A Look Back At 2011

2011. It's been a fantastic year for AFC Totton. Full of lots of ups and very few downs, if any.

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.

League winner's shield

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'.


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.

The new home of AFC Totton: Testwood Stadium

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.

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!

Totton fans swarm onto the pitch after winning the league

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.

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.

The Totton players celebrate winning the Hampshire Senior Cup

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

Who needs 'em?

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.

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.

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.

Lovely weather for it. Totton v Swindon Supermarine.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Iain Brunnschweiler.

Gold dust.

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.

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. 

Class of 2011

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.

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? You'll find out later.

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:

Played: 44. Won: 34. Drawn: 3. Lost: 7. For: 123. Against: 33. GD: +90. Points: 105.

Onward 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.

Happy New Year!

FA Cup 1st Round Proper: AFC Totton 8-1 Bradford (Park Avenue), 12/11/11 3pm

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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.

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.....

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Half time: AFC Totton 3-1 Bradford Park Avenue

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Full time: AFC Totton 8-1 Bradford Park Avenue

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!

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.

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.

Goals:
Totton: Davies (13, 90), Gosney (29 pen, 52), Charles (32), Brown (64, 74, 79)
Bradford: Clayton (30)

Officials: Referee: Mr K Johnson. Assistants: Mr D Jacecko & Mr D Richardson. Fourth Official: Mr M Rushton.

Attendance: 2,315.

FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round: AFC Totton 4-2 Weymouth, 15/10/11 3pm

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Half time: AFC Totton 2-0 Weymouth

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.

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.

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.

Full time: AFC Totton 4-2 Weymouth

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.

AFC Totton: Porter, Hill (Lewis 61), Richardson, Whisken, Oldring (Davies), Pettefer, Scott, Campbell, Gosney, Sherborne, Charles (Osman 55). Unused subs: Casey, Baddeley, Chester, Coutts.

Weymouth: Manley, Tribe, Dixon (Beasley 46), Napper, Frampton, Poole, Duff, Malsom (Doyle 79), Groves (Povall 6), Byerley, Reed. Unused subs: Marshallsay, McKechnie, Conning.

Goals: AFC Totton: Sherborne (32, 79 pens), Charles (44), Osman (57).
           Weymouth: Beasley (71), Poole (73).

Officials: Referee: Mr D Spain. Assistants: Mr L Crowhurst & Mr F Meilack.

Attendance: 712 (sic).

FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round: Clevedon Town 1-2 AFC Totton, 01/10/11 3pm

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After easing past Fleet Town in the last round Totton were handed an away trip to Clevedon Town in the 2nd qualifying round. The Stags played Clevedon in the South & West Division last season on their way to the league title. But Clevedon made sure Totton didn't have it all their own way last season as they took 4 points off us in the 2 league games with a 1-0 win at the old Testwood Park and a 2-2 draw at their own Hand Stadium. So this would by no means be an easy ride for Totton as they bid to reach the FA Cup 3rd qualifying round.

Both our regular centre backs, Ian Richardson and Jamie Whisken were injured and unavailable for this game so Matt Oldring and Nathan Campbell deputised in the centre of defence. But better news for Totton fans was the return of fans favourite Ryan Scott. The midfield general retired at the end of last season at the age of 24 with a recurring knee injury. But the injury turned out to be not as serious as feared and Scott has now rejoined the club.

The game started pretty evenly, with Clevedon having an early chance when Jordan Walker sent a header wide. Totton then got a free kick out wide on the left which Ryan Hill delivered and Nathan Campbell controlled, before having his shot blocked and the ball was cleared. The Stags then got another free kick after a foul on Nathaniel Sherborne on the edge of the box, and Ryan Hill's effort was straight at Clevedon keeper Alex Leaman who held the ball at the second attempt after spilling the initial shot.

On 20 minutes Totton were the width of a post away from taking the lead. Michael Charles was put through on goal and his shot cannoned back off the upright; Sherborne's strike from the rebound being blocked and cleared by Steve Kingdon. From a corner moments later, Charles' header was cleared off the line by Kingdon as he proved to be a stubborn one-man blockade between Totton and the back of the net. But on 34 minutes Totton finally found a way to goal, though they needed a bit of help from Clevedon defender Steve Kingdon as he hauled down Sherborne in the box and referee Matthew Rushton pointed to the spot. Mike Gosney scored the penalty and Totton had the lead.

Clevedon had a decent chance to level minutes later when a 30 yard Ashley Kington free kick was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Grant Porter. And with half time approaching, Jon Davies could have doubled Totton's advantage when he went on a mazy run past 3 players and made some space for himself to shoot from the edge of the box, but dragged the shot across goal and just wide of the post.

Half time: Clevedon Town 0-1 AFC Totton

For the first quarter of an hour of the second half, it was Totton vs Alex Leaman as the Clevedon stopper pulled off a string of excellent saves to keep The Stags at bay, denying Sherborne, Charles and Gosney. Not to be outdone, Grant Porter then produced a magnificent save to keep out Chas Hemmings' header from point-blank range and push the ball away to safety.

With 15 minutes remaining, substitute Stefan Brown nearly set up the clincher as his cross from the right fizzed across the face of goal and Charles was inches away from getting his head on the ball as it rolled out for a throw in to Clevedon on the far side. 5 minutes later, Gosney was through one-on-one with the on-rushing Leaman and as he pulled the trigger he appeared to be clipped from behind by the defender snapping at his heels, but he tried to stay on his feet and saw his shot saved.

Clevedon sub Reeko Best came close to an equaliser on 83 minutes when he shot into the side-netting. But the home side didn't have to wait much longer to get themselves back on level terms. With 4 minutes to go, a free kick was awarded 25 yards from goal after Matt Oldring fouled Chas Hemmings. Clevedon captain Ashley Kington stepped up to unleash an unstoppable rising shot into the top corner via the palms of Grant Porter, who could do nothing to prevent the driven effort from finding the back of the net.

With Clevedon still celebrating, and a replay at the Testwood Stadium looming, Totton went straight up the other end and scored what proved to be the winning goal. Ryan Scott collected the ball in midfield and took a touch before trying an ambitious shot on goal from 45 yards that was going wide of the post until it took a massive deflection off of Clevedon defender Sam Johnson and trickled into the bottom corner with Leaman too slow to react after seemingly thinking the ball was going to roll harmlessly wide.

Full time: Clevedon Town 1-2 AFC Totton

After being pegged back with 5 minutes to go, it looked like Totton would have to settle for a replay on Tuesday evening. But the return of Ryan Scott to the Stags midfield proved the difference as he capped off a superb performance with the shot which resulted in the winning goal, although it has gone down as a Sam Johnson own goal as Scott's effort was going wide before the deflection off the unfortunate Clevedon defender. So as there is no need for a replay, the league game at home against Cirencester Town this Tuesday will go ahead as planned. Kick off is 7:45pm at the Testwood Stadium.

Clevedon Town: Leaman, Johnson, Teale, Mills, Kingdon, Geeson, Fisher (Best 64), Kington, Klein-Davies (Gale 64), Hemmings, Walker. Unused subs: Edwards-Samuels, Playford, Fortune, Dulawa.

AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Campbell, Oldring, Baddeley, Davies, Scott (Coutts 90), Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne (Brown 69), Charles (Osman 79). Unused subs: Lewis, Tomasso.

Goals: Clevedon: Kington (85)
            Totton: Gosney (34 pen), Johnson OG (87).

Officials: Referee: Mr M Rushton. Assistants: Mr P Humphrey & Mr A Matthews.

Attendance: 140.