and was cleared.<br />
<br />
Totton should have learned from that let-off, but 10 seconds later the ball was whipped in once more and this time Powell made no mistake as his header evaded the outstretched arm of Grant Porter.<br />
<br />
Totton were then outdone in the 2nd minute of added time, which might not even have been played if the officials hadn't spent so long deciding whether or not to give Totton their penalty.<br />
<br />
The same two players that brought Chippenham level combined again with Ross Stearn crossing from the same side and Lewis Powell applied the finishing touch.<br />
<br />
Totton had another shout for a penalty turned down in the 4th minute of added time when Sherborne appeared to be held back as he controlled a long ball into the box but once more, referee Newell wasn't interested.<br />
<br />
<b>Full time: Chippenham Town 2-1 AFC Totton</b><br />
<br />
At 1-0, Totton looked as if they would go on to see out the game and claim all 3 points. In the end they travelled back to Hampshire with nothing. It was a scrappy game, with Totton not at their usual level and a very one-dimensional Chippenham playing a long-ball game that meant their midfield were hardly in the game. On reflection, neither side really deserved to win and a draw would have been a fair result, but Chippenham fans might argue that justice was done after the controversy surrounding the Totton penalty. So we move on, and Totton are away for the second time in 3 days when they travel to Weymouth on 2nd January 2012. Stags midfielder James Coutts is on loan at the Bob Lucas Stadium and will therefore be ineligible to play against his parent club.<br />
<br />
Chippenham Town: Puddy, Harvey, Lamb, Williams, Casey, Rudge (Tindell 58), Sandell, Stearn, Powell, Griffin, Guthrie. Unused subs: Gilroy, Kite, Randhawa.<br />
<br />
AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Richardson (Sturgess 90), Whisken, Sampson (Oldring 46), Davies, Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne, Osman (Brown 84). Unused subs: Jack, Charles.<br />
<br />
Goals:<br />
Chippenham: Powell (84, 90)<br />
Totton: Gosney (80 pen)<br />
<br />
Officials: Referee: Mr A Newell. Assistants: Mr M Dadds & Mr R Cockle.<br />
<br />
Attendance: 610Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-17946978728754870462011-12-30T12:36:00.002+00:002011-12-30T12:39:55.545+00:00A Look Back At 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a></div>2011. It's been a fantastic year for AFC Totton. Full of lots of ups and very few downs, if any.<br />
<br />
The club began the year in the Zamaretto League South & West Division, and will finish it in the rebranded Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division vying for promotion to the Blue Square Bet South (Conference South). It's a lot of sponsorship to get through, I know. It don't half make it a chore to read and, for me, write.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBbvRNNMLrNKVH5uQWdqQoz5hNbGXRDI3hNkohKspRttsWGUT3mzsdrbdQHnSEYCEetgXBz99ixoXdbEQRTI-SwFPrho-aNdB2L1D8PnUYP6vZjukNb92bQJ9FP6g4MVa5TrNPJtpFHY/s1600/Photo+0421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBbvRNNMLrNKVH5uQWdqQoz5hNbGXRDI3hNkohKspRttsWGUT3mzsdrbdQHnSEYCEetgXBz99ixoXdbEQRTI-SwFPrho-aNdB2L1D8PnUYP6vZjukNb92bQJ9FP6g4MVa5TrNPJtpFHY/s200/Photo+0421.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">League winner's shield</td></tr>
</tbody></table>2011 has seen The Mighty Stags win the South & West Division title, the Hampshire Senior Cup (for the second year running), and the Zamaretto Southern League Fair Play Trophy. There were also individual honours for Mike Gosney (Southern League Golden Boot with 36 goals) and Michael Charles (Hampshire Senior Cup Golden Boot with 6 goals). As well as this, Totton's new Testwood Stadium home was awarded the trophy for 'Best New Non-League Ground in England'.<br />
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<br />
The Testwood Stadium. There's something we can talk about. The new ground is a significant chapter in the club's history. Having played at Testwood Park since 1933, the club played their first game at the Testwood Stadium on the 19th of February 2011, christening the new turf with a 5-1 win over Paulton Rovers. Mike Gosney had the honour of scoring the first ever goal at the new ground, albeit in slightly unusual circumstances, as his 7th minute corner went straight into the net off the keeper.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_ChRQGOlcrQb0ohFK2E0nwx6QpoE9oc-_ORg7wcner-TL4-RYm9D7IGfwDOtVJdp6g6-uLqO_z2XT-fewqNtHA860P8wHkLsPt1kfUos6T7HB2AZw-eQRt6k5goTu40jA1PczuAMicM/s1600/AFC+Totton%252C+Testwood+Stadium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_ChRQGOlcrQb0ohFK2E0nwx6QpoE9oc-_ORg7wcner-TL4-RYm9D7IGfwDOtVJdp6g6-uLqO_z2XT-fewqNtHA860P8wHkLsPt1kfUos6T7HB2AZw-eQRt6k5goTu40jA1PczuAMicM/s320/AFC+Totton%252C+Testwood+Stadium.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new home of AFC Totton: Testwood Stadium</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In fact, if it weren't for a matter of a few inches, I wouldn't even be talking about the new ground in this article as it would have been opened in 2010. The club should have moved into the new ground a few months earlier than they did, but the pitch was made slightly smaller than FA rules and regulations would allow them to play on. A few blades of grass later, we were good to go.<br />
<br />
Anyway, after the 5-1 victory over Paulton Rovers, Totton went on to win 10 of their remaining 13 games of the season, culminating in a 1-0 win against Gosport Borough at Privett Park on the final day of the season to clinch the league title. The Totton fans behind the goal spilled onto the pitch at the sound of the referee's full time whistle to celebrate with the players and a few bottles of bubbly!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFjSSCWYUR_xo92Wko5SpvSzjXU7PZU_exUSAoNwjz8_XvgPWrIQzHiIk44LMDou25SxV6yjZ8jbvUVxlN3LsUjMRWjZNir1Dgj_9MN4OdjIB-GNRZEB4CO79nG7Br3ZP2kOpbTLSMHQ/s1600/Tottonpitchinvaders.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFjSSCWYUR_xo92Wko5SpvSzjXU7PZU_exUSAoNwjz8_XvgPWrIQzHiIk44LMDou25SxV6yjZ8jbvUVxlN3LsUjMRWjZNir1Dgj_9MN4OdjIB-GNRZEB4CO79nG7Br3ZP2kOpbTLSMHQ/s400/Tottonpitchinvaders.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totton fans swarm onto the pitch after winning the league</td></tr>
</tbody></table>With the league campaign behind them, Totton's season ended with the Hampshire Senior Cup final at St Mary's Stadium, home of Southampton FC. The club had won the trophy the previous season, beating Aldershot Town 4-0 in the final at AFC Bournemouth's Dean Court. This time the opposition was Sholing. The Southampton based team were looking for revenge after losing out to Totton in the title race.<br />
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Sholing took the lead with a cracking goal from Lee Wort from about 20 yards. Totton equalised just before half time when Mike Gosney's free kick was turned in by Michael Charles and then Gosney gave The Stags the lead less than a minute after the restart with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box that hit the roof of the net. Charles made sure of victory in added time with a cool finish under the keeper. Full time: AFC Totton 3-1 Sholing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Totton players celebrate winning the Hampshire Senior Cup</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So Totton retained the Hampshire Senior Cup having only won it for the first time the previous season, thus completing a thoroughly impressive league and cup double. The Southern Premier League awaited Totton, while Sholing were left to fight another year in the South & West Division after losing the play-off final 1-0 to Frome Town who subsequently joined Totton in the Southern Premier.<br />
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The Hampshire Senior Cup final marked the end of Michael Green's Totton career as the talented left back, 22, was signed on a free transfer by League Two side Port Vale. Other players to leave Totton in the summer of '11 were young winger Tom Price who went to Poole Town, and midfielder Ryan Scott who was forced to retire through injury.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCj7bjCI8KyOWrGoFV0o_aNyD-fD0w3Si2lNVmc5W0IcOaViMGiJpkGBrS0DqehpoTa7rLWgq1NrMq2r1ig_fVRRxR_0qa79FBnqrI-rCv4NU0rKCynI49vsdmsJFbNQxNWMR_7n_tsJI/s1600/3015184-blank-old-paper-with-clipping-path.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCj7bjCI8KyOWrGoFV0o_aNyD-fD0w3Si2lNVmc5W0IcOaViMGiJpkGBrS0DqehpoTa7rLWgq1NrMq2r1ig_fVRRxR_0qa79FBnqrI-rCv4NU0rKCynI49vsdmsJFbNQxNWMR_7n_tsJI/s200/3015184-blank-old-paper-with-clipping-path.png" width="150" /></a></div><br />
As for signings, in came left back Tom Baddeley, versatile defender Matt Oldring, right back Ryan Hill (returning for a second spell at Totton), and midfielder James Coutts. The club also signed winger David Abe after he impressed in a pre-season win away at Romsey Town. However, since that day, no one has seen or heard anything of him. It's as if he has just vanished off the face of the Earth...<br />
<br />
Pre-season went pretty well for Totton. After a bland 1-1 draw away at Blackfield & Langley in a game made up entirely of reserve players, youth players and trialists, Totton welcomed a Southampton under-21 side to the Testwood Stadium. Amongst the young ranks of the Saints was contract rebel Jason Puncheon. The midfielder wanted to leave St Mary's, with Rangers, QPR and Millwall amongst those interested. So he was probably with the youth team players as punishment for his shenanigans.<br />
