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!

Bedford Town 1-2 AFC Totton, 19/11/11 3pm

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Half time: Bedford Town 0-1 AFC Totton

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Full time: Bedford Town 1-2 AFC Totton

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.

Bedford Town: Brown, Cooper, Simpson, Darby, Hoyte, Thorne, Price (Damon 83), York, Hall, Roberts, Cole. Unused subs: Ivy, Ekins, Kavanagh.

AFC Totton: Porter, Sampson, Richardson, Campbell, Baddeley, Davies (McKie 89), Pettefer, Scott (Whisken 64), Gosney, Sherborne (Osman 77), Brown. Unused subs: Coutts, Jack.

Goals:
Bedford: Hall (46)
Totton: Gosney (37 pen, 56 pen)

Officials: Referee: Mr S Rea. Assistants: Mr A Stevens & Mr I Jempeji.

Attendance: 255.

Evesham United 1-0 AFC Totton, 08/10/11 3pm

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Half time: Evesham United 0-0 AFC Totton

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.

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.

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.

Full time: Evesham United 1-0 AFC Totton

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.

Evesham United: Vaughan, Blake, Hyde, Daniel, Jones, Walker, Fitter, Wilding, Palmer, Otobo, Quaynor. Subs: Woodley, Malhotra, O'Kelly, Connor, Hands.

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

Goals: Evesham: Wilding (66).

Officials: Referee: Mr A Mathews. Assistants: Mr S Ireland & Mr S Oakey.

Attendance: 130.

Totton v Cirencester - Man of the Match

Voting 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.

Man of the match results

1st: Grant Porter - 38%
2nd: Carl Pettefer - 23%
3rd: Michael Charles - 19%

AFC Totton 3-0 Cirencester Town, 04/10/11 7:45pm

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Half time: AFC Totton 2-0 Cirencester Town

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.

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.

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.

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.

Full time: AFC Totton 3-0 Cirencester Town

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!

AFC Totton: Porter, Hill, Campbell, Oldring, Baddeley, Davies (Coutts 72), Scott, Pettefer, Gosney, Sherborne (Osman 76), Charles (Brown 68). Unused subs: Lewis, Tomasso.

Cirencester Town: Sawyer, Wilson, Mansell, Sysum (Gunn 80), Mayo, Henry, Reid (Dunton 78), Mortimer-Jones, Tambling, Else, Westlake. Unused subs: Etheridge.

Goals: AFC Totton: Charles (2, 12), Gosney (68).

Officials: Referee: Mr A Tranter. Assistants: Mr R Magrath & Mr I Bardsley.

Attendance: 377.

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.