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Southampton won 1-0 thanks to Andy Robinson's first half goal. So Jason Puncheon, a player that had scored in the Premier League against Everton and Chelsea on loan at Blackpool last season, was kept at bay by the Totton defence. Going by this evidence, we can conclude that Jamie Whisken, Ian Richardson and Grant Porter are better than John Terry, David Luiz and Petr Cech.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who needs 'em?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Totton went the rest of pre-season unbeaten (not including the Linden Homes Tournament were an under-strength side lost 1-0 to Thatcham Town). Wins over Farnborough (3-2), Romsey Town (4-1) and Winchester City (2-1), and a 2-2 draw with Salisbury City, made for a pretty successful pre-season programme.<br />
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The first game of the season was away at Arlesey Town who, like Totton, were promoted to the Southern Premier last season, winning the Central Division. Being at the same level as Totton the season before, Arlesey were a bit of an unknown quantity. Would the two teams be evenly matched or would one outshine the other? The answer came at full time as Totton won 2-0.<br />
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After that though, the real test began. These were now all teams which were established at this level. How would Totton shape up against these teams? Could they compete at this level? Evidently, they could. After beating Arlesey, Totton swept aside Oxford City (6-0), Swindon Supermarine (4-0) and Hemel Hempstead Town (3-0). 4 games into the season and The Stags were top of the table with a record of: Won 4, scored 15, conceded 0.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely weather for it. Totton v Swindon Supermarine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>However, all good things must come to an end and Totton came back down to Earth with a bump as they went down 2-1 away at Leamington despite taking the lead. After this though, Totton won their next 4 games including impressive victories over former Conference side Weymouth and St Albans City who had played in the Conference South the season before.<br />
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8 of Totton's next 13 games were cup games of one form or another. Fleet Town (2-0), Clevedon Town (2-1), Weymouth (again) (4-2) and Hanworth Villa (3-2) were all dispatched in Qualifying Rounds on the way to achieving the club's first ever appearance in the FA Cup First Round Proper. The Clevedon game marked Ryan Scott's surprise return from football retirement after it turned out that his injury was not as bad as originally feared. Scott made an immediate impact, scoring the winning goal (well okay, it was an own goal, but it was his shot that caused it), against Clevedon.<br />
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The Stags were paired with Northern Premier League side Bradford Park Avenue in the FA Cup First Round Proper and many expected a tight affair with no team really standing out as clear favourites. As it turned out, Totton made all sorts of history as they demolished Bradford 8-1 to set up a Second Round tie against League Two Bristol Rovers on December 4th. They became the first post-war non-league side to score 8 in the FA Cup Proper Rounds, Stefan Brown came off the bench to score the fastest hat-trick by a substitute in the history of the FA Cup, it was Bradford PA's biggest ever defeat in the competition and a record crowd of 2,315 packed into the Testwood Stadium for the match. You can see all the goals from the game in the video below.<br />
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Totton played Weymouth (again!) in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy in October but went down 3-2. But enough about Weymouth, we've got them to come (AGAIN!!!) in the away league fixture in January. (Cosmic). Let's get back to the FA Cup, and the small matter of Totton's first ever competitive fixture against Football League opposition.<br />
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The game was televised live on ITV1 and all the big names were there to cover it. Adrian Chiles, Gareth Southgate and Andy Townsend graced the humble surroundings of the Testwood Stadium to present, talk about and analyse the game, while up in the gantry Clive Tyldesley and Jim Beglin were the commentators. There haven't been names that big at Totton since <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.2em;">Iain Brunnschweiler.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.2em;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold dust.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.2em;">Unfortunately for Totton, the cup dream was shattered within 13 minutes as Rovers scored 3 of the best goals you will see all year. Bristol made it 4-0 before Nathaniel Sherborne sent the Stag Army wild with a headed goal from Tom Baddeley's cross. Chants of "We're gonna win 5-4!" were quickly altered to "We're gonna win 6-5!" as the League Two outfit scored a minute later before going on to win 6-1. A sad way to end the cup run, but Totton could be proud of a fantastic achievement and look forward to a more quiet night away at Fareham in the Hampshire Senior Cup 3rd Round the following Tuesday! It didn't do the club coffers any harm either.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">After beating Fareham 4-1, it was back to league action for Totton after what seemed like a lifetime of cup game after cup game. A 2-0 win over Hemel Hempstead completed the league double over The Tudors after the 3-0 away win earlier in the season. The Stags also ensured they were unbeaten against Oxford City this season (6-0 in the home fixture) with a 2-2 draw after a dramatic last gasp Ryan Hill equaliser. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Class of 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="line-height: 19px;">With everyone slightly hungover and feeling as stuffed as the turkeys they'd eaten the day before, a crowd of 577 watched Totton play Bashley on Boxing Day in this season's local derby. The two clubs are separated by just 13 miles of New Forest and met for the first time in league competition for over 20 years. The Stags triumphed 2-0 in their penultimate game of 2011.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">A trip to Wiltshire to play Chippenham Town on New Year's Eve is all that remains now for Totton. 12 months ago, The Stags began 2011 with a 4-1 away win against Wimborne Town on January 3rd. Can they end the calendar year the way they started it? </span><span style="line-height: 19px;">You'll find out later.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">So there you have it. A pretty darn good year for AFC Totton, wouldn't you say? League title, promotion, the county cup, a fantastic FA Cup run, and all sorts of records broken. The Stags' league record (not including Chippenham on New Year's Eve) in the calendar year 2011 reads like this:</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">Played: 44. Won: 34. Drawn: 3. Lost: 7. For: 123. Against: 33. GD: +90. Points: 105.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">Onward</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"> into 2012, where promotion to the Conference South is up for grabs and Mark Osman celebrates his testimonial after 10 years at Totton. Here's to another prosperous year for The Mighty Stags.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue; font-size: xx-large; line-height: 19px;">Happy New Year!</b> </div>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-48143326723232994772011-12-28T20:15:00.001+00:002012-01-08T23:48:11.829+00:00AFC Totton 2-0 Bashley, 26/12/11 1pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqh7R1lZX6v8zgMFjZEAyDMdt7JQS-7QttrebhRp98ZwNZ-L_VqE2BAnzsyt7LFJz19NZRBB_RA300FeQM3Thxn4tEPWfiwXODVMPsrKGQybkKQtJ_QBHiS3sQkv7xXwJdIX8sA41TPsQ/s1600/Bashley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqh7R1lZX6v8zgMFjZEAyDMdt7JQS-7QttrebhRp98ZwNZ-L_VqE2BAnzsyt7LFJz19NZRBB_RA300FeQM3Thxn4tEPWfiwXODVMPsrKGQybkKQtJ_QBHiS3sQkv7xXwJdIX8sA41TPsQ/s1600/Bashley.png" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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After a last minute draw at Oxford City last time out, Totton were hoping for a slightly easier ride in this Boxing Day derby clash against Bashley. Ryan Hill scored with nearly the last kick of the game to rescue a point against Oxford for only our second draw of the season. Bashley were undone by 2 second half goals as they lost 2-1 at Weymouth in their previous game.<br />
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Bashley made the stronger start to the game and with just 40 seconds on the clock Mark Gamble forced a corner after his shot was blocked by Ian Richardson. Totton dealt with the corner and set up a counter attack as Nathaniel Sherborne was released down the left flank, but as he made his way towards the box there were no other Totton players up with him so he had no choice but to have a go at goal himself and his effort was blocked and went behind for a corner.<br />
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A foul on Carl Pettefer in the centre circle resulted in Jamie Whisken launching a long free kick into the Bashley box. The Bash defence cleared the danger but Totton came straight back at them and Michael Charles managed to squeeze through the back line but his shot was high and wide.<br />
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Bashley were quite physical in their approach and they conceded another free kick out wide on the right when Jon Davies was fouled. Mike Gosney swung the ball into the box but it evaded everyone and went straight into Tommy Smith's arms.<br />
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Soon though, Bashley were made to pay for the physical nature of their play when a foul on Sherborne resulted in a free kick 35 yards out. Ryan Hill fired the ball through the packed penalty area without anyone getting a touch on it and it crept past the keeper and into the bottom corner to give Totton the lead.<br />
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Bashley came back at Totton in search of a quick equaliser and 3 minutes after the goal a corner to the far post was headed back across goal and Grant Porter commanded his area well to come off his line and punch the ball clear.<br />
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With nearly half an hour played Bashley were denied by Porter again. From a long throw-in, James Stokoe's looping header was caught on the line by Porter. Then after some pinball in the Totton box a Bashley player, (it was hard to tell who), fired wide of the left-hand post.<br />
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Bashley pair James Stokoe and Jack Smith picked up a booking each for a foul on Scott Sampson and kicking the ball away respectively. Those bookings, and a couple of half chances for both sides, made up the remainder of the first half.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 1-0 Bashley</b><br />
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60 seconds after the restart Totton fashioned another chance for themselves when Gosney played in Sherborne who timed his run well to beat the offside trap. He ran to the by-line and crossed for Michael Charles whose shot was deflected behind.<br />
<br />
From the resulting corner The Stags doubled their lead. Gosney took it short, playing a one-two with Jon Davies before taking a touch and rifling a shot into the bottom corner. The ball came through a group of players in the box which made it difficult for Bash goalkeeper Tommy Smith to see it until it was too late.<br />
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Bashley didn't lie down and roll over though, and they could have pulled one back on 52 minutes. A cross from Bash skipper Dave Allen was turned goalwards by Ian Oliver but the effort was deflected wide for a corner by Jamie Whisken.<br />
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Liam Green delivered the corner to the near post where Luke Whitley controlled the ball and volleyed it towards the top corner where a magnificent acrobatic save from Grant Porter prevented the back of the net from bulging.<br />
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Mark Gamble then beat the Totton offside trap but should have done better as his weak effort was straight at Porter. Gamble was booked a minute later for a foul on Matt Oldring.<br />
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Bashley continued to go forward in search of a goal and their policy of committing lots of players to attack left them susceptible to counter attacks. Totton should maybe have had a penalty when Luke Whitley sent Sherborne tumbling in the box with a mistimed tackle but the referee waved play on much to the anger of the Totton fans in the stand near to where the incident occurred.<br />
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Totton almost trebled the advantage with 8 minutes to go when Gosney's cross was too long but substitute Stefan Brown did well to hook it back across the box to the penalty spot where Sherborne attempted an overhead effort that wasn't far over the crossbar.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 2-0 Bashley</b><br />
<br />
Bashley may have been beaten but they were by no means second best in a contest that was even in almost every department except the one that matters: Goals. Totton weren't at their best but two long range goals that could have been described more as half-chances were enough to get them back to winning ways in the league. Next up for The Stags is Chippenham Town away on New Year's Eve.<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Whisken, Richardson, Sampson (Oldring 48), Davies, Pettefer, Campbell, Gosney, Sherborne (Jack 83), Charles (Brown 66). Unused subs: Sturgess, Osman.<br />
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Bashley: Tommy Smith, Jack Smith (Vokes 85), Oliver (Foster 89), Middleton, Whitley, Finlay, Gillespie, Allen, Green (Penny 67), Stokoe, Gamble. Unused subs: Gazzard, Prodomo.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Totton: Hill (12), Gosney (47).<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr S Tomlinson. Assistants: Mr S Wade & Mr G Skillen.<br />
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Attendance: 577.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-34888722298709915512011-12-21T23:13:00.001+00:002012-01-08T23:47:44.829+00:00Transfer News: James CouttsTotton midfielder James Coutts has rejoined former club Weymouth FC on a one month loan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWNgKKAyhyphenhyphenOA2fE9ZysE_ME8Qcv_9NLqT6oNSpMXUiRMH1_FEDczIr5qw_tHmnrUyVvJy1kndEhcHHq7scs1Xh4tc0HF6L7apq735sSrGNlSarZe6GlvVFC49HmioLsbZ61_9VEI3aSI/s1600/_B250027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWNgKKAyhyphenhyphenOA2fE9ZysE_ME8Qcv_9NLqT6oNSpMXUiRMH1_FEDczIr5qw_tHmnrUyVvJy1kndEhcHHq7scs1Xh4tc0HF6L7apq735sSrGNlSarZe6GlvVFC49HmioLsbZ61_9VEI3aSI/s200/_B250027.JPG" width="150" /></a>Coutts has found games hard to come by for The Stags this season with Carl Pettefer and Ryan Scott playing very well together in the centre of midfield, so has gone to his hometown club for some first team action and will hopefully return ready to fight for a place in the Totton team.<br />
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The former Dorchester Town midfielder has made 19 appearances in all competitions for Totton so far this season, 11 in the league and 8 in cup matches, with most of them coming off the bench. He has scored 4 goals this season, with all 4 coming in cup competitions. He scored a hattrick in the 2nd round Hampshire Senior Cup tie with Cove in October, and the only goal, a superb 20 yard volley, in the 1-0 Red Insure Cup victory over Poole Town in November.<br />
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Meanwhile, Coutts may get a chance in the first team on his return from loan as central midfielder Ryan Scott will be out for a few weeks as he requires an operation on a groin injury.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-5296166620673713442011-12-21T16:29:00.002+00:002012-01-08T23:47:14.062+00:00Oxford City 2-2 AFC Totton, 17/12/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsTGxMUD8yHeJq15rdxTaZvAavNfCb41x_RB55w9pWcPIwfbwrio3jD6cXuLh3hNdLJE27Q2JQ_vVCem-HAnnafZJcOx4MzYB1xUpTEFDRaIN9XdNq3Rm1LBFjSu1TE24dyZipPQ4J0I/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsTGxMUD8yHeJq15rdxTaZvAavNfCb41x_RB55w9pWcPIwfbwrio3jD6cXuLh3hNdLJE27Q2JQ_vVCem-HAnnafZJcOx4MzYB1xUpTEFDRaIN9XdNq3Rm1LBFjSu1TE24dyZipPQ4J0I/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gno-0fSqMZsmWNZxvEj-tid0nUgUvqWEGkOGRGfN7kD_h2VA3UpuIqWi68gEZTxlArMqQem2yR6ehq50XlZFIh1pvERBuBf37mu-8Br5uEmd5HMPjubbUuESrAbAg8TkLbAFn8PZFLE/s1600/Oxford+City.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3gno-0fSqMZsmWNZxvEj-tid0nUgUvqWEGkOGRGfN7kD_h2VA3UpuIqWi68gEZTxlArMqQem2yR6ehq50XlZFIh1pvERBuBf37mu-8Br5uEmd5HMPjubbUuESrAbAg8TkLbAFn8PZFLE/s1600/Oxford+City.png" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span></b><br />
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There was a pitch inspection the morning of the day of this game. Thankfully it was passed and the game could go ahead as planned. Oxford City are doing very nicely in the league so far this season, and are level on points with Totton. If you were at the reverse fixture at the Testwood Stadium back in August you might find that a bit hard to believe, as Totton triumphed 6-0 that day. The Stags brushed Oxford aside with relative ease and notched up their biggest league win of the season so far. But Oxford have pushed on from that freak result and are now a real contender at the top of the table.<br />
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Oxford made all the early running without really testing Grant Porter. Totton soon got themselves into the game with Tom Baddeley and Mike Gosney linking up well down the left on a few occasions to put crosses into the box. Totton won a free kick, but Gosney was denied by Oxford goalkeeper Jason Mooney. Michael Charles then came close from another set piece a his header was just over the bar.<br />
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Oxford came back at Totton on 15 minutes when Adam Learoyd sent a header straight at Porter, and then good play from Darren Pond and Liam Malone resulted in an Andy Ballard long throw-in that was scuffed wide by Pond.</div><div><br />
A minute later though, Oxford's pressure paid off. Lee Steele won a throw-in off Tom Baddeley and Ballard was the one to launch it into the box once again. This time the ball fell for Steele in a penalty box that more resembled a quagmire, but the mud stopped the ball from bouncing and Wayne Blossom reacted swiftly to drive a shot across goal and into the bottom corner.</div><div><br />
Totton reacted well to falling behind and a cross from Gosney almost resulted in an equaliser but Nathaniel Sherborne's effort was just wide of the post. Oxford replied when Michael Lyon crossed for Pond to head the ball down for Steele but his shot on the volley was held comfortably by Porter. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Totton then hit Oxford on the counter attack when a solid but fair tackle by Jamie Whisken set up Ryan Hill to charge forward but he was eventually brought to a halt by a foul on the edge of the box. Gosney stepped up again but fired the free kick over the bar. </div><div><br />
After a period of scrappy play from both sides, Totton grabbed an equaliser on the break. A long ball down the right from Hill was headed away by Blossom but the ball got bogged down on the muddy surface and Michael Charles collected the loose ball and ran to the by-line. He managed to get goal-side of the defender marking him and shot across goal. Mooney got down to push it away but the ball fell to Sherborne who planted a first time shot into the far corner.</div><div><br />
</div><div>After surviving a couple of Totton corners, Oxford went on the counter attack before winning a free kick on the right flank. Marvin Martin swung the ball over to the far post and it was knocked back across goal to Lee Steele who fired home first time into the far corner for the half time lead.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Half time: Oxford City 2-1 AFC Totton</b></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div>Totton came out fighting in the second half and Gosney got in behind the defence only to find Mooney with his cross. Oxford found<span style="font-family: inherit;"> it difficult to beat the Totton defence, with balls over the top being dealt with comfortably by </span> Jamie Whisken and <span style="font-family: inherit;">Ian Richardson. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Totton didn't make the most of their chances though</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, with the ball too often ending up going behind for a </span>goal kick<span style="font-family: inherit;"> after good goalscoring </span>opportunities<span style="font-family: inherit;"> had been created.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Felipe Barcelos came on to replace Michael Lyon and almost made an immediate impact when he beat the Totton offside trap and ran clear but was unable to get a shot on goal before the defence got back to halt his progress. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Totton came back again and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carl Pettefer crossed for Michael Charles who headed wide from a good position and moments later Ryan Hill's free kick was tipped around the post by Mooney's acrobatic dive.</span><br />
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Oxford's substitutions seemed to be paying off and when Alex Fisher replaced Declan Benjamin he appeared to be in on goal but was halted by the offside flag, and seconds later he forced Porter into an excellent save when his curling effort was deflected and the keeper had to correct his footing to make the stop.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Totton were well on top for long periods of the second half and even Porter was hitting regular long balls into the City penalty area as they searched for a second equaliser. Oxford just couldn't get the ball clear and, whenever they did, it came straight back at them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
As the game moved into added time, Totton won two corners in quick succession but both were comfortably held by Mooney. A low cross then skidded across the face of goal without anyone getting a touch on it and a couple more crosses ended up on the roof of the stand, drawing frustrated groans from the travelling Stag Army behind the goal. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mooney then did well to back-track and get a hand on Nathan Campbell’s looping header and tip it behind for another corner. From the corner, a clearance fell kindly for Sherborne and he thought he'd scored when his shot seemed destined for the back of the net when Mooney dived far to his right to make an almost impossible save to touch it</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> behind for yet another Totton corner.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ball was delivered for the umpteenth corner of the game and, from a position similar to Sherborne's chance seconds earlier, Ryan Hill smashed a volley past Mooney’s dive and into the top corner before being mobbed by his team mates and sparking scenes of delirium from the Totton fans.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Full time: Oxford City 2-2 AFC Totton</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div>For the second time in a week, Oxford were denied all 3 points by a last minute equaliser, having done the same against Chesham in midweek. For Totton, it was a well deserved point and, were it not for Jason Mooney in the Oxford goal, we could have won this one quite comfortably. Our next game is not until Boxing Day (Monday 26th Dec) when we play Bashley at the Testwood Stadium in our local derby this season. Hopefully you won't all have eaten too much to drag yourself to the game or drank too much to form a coherent sentence! Merry Christmas everyone!</div><div><br />
</div><div>AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Richardson, Whisken, Baddeley (Sampson 81), Campbell, Pettefer, Gosney, Brown, Sherborne, Charles. Unused subs: Casey, Sturgess, McKie, Jack.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Oxford City: Mooney, Blossom, Learoyd, Ballard, Pond, Wilmott, Lyon (Barcelos 52), Malone, Benjamin (Fisher 66), Steele, Martin. Unused subs: Fleet, McLoughlin, Heapy.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Goals:</div><div>Oxford: Blossom (15), Steele (45)</div><div>Totton: Sherborne (34), Hill (90)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Officials: Referee: Mr M Foley. Assistants: Mr P Andrew & Mr A Hickham.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Attendance: 243.</div></div>Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-27025867652097301502011-11-21T18:33:00.001+00:002011-11-22T00:44:11.409+00:00Bedford Town 1-2 AFC Totton, 19/11/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgREPTnWbv-NbYymYUga619JOPDFuU9Wqa4zgJxVvT6AyEUqz0BfAgqp5w3M5RQmoRfFsD_K8loinHfl93Ovbb7AQa7c1oKA9a_LZP7PXS-rrBnSXBI1YdSJ9LmNLp-YUkaTEyKmC1kFw/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgREPTnWbv-NbYymYUga619JOPDFuU9Wqa4zgJxVvT6AyEUqz0BfAgqp5w3M5RQmoRfFsD_K8loinHfl93Ovbb7AQa7c1oKA9a_LZP7PXS-rrBnSXBI1YdSJ9LmNLp-YUkaTEyKmC1kFw/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9eWZNdKsLlwOvoAB2pJenLAAJxUfTWBi0e9PLzKmIHNz4z4k8n0n0jeqlgiP99jaRL8n-aRb6Wl-P6z3_0FNeYeUx9f_aSqW-t-K3KSp-uPopM9SKhIQIqLm89wyXF-qYsLTsN6Mc30/s1600/Bedford+Town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9eWZNdKsLlwOvoAB2pJenLAAJxUfTWBi0e9PLzKmIHNz4z4k8n0n0jeqlgiP99jaRL8n-aRb6Wl-P6z3_0FNeYeUx9f_aSqW-t-K3KSp-uPopM9SKhIQIqLm89wyXF-qYsLTsN6Mc30/s200/Bedford+Town.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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On the back of Totton's 3-1 win away at Frome Town in midweek, we travelled to Bedford for the 3rd away league game in a row. A goal from Mark Osman and a Stefan Brown brace got Totton back to winning ways in the league in that game. Bedford lost their last game 1-0 at home against Hemel Hempstead Town.<br />
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Bedford had the first real chance to score after 7 minutes when a header from a corner was cleared off the line by Jon Davies. 2 minutes later Davies was doing the business at the other end of the pitch. Nathaniel Sherborne got away from the defender marking him to race away down the left. His cross was just behind Stefan Brown but Davies was running on to meet it and his shot across goal wasn't far wide.<br />
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With a quarter of an hour gone Totton threatened again. Mike Gosney's cross from the by-line towards the far post was headed back across goal by Davies but the ball was cleared. Bedford were then denied by Grant Porter when he held a powerful header from a corner.<br />
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Just past the half-hour mark Totton came close once more. Gosney crossed to Sherborne and his header was parried by Bedford keeper Ian Brown. The ball came back to Stefan Brown whose shot was blocked, and the ball finally landed at the feet of Sherborne who dragged his shot wide.<br />
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Totton finally made the breakthrough on 37 minutes. Sherborne had a shot blocked and as he chased the rebound he was brought down by Bedford defender Gavin Hoyte. A familiar sight for Stags fans this season, the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty and Gosney duly obliged by finding the bottom corner, despite Ian Brown getting both hands on the shot as it found it's way in.<br />
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With the half time whistle imminent, both sides came close to getting the second goal of the game. First, Bedford saw a header go over the bar from a corner, then Totton were denied by Ian Brown when Gosney broke through the defence.<br />
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<b>Half time: Bedford Town 0-1 AFC Totton</b><br />
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The fans barely had time to blink at the start of the second half before Bedford grabbed an equaliser. Jermaine Hall collected the ball on the edge of the box and slammed a hard, low shot across goal and into the bottom corner.<br />
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Bedford were only on level terms for 10 minutes before goalkeeper Ian Brown brought down Gosney in the box and Totton were awarded yet another penalty. Gosney, having won the penalty, dusted himself down to send Brown the wrong way and restore The Stags' advantage.<br />
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Before too long, Bedford were level again. Or so they thought. Grant Porter was beaten by a shot through a packed penalty area that was destined for the back of the net before an offside Bedford player, for some reason, decided to have the last touch on the ball to help it over the line. The home fans' celebrations were short-lived.<br />
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With 15 minutes remaining, Carl Pettefer shot wide from the edge of the box. Bedford then saw an effort whistle past the post as they searched for an equaliser that just wouldn't materialise. Gosney came close to extending Totton's lead when his 25-yard free kick was narrowly wide of the post 10 minutes from time.<br />
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As the clock ticked down, Totton tried to waste time by holding the ball in the corner and won a succession of throw-ins and corners that they used to waste a bit more time. When the ball eventually found itself in the box, Stefan Brown tried his luck from a difficult angle and his shot was closer than it looked as it flew wide.<br />
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Bedford then went up the other end and won a free kick which was headed wide as they looked to punish Totton's time-wasting tactics with a late leveller. The equaliser never came though, and Totton could have put the result beyond doubt late on when substitute Mark Osman broke through the Bedford defence, but Ian Brown raced off his lane to block the shot and turn it behind for a corner, which came to nothing.<br />
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<b>Full time: Bedford Town 1-2 AFC Totton</b><br />
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This was a hard-earned victory for Totton who seemed to start trying to run down the clock a tad too early and could have paid the price as Bedford threw everything at them in the last 10 minutes. The Stags have been awarded 10 penalties already this season, including the 2 in this game, scoring 9 and missing only one in the 4-0 league win over Swindon Supermarine. From 3 away league games in a row, Totton have got 7 points out of 9 with a 0-0 draw at Redditch, a 3-1 win at Frome and today's 2-1 win. Our next game is Tuesday 22nd November at home against Poole Town in the Red Insure Cup 2nd round, where a limited number of vouchers to get a ticket for the FA Cup game against Bristol Rovers will be distributed to those attending the game.<br />
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Bedford Town: Brown, Cooper, Simpson, Darby, Hoyte, Thorne, Price (Damon 83), York, Hall, Roberts, Cole. Unused subs: Ivy, Ekins, Kavanagh.<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Sampson, Richardson, Campbell, Baddeley, Davies (McKie 89), Pettefer, Scott (Whisken 64), Gosney, Sherborne (Osman 77), Brown. Unused subs: Coutts, Jack.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Bedford: Hall (46)<br />
Totton: Gosney (37 pen, 56 pen)<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr S Rea. Assistants: Mr A Stevens & Mr I Jempeji.<br />
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Attendance: 255.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-36313437600265378072011-11-17T20:13:00.000+00:002011-11-17T20:13:27.409+00:00Man of The Match vs Bradford Park AvenueYou've voted in your thousands (tens). The votes have been tallied. The results are in. And I can reveal that you chose as your man of the match against Bradford PA, Stags left back Tom Baddeley! *Fanfare*<br />
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Baddeley had a superb game against Bradford, being a threat going forward and solid in defence, with his passing setting up a few counter attacks. Despite making FA Cup history, with the fastest substitute hat-trick of all time in the competition, Stefan Brown came second in the vote. In third place was wing wizard Mike Gosney who scored twice against Bradford, including a trademark penalty.<br />
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<u>Man of the Match Results</u><br />
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1st: Tom Baddeley - 39%<br />
2nd: Stefan Brown - 33%<br />
3rd: Mike Gosney - 9%Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-47970779597464615272011-11-14T16:44:00.002+00:002011-11-15T01:42:24.162+00:00FA Cup 1st Round Proper: AFC Totton 8-1 Bradford (Park Avenue), 12/11/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgREPTnWbv-NbYymYUga619JOPDFuU9Wqa4zgJxVvT6AyEUqz0BfAgqp5w3M5RQmoRfFsD_K8loinHfl93Ovbb7AQa7c1oKA9a_LZP7PXS-rrBnSXBI1YdSJ9LmNLp-YUkaTEyKmC1kFw/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgREPTnWbv-NbYymYUga619JOPDFuU9Wqa4zgJxVvT6AyEUqz0BfAgqp5w3M5RQmoRfFsD_K8loinHfl93Ovbb7AQa7c1oKA9a_LZP7PXS-rrBnSXBI1YdSJ9LmNLp-YUkaTEyKmC1kFw/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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Totton defeated Hanworth Villa 3-2 in the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup to set up a First Round Proper tie against Bradford Park Avenue. Bradford play in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier Division, the same level as our Southern Premier Division.<br />
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This is new territory for Totton, having never progressed further than the 4th qualifying round before. Avenue were a bit of an unknown entity to Totton, as Totton probably were to Avenue, and both sides have similar records in their respective leagues this season, so it was almost impossible to predict the outcome of this game, and no one expected the result that followed.....<br />
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The game started at quite a pace with both sides having half-chances to open the scoring early on. Michael Charles attempted a chip over John Lamb but his effort bounced wide of the post, while Richard Marshall had a shot cleared from almost off the line by Nathan Campbell.<br />
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But Marshall made it an uphill struggle for Bradford on 11 minutes after getting a straight red card for shoving Tom Baddeley to the ground as he was getting to his feet following a fair challenge to win the ball.<br />
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2 minutes later Totton made the extra man count by opening the scoring. Michael Charles flicked the ball on for Jon Davies to shoot from a tight angle and the ball squeezed under Avenue keeper John Lamb.<br />
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With almost half an hour gone, Nathaniel Sherborne burst into the box before being sent flying by the combined efforts of Amjad Iqbal and Ross Daly, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Fresh back from suspension, spot-kick specialist Mike Gosney stepped up to send Lamb the wrong way.<br />
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2-0 to The Stags, and seemingly comfortable. Not necessarily. From the restart, Bradford won a free kick out wide on the left. Martin Drury swung the ball into the box and when Grant Porter failed to deal with it, Adam Clayton was unmarked at the back post to poke the ball home and halve the deficit.<br />
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The score didn't stay the same for very long though as Michael Charles restored the 2-goal advantage a minute later when he met Sherborne's low ball across the face of goal to stab home at the far post.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 3-1 Bradford Park Avenue</b><br />
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The second half was just 7 minutes old when Gosney scored his 2nd and Totton's 4th to just about put the result beyond doubt. Jon Davies crossed from the left and Gosney was on hand to steer the ball past Lamb from just a few yards out.<br />
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When Stefan Brown came off the bench to replace Michael Charles on 56 minutes, no one had any idea he was about to write himself into the FA Cup history books.<br />
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In the 64th minute Gosney drove forward into the box, nutmegging Adam Clayton on the way, before crossing for Brown to slide in and divert the ball into an unguarded net.<br />
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As the teams walked back for the restart, Martin Drury, who had already been booked, had a few words too many to say to the referee and was shown a second yellow, closely followed by the red, to reduce Bradford to 9 men.<br />
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Rather than sitting back and being content with their commanding 5-1 lead, Totton went up a gear. Mark Osman, also on as a substitute, battled for possession on the right wing, won the ball and ran to the by-line before delivering a low cross to Brown and he swept the ball past Lamb for 6-1.<br />
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Then from a long ball out from the back, Osman leapt to get his head on the ball and Brown got to it before Lamb, who had rushed out of his goal, to stick out a foot and flick the ball into the empty goal to complete the fastest hat-trick by a substitute in FA Cup history.<br />
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Totton weren't finished there, however, and Davies put the cherry on the icing on the cake with a composed finish in added time to round off the biggest post-war win by a non-league side in the FA Cup proper rounds.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 8-1 Bradford Park Avenue</b><br />
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It was a day of records for Totton. The most goals scored by a non-league side in the FA Cup proper rounds this side of the war, the fastest hat-trick by a substitute ever in the FA Cup, Bradford's biggest ever defeat in the competition and our biggest crowd at the Testwood Stadium (2,315). Oh, and if reaching the 1st round proper for the first time in our history wasn't good enough, we're into the 2nd round! And if THAT wasn't good enough, we were drawn at home again for the 2nd round, this time against NPower League Two side Bristol Rovers. Lovely jubbly!<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Whisken, Campbell, Baddeley, Davies, Scott (Richardson 75), Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne (Osman 66), Charles (Brown 56). Unused subs: Casey, Lewis, Oldring, Coutts.<br />
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Bradford Park Avenue: Lamb, Drury, Riley, Clayton, O'Brien, Iqbal, Daley (Deacey 46), Hotte, Boshell (Beadle 23), Marshall, Greaves (Ahmed 68). Unused subs: Lydon, Knowles, Duckworth, Law.<br />
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Goals:<br />
Totton: Davies (13, 90), Gosney (29 pen, 52), Charles (32), Brown (64, 74, 79)<br />
Bradford: Clayton (30)<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr K Johnson. Assistants: Mr D Jacecko & Mr D Richardson. Fourth Official: Mr M Rushton.<br />
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Attendance: 2,315.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-63777093472405348402011-10-17T17:49:00.002+01:002011-10-18T19:38:46.108+01:00FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round: AFC Totton 4-2 Weymouth, 15/10/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvEyX61Z0R5fPhEBa7p7RV1W4lPWptjL96sG45Rx0pLoakOhUzAklBCSWfMCcNqGBmbDRGdWXI5iwGTycTnfENnE-yvqPvtF0Kl0u06ubW0LoWSKLV8DQUapfCAdWd9IyEZZ0aSy8dDI/s1600/Weymouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvEyX61Z0R5fPhEBa7p7RV1W4lPWptjL96sG45Rx0pLoakOhUzAklBCSWfMCcNqGBmbDRGdWXI5iwGTycTnfENnE-yvqPvtF0Kl0u06ubW0LoWSKLV8DQUapfCAdWd9IyEZZ0aSy8dDI/s200/Weymouth.jpg" width="140" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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After seeing off Clevedon Town in the last round, Totton were handed a home tie in this round against fellow Evo-Stik Southern Premier League side Weymouth. The Stags and The Terras have already met once this season; Totton triumphed 2-0 at the Testwood Stadium in the league back in August. Weymouth have reached this round with away victories over Taunton Town and Hungerford Town, although they needed replays in both ties after two home draws. There was no replay required after this game though.<br />
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The game started with half chances for both sides as it showed early promise of being a classic cup tie. However it wasn't long before the referee threatened to ruin the game. A long clearance out of the Totton defence brought Weymouth goalkeeper Tom Manley out of his goal and in his haste to get to the ball before Michael Charles he stretched to get a hand on the ball and deny the striker a route through to goal, not realising he was about 3 or 4 yards outside of the penalty area. Referee David Spain called the keeper over to him and brandished the red card with just 6 minutes played. Weymouth boss Brendon King sent on rookie keeper Chris Povall, with player-assistant manager Matt Groves sacrificed to allow the young keeper to come on.<br />
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If anyone thought the game would calm down after this, they were very much mistaken. With 12 minutes gone, Craig Duff flew in with a two-footed challenge on Matt Oldring as he tried to clear the ball. An angry reaction from Mike Gosney almost started a mass brawl but the other Totton players broke it up and pushed Gosney away. The referee waited for things to calm down before flashing the red card again. Duff was sent off for the late tackle, and Gosney for pushing Duff after his foul. So just 13 minutes into the game Weymouth were down to 9 men and Totton down to 10.<br />
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Just past the half an hour mark, Totton had the advantage on goals as well as players. The referee pointed to the penalty spot after a foul in the box, and in the absence of the red-carded Gosney, spot kick duties were handed to Nathaniel Sherborne, and the striker made no mistake as he sent substitute keeper Chris Povall the wrong way to give The Stags the lead. 5 minutes later Sherborne was unlucky not to double the lead. His shot on the turn from 12 yards hit the post and Weymouth were able to clear. The second goal did come just before half time, however. Carl Pettefer found Nathan Campbell on the wing and he played a superb one-two with Ryan Hill, before delivering a pinpoint low cross to Michael Charles on the edge of the box who volleyed a first-time shot into the bottom corner.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 2-0 Weymouth</b><br />
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With nearly an hour played, Totton brought on Mark Osman in place of Michael Charles and the striker made an immediate impact. Osman was on the pitch for less than a minute when Ryan Scott played a lobbed ball over the Weymouth defence for him to run on to and, despite calls for offside from Weymouth players, fans and management, he timed his run perfectly to collect the ball with his first touch of the game, and roll the ball under Povall with his second to make it 3-0 and seemingly make the game safe for the home side.<br />
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This would prove not to be the case, however, when Weymouth got a goal back 13 minutes later. The Terras brought Jamie Beasley on at half time in place of Scott Dixon and the tricky winger scored a great goal when he brought down a long diagonal ball and went past Totton sub Aidan Lewis and goalkeeper Grant Porter and fired the ball into the back of the net to reduce the deficit. And just over a minute later Weymouth were right back in the game with a second goal.<br />
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The away side won a corner and the ball was played towards the back post where Sam Poole was running in with Matt Oldring and beat the Totton left back to the ball and headed between Carl Pettefer on the post and Grant Porter to give the travelling support hope of an unlikely comeback. Any hopes of completing the comeback were eradicated 10 minutes from time when Sherborne was brought down in the box by Sam Poole, and the defender went from hero to villain after his goal minutes earlier as he was sent off for a second bookable offence and conceded a penalty. Sherborne dusted himself down to put away his second of the game from the spot and put Totton into the final qualifying round of the FA Cup.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 4-2 Weymouth</b><br />
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The referee nearly ruined this game but in the end it turned out to be a classic. 4 red cards and 6 goals were shared between the sides, fortunately for Totton we had the advantage on goals and not red cards. Some of you may remember the referee, David Spain, as the man who sent off Dorchester Town player-manager Ashley Vickers against Havant & Waterlooville last season for tackling a streaker wearing a mankini, and Mr Spain was the centre of attention again today. Totton made hard work of beating Weymouth but are through to the 4th qualifying round with real hopes of reaching the 1st round proper for the first time in the club's history.<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill (Lewis 61), Richardson, Whisken, Oldring (Davies), Pettefer, Scott, Campbell, Gosney, Sherborne, Charles (Osman 55). Unused subs: Casey, Baddeley, Chester, Coutts.<br />
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Weymouth: Manley, Tribe, Dixon (Beasley 46), Napper, Frampton, Poole, Duff, Malsom (Doyle 79), Groves (Povall 6), Byerley, Reed. Unused subs: Marshallsay, McKechnie, Conning.<br />
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Goals: AFC Totton: Sherborne (32, 79 pens), Charles (44), Osman (57).<br />
Weymouth: Beasley (71), Poole (73).<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr D Spain. Assistants: Mr L Crowhurst & Mr F Meilack.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Attendance: 712 (sic).Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-40795781128524343942011-10-12T20:03:00.002+01:002011-10-18T19:39:55.616+01:00AFC Totton 7-2 Cove - Hampshire Senior Cup 2nd Round<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNP3iVfmZqtibnEVYSVgn6HuOn20npGEWuB2V6Q9Xr2hoSA7vJKbnliys4Kzr9Vnnf_4mmFPS310NUQhbfwhPlnX0ATDOUNQ1aljANjJYKqdb8B-Wl6CbirwJcA9y2cw7FY1HFn4eczZo/s1600/cove-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNP3iVfmZqtibnEVYSVgn6HuOn20npGEWuB2V6Q9Xr2hoSA7vJKbnliys4Kzr9Vnnf_4mmFPS310NUQhbfwhPlnX0ATDOUNQ1aljANjJYKqdb8B-Wl6CbirwJcA9y2cw7FY1HFn4eczZo/s1600/cove-logo.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>V</b></span><br />
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Totton began their second defence of the Hampshire Senior Cup with a bye to the second round where Cove FC of the Combined Counties Football League were waiting. Although Cove gave a good account of themselves Totton notched up a convincing scoreline to sail through to the next round. Mark Osman headed Totton in front after just 4 minutes before scoring a second on the half hour mark. James Coutts made it 3-0 with 5 minutes to go until half time before the impressive Laurie Walters pulled one back for Cove just before the break.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 3-1 Cove</b><br />
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Just 4 minutes into the second half Cove got another goal back when Jack Ball did well to fire into the roof of the net from a tight angle. On the hour mark, Stefan Brown restored Totton's 2-goal advantage with a simple tap in from Jon Davies' low cross. Coutts scored his second with 12 minutes remaining before completing his hattrick 5 minutes later. Substitute Nathaniel Sherborne had the final say as he fired in goal number 7 with 5 minutes to go.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 7-2 Cove</b><br />
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Totton are safely through to the next round of the competition we have won for the last 2 seasons and await the draw for the next round.<br />
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AFC Totton: Casey, Lewis, Richardson (Baddeley 46), Campbell, Oldring, Jon Davies (Gosney 75), Scott, Pettefer, Calum Davies, Brown, Osman (Sherborne 75). Unused subs: Hill, Whisken.<br />
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Cove: McNeil, Firth, Millerick, Dean Thomas, Oladipa, Gray, Walters, Calvin Thomas, Ball, Harewood, Mitchell. Subs: Berry, Street, Peters, Tancock.<br />
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Goals: Totton: Osman (4, 29), Coutts (40, 78, 83), Brown (60), Sherborne (86)<br />
Cove: Walters (42), Ball (49).<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr G Parsons. Assistants: Mr P Bukeridge & Mr M Pointing.<br />
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Attendance: 184.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-26623732049349246082011-10-12T19:39:00.003+01:002011-10-18T19:42:13.851+01:00Evesham v Totton - Man of the MatchWell, it wasn't a great performance, although it's never easy playing with 10 men against 14. Totton lost 1-0 at Evesham (Worcester) after having Ryan Scott sent off early on and being denied by some laughable refereeing. The accolade is shared this week after a tie in the voting. Carl Pettefer and Tom Baddeley came joint first with 33% of the vote each. Jamie Whisken, returning from injury, was second with 16%. Grant Porter and Michael Charles came joint third with 8% of the vote each.<br />
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<u>Man of the match results</u><br />
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1st: Tom Baddeley and Carl Pettefer - 33%<br />
2nd: Jamie Whisken - 16%<br />
3rd: Grant Porter and Michael Charles - 8%Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-49093624773435517742011-10-10T20:59:00.001+01:002011-10-18T19:41:53.925+01:00Evesham United 1-0 AFC Totton, 08/10/11 3pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61YXRA-nRXwLa7Ns9dBYNFjQnZP2w_RKqH-McjyaAmMcjRKThfCksd5abg7hxOUIiMRyXYatvjh2HFNbynwuicSR6jE9zF-C1Nw2bic9ingNGYN6YURgi4cybO2T9yqjIzlxGoFLffU/s1600/Evesham+United.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61YXRA-nRXwLa7Ns9dBYNFjQnZP2w_RKqH-McjyaAmMcjRKThfCksd5abg7hxOUIiMRyXYatvjh2HFNbynwuicSR6jE9zF-C1Nw2bic9ingNGYN6YURgi4cybO2T9yqjIzlxGoFLffU/s200/Evesham+United.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
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The 3-0 win over Cirencester aside, Totton haven't been playing particularly well recently. Before this a first home defeat of the season against Hitchin was followed by an unconvincing performance in the 2-1 win at Clevedon in the last round of the FA Cup. Before this game, Evesham hadn't won in the league since a 1-0 home victory over Frome Town on August 23rd, 8 games ago. With Totton top and Evesham 3rd from bottom this game looked like a Stags victory on paper. But games aren't won or lost on paper. And this one was definitely lost on the pitch for Totton.<br />
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With 10 minutes gone Totton had the first real chance of the game. From a cross, Nathaniel Sherborne's headed effort looped towards to the top corner but it was a comfortable catch for Evesham goalkeeper Nathan Vaughan. Totton got a free kick 5 minutes later, and Mike Gosney sent it low towards the bottom corner but Vaughan got down to smother the ball as Sherborne tried to get to it first.<br />
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In the 17th minute of the game a moment of madness made the game an uphill struggle for Totton. There was an altercation off the ball between Ryan Scott and Evesham's Simon Fitter. Scott tackled Fitter and won the ball. As Fitter got up he kicked Scott and moved his head towards Scott's face. Scott should have walked away but he retaliated and aimed a headbutt back at Fitter just as the referee turned to see it. So he didn't see Fitter lash out at Scott but saw Scott have a go back and gave Scott a straight red card.<br />
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Totton didn't seem to be affected by the dismissal of Scott though and they continued to create chances. From a free kick out wide on the right, Gosney aimed a low effort towards the near post which Vaughan got down to push away and the ball was put behind by Michael Charles as he tried to turn it goalwards. Moments later Sherborne had a shot from distance that sailed over the bar.<br />
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The Stags continued to dominate and with half an hour gone, Charles collected the ball in the box before laying it off to Ryan Hill running in and the right back unleashed a powerful shot from 20 yards that was just wide of the post. Hill had another chance to score just before half time when his free kick 25 yards out found a gap in the Evesham wall and almost found the bottom corner but Vaughan was behind it once again. The keeper spilled the initial shot but gathered at the second attempt despite the combined efforts of Charles and Sherborne to put the ball over the line.<br />
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<b>Half time: Evesham United 0-0 AFC Totton</b><br />
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Totton came out fighting in the second half as they looked to continue the pressure they had put on Evesham up until the half time whistle. With the second half just 3 minutes old, Mike Gosney ended a run down the left wing with a good pass inside to Michael Charles who then played in Nathaniel Sherborne, but the striker's effort was blocked by the legs of an Evesham defender and the ball ran safely through to Robins keeper Nathan Vaughan.<br />
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With just under 25 minutes remaining, Totton were hit by a sucker punch against the run of play. Evesham were awarded a free kick out on the wing. The ball was played in by Josh Quaynor towards the far post where it was headed down by Evesham captain Wayne Daniel and on hand was Craig Wilding who reacted quickest to poke the ball home from 6 yards.<br />
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From then on Totton threw everyone forward at every opportunity in search of what would have been a deserved equaliser but it never came as referee Adam Mathews made some questionable decisions to deny Totton and snuff out any hope the away side had of getting something from the game.<br />
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<b>Full time: Evesham United 1-0 AFC Totton</b><br />
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Totton deserved at least a point from this game but thanks to Ryan Scott's red card and some abysmal refereeing, we came away from St George's Lane pointless, disappointed and angry. Evesham played well but Totton easily matched them despite the home team having the advantage of the extra man. Next up for The Stags, we begin the defence of the Hampshire Senior Cup when Cove visit on Tuesday 11th October for a 7:45pm kick off. Next Saturday (15th October) Weymouth are back in town for an FA Cup 3rd qualifying round tie. On their visit to Totton in the league earlier in the season, the Terras lost 2-0. We are not back in league action until Tuesday 25th October when Cambridge City are the opponents at the Testwood Stadium.<br />
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Evesham United: Vaughan, Blake, Hyde, Daniel, Jones, Walker, Fitter, Wilding, Palmer, Otobo, Quaynor. Subs: Woodley, Malhotra, O'Kelly, Connor, Hands.<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Campbell, Whisken, Baddeley (Oldring), Davies, Pettefer, Scott, Gosney, Sherborne (Brown), Charles (Coutts). Unused subs: Osman, Lewis.<br />
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Goals: Evesham: Wilding (66).<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr A Mathews. Assistants: Mr S Ireland & Mr S Oakey.<br />
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Attendance: 130.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-15831187565498247592011-10-09T12:58:00.002+01:002011-10-18T19:43:16.142+01:00Totton v Cirencester - Man of the MatchVoting for the man of the match in the 3-0 home win over Cirencester has now closed. The results are in and you chose goalkeeper Grant Porter as your man of the match. Porter made several top saves to deny Cirencester when they had got themselves into good scoring positions, including a terrific one-on-one save to deny Mike Tambling after the Cirencester striker had done the hard bit of breaking through the Totton defence but messed up the easy bit as his shot was blocked by the legs of Porter. His handling and distribution throughout the game was also good, setting up a few Totton attacks. Stags captain Carl Pettefer came second in the vote after his battling display in midfield and some excellent defence-splitting passes. And despite scoring twice in the opening 12 minutes for Totton, striker Michael Charles came third in the vote.<br />
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<u>Man of the match results</u><br />
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1st: Grant Porter - 38%<br />
2nd: Carl Pettefer - 23%<br />
3rd: Michael Charles - 19%Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-13342037903435899752011-10-05T15:30:00.002+01:002011-10-18T19:43:58.620+01:00AFC Totton 3-0 Cirencester Town, 04/10/11 7:45pm<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56Bbj8z2ZC3OzSwnbroOE-wq-P4-cerxWk8jYOlq_w-gBTzQPrhyphenhyphenI_fMDeUMAQ82k5nDZCYwQKoEpep-5RgLUxLLxuhudFOySpFPIdp6OQ8o_udNNEm1ls-doAspCE4j2mxO1JpSezEc/s1600/Cirencester+Town.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56Bbj8z2ZC3OzSwnbroOE-wq-P4-cerxWk8jYOlq_w-gBTzQPrhyphenhyphenI_fMDeUMAQ82k5nDZCYwQKoEpep-5RgLUxLLxuhudFOySpFPIdp6OQ8o_udNNEm1ls-doAspCE4j2mxO1JpSezEc/s200/Cirencester+Town.gif" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s1600/AFC+Totton.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqMMAuoc8SQIp1fyn8eOsGIw_l0RujkO3ZnP8DMllK7jvlVo6ysG-8xxLrfKU7UoZXLLrG3HRIccWOCDjgsmNtoCvT8TVpWhYqp1YjbYJvizluFwd4virLUZ1hWpk5hjuNpekoNw-888/s200/AFC+Totton.png" width="148" /></a><br />
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After an FA Cup outing against Clevedon Town at the weekend, Totton were back in league action on Tuesday night as we welcomed Cirencester Town to the Testwood Stadium. The Centurions are struggling at the wrong end of the table in the early part of the season as they sit 2nd from bottom with just 1 win and 6 points to their name so far.<br />
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The game got off to the best possible start for The Stags when, after just 2 minutes, Michael Charles lobbed the ball over Cirencester keeper Kevin Sawyer from a tight angle and it bounced over the line via the underside of the crossbar. 3 minutes later Cirencester got a free kick 25 yards from goal. The ball was player towards the far post where Nathan Campbell headed it away only as far as a Cirencester player on the edge of the box but his shot was rushed and he skewed it well wide of the goal.<br />
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On 12 minutes Totton doubled their advantage. A free kick was won right on the byline out near the corner flag to the left of goal. Mike Gosney hit it low and hard across goal into the packed 6 yard box and Charles was well placed to knock the ball in from a yard out. Moments later Cirencester nearly got themselves back in the game when a rasping shot from the edge of the box narrowly cleared the top of the crossbar with Grant Porter rooted to the spot.<br />
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The away side began to put together a good spell of sustained pressure after that chance, and with 20 minutes gone they won 2 corners in quick succession. The first one was too high for anyone to get their heads on and Ryan Scott touched the ball behind for a corner from the opposite side. From that second corner Grant Porter did well to come off his line and punch the ball away, but it only reached the feet of a Cirencester player 20 yards from goal who controlled it well before unleashing a powerful driven shot that cannoned off the top of the crossbar and looped up and out of the ground.<br />
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Cirencester continued to pile on the pressure and they poured forward at every opportunity as they searched for a way back into the game. With just short of 10 minutes to go until the break they should have halved the deficit. Mike Tambling broke through the Totton defence with ease and as he bore down on goal Grant Porter rushed off his line to meet him and made a brilliant one-on-one save with his feet. The ball fell to another Cirencester attacker in the box but his shot was blocked well by Tom Baddeley and the ball trickled harmlessly into Porter's arms.<br />
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<b>Half time: AFC Totton 2-0 Cirencester Town</b><br />
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The first 15 minutes of the second half were very sluggish, with no clear-cut chances for either side. But on the hour mark the game suddenly sprung into life again. Nathaniel Sherborne had a shot turned over the crossbar by Sawyer, and from the resulting corner the ball went over everyone and fell to Carl Pettefer on the other side. He played the ball back into the penalty area and Nathan Campbell rose highest to send the ball goalwards with his head, only to see Sawyer tip his effort over as well. From the second corner Sherborne put the ball over the bar for a goal kick.<br />
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3 minutes later and Campbell came close again. A free kick was awarded out near the touchline and Gosney whipped it in low towards the keeper. Campbell slid in to try and get to the ball before Sawyer but it just evaded his outstretched foot and the keeper was able to clear. Up the other end, Ryan Hill gave the ball away in a dangerous area but Tambling had maybe more time than he realised and hurried his shot, sending it the wrong side of the post. Not long after this minor scare, Totton made the game safe with a 3rd goal. From Ryan Hill's long throw-in, Sherborne knocked the ball back to Gosney who drilled his shot home from 12 yards.<br />
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With a quarter of an hour remaining a handball decision was given against Cirencester keeper Kevin Sawyer. A long ball over the top for substitute Stefan Brown to run onto drew Sawyer off his line to the edge of the box where he reached out and grabbed the ball before Brown could get his foot to it. The assistant referee raised his flag as it appeared the ball was still outside of the area when Sawyer caught it. The handball resulted in a free kick which Ryan Hill took but the ball sailed over the bar.<br />
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2 minutes from time Totton were given another free kick. Cirencester captain Richard Mansell brought down James Coutts after the Totton substitute had tried to go past him out by the left touchline. Gosney took the set piece and sent a curling shot just high and wide of the far top corner of the goal.<br />
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<b>Full time: AFC Totton 3-0 Cirencester Town</b><br />
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A good result and another 3 points for Totton who are back to winning ways in the league after the defeat to Hitchin in the last game. Cirencester gave us a very good game and their performance was not that of a team languishing in 21st place in the league table, on this evidence they should get themselves away from the basement and up the table in no time. Next up for The Stags is a trip to Worcester City on Saturday. No, that's not a misprint. We are playing Evesham but as they have not moved into their new ground yet, the game will be played at St George's Lane, home of Conference North club Worcester City. See you all there!<br />
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AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Campbell, Oldring, Baddeley, Davies (Coutts 72), Scott, Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne (Osman 76), Charles (Brown 68). Unused subs: Lewis, Tomasso.<br />
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Cirencester Town: Sawyer, Wilson, Mansell, Sysum (Gunn 80), Mayo, Henry, Reid (Dunton 78), Mortimer-Jones, Tambling, Else, Westlake. Unused subs: Etheridge.<br />
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Goals: AFC Totton: Charles (2, 12), Gosney (68).<br />
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Officials: Referee: Mr A Tranter. Assistants: Mr R Magrath & Mr I Bardsley.<br />
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Attendance: 377.Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5109811461047571424.post-63677930303535788072011-10-05T10:18:00.002+01:002011-10-18T19:44:42.678+01:00Clevedon v Totton - Man of the MatchThe results of the first man of the match poll are in. This seems to have worked quite well, so I will make it a permanent feature after every game. And hopefully as more people become aware of it we will get more votes for future games.<br />
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Against Clevedon, Totton welcomed back Ryan Scott after the former captain retired at the end of last season due to injury. He has now returned to the club after it emerged that the injury was not as serious as first thought. And Scotty made a huge impact on his return against Clevedon as he controlled the midfield and it was his strike that won the game for The Stags 3 minutes from time. And the voting has matched the opinions after the game amongst the fans as Ryan has been voted man of the match against Clevedon with 63% of the vote. It's good to have you back Scotty!<br />
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<u>Man of the match results</u><br />
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1st: Ryan Scott - 63%<br />
2nd: Nathaniel Sherborne - 18%<br />
3rd: Matt Oldring and Carl Pettefer - 9%Ryan Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00044352955898592777noreply@blogger.com0