AFC Totton (a) on Tues 28th Feb, KO 19:45

[Daedalus]

Southern League Premier Division -
AFC Totton (3rd) v St. Albans City (9th)
Tuesday 28th Feburary 2012, KO 19:45

No images allowed -http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/Crouchaldinho_SACFC/1310719688_large.jpg

No images allowed -http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/Crouchaldinho_SACFC/Saints%20Stuff/150px-AFC_Totton.png v No images allowed -http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/Crouchaldinho_SACFC/Saints%20Stuff/stalbans.jpg

Testwood Park, Testwood Place, Totton, Southampton, Hants
No images allowed -http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/assets/images/AFC_Totton_1.JPG
Copyright David Bauckham, Centre Circle Publishing. No reproduction without prior permission.

STATTO'S CORNER (written by Daedalus):

AFC Totton Quick Guide:
Club founded: 1886
Nickname: The Stags
Club colours: All blue (all yellow)
10 year record:

01-02	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09	09-10	10-11
Wex 3rd	Wex 3rd	Wex 8th	Wex1 8th	Wex1 4th	WexP 2nd	WexP 1st	Sthsw 3rd	Sthsw 2nd	Sthsw 1st

* - Totton Football Club was founded in 1886. In 1975 they amalgamated with Totton Athletic and the club changed its name to AFC Totton.

Read more about the Stags' club history by clicking here.


Interesting links:

AFC Totton's official website

AFC Totton's fans' forum

A report of the stags' last game is not currently available on their website. Their last match was away to Cambridge City and they lost 1-0.

You can see AFC Totton's results so far this season by clicking here

Pyramid Passion page on AFC Totton

The Herts Ad preview has yet to be publish at the time of writing. We'll add a link in this thread when it comes up on their site.

CITYLIVE has been running intermittently and coverage of this game will probably not be available on their service (just as the Frome Town match wasn't covered at the weekend). We'll add a link in this thread if an announcement is made by the Herts Ad. Regardless of whether it is up or not, we also hope to have some updates here on the forum.

We'll add any other interesting links here as they appear.


Current Form (last 5 matches in the league):
AFC Totton - LWWDL (home form - WWDWW)

St. Albans City - WLWDW (away form - LWWDW)


Top league goalscorer(s):
AFC Totton - 23-year-old midfielder, Michael Gosney, is on 14 league goals. 24-year-old forward, Michael Charles, is on 10 goals, and 28-year-old striker, Nathaniel Sherbourne, is also on 10 league goals.

St. Albans City - Sakho Bakare is on 10 league goals for the Saints.


Latest Saints team news:

- Furlong’s return to the first team on Saturday ended after 40 minutes due to a hip injury, so it seems likely that he'll miss this match.

- Nerada Bernard missed Saturday's match due to illness. It is unknown whether or not he'll be in the squad for Tuesday night's game. Howell suggested that he was hopeful that Bernard would have recovered in time for this game.

- Howard Newton was called up for international duty with Guyana and therefore missed Saturday's match. Howell said that he was struggling with an ankle injury. It seems likely that he'll miss this game too. Howell described him as doubtful.


Possible Saints starting XI (in a 4-4-2 formation):

No images allowed -http://footballformation.co.uk/team/442/270212115755.png

Quick Stats Guide (league matches only):

AFC Totton:
- Not scored for 2 games
- 14 points out of the last 24


St. Albans City:
- Scored in last 12 games
- One loss in 7
- 23 points out of the last 33

[Daedalus]

Not a proper 'Final Word' for this game but just some quick links to answer the usual questions.

How did the Saints get on against Frome Town?

Match reports of our last game:
www.stalbansreview.co.uk/sport/9554497.Victory_at_Frome_moves_City_closer_to_leading_group/

No Herts Ad article on their site at the time of writing.


What did David Howell have to say about it?

Howell interview - www.sacfc.co.uk/index.php/news/-manager-interview/1852-owsy-we-should-have-sealed-it-by-half-time.html

Article in the local press - no links available at time of writing.


How are AFC Totton getting on this season?

AFC Totton results so far this season - www.afctotton.com/fixtures.php

Last league match report - none available at time of writing. AFC Totton lost 1-0 away from home to Cambridge City on Saturday.

That's all for now! I'll add any links to this thread if they come up before Tuesday's match.

[Daedalus]

The City Archives - Floodlight Opening Versus Charlton Athletic, 1963[/u]

We have a new feature to place alongside our previews this season, as one of Saints Chat's regular posters, Brummie, delves into the history books to provide us with match reports from the past. This gives a chance to walk down memory lane, or learn a little about City's past, before the next match in the present!

This time, Brummie has given us a typed report of St. Albans City's first game under floodlights. The match took place against Charlton Athletic. They brought their full first team along and City fell to a 4-1 defeat. Over to Brummie for the details!

FLOODLIGHT OPENING

St Albans City v Charlton Athletic

November 19th 1963

Muddy Clarence Park was a far cry from the sunny acres of Genoa in Italy where Charlton centre-forward Eddie Firmani was playing last season. Yet, despite the treacherous conditions left by three days of rain. Firmani and the stars of Second Division professionals Charlton Athletic stepped out in full force, as promised, for St Albans City’s very first match under their new floodlights on Tuesday.

Their complete first eleven, unbeaten in 13 league games until last Saturday, were on show and they did not disappoint. Mastering the sogginess of the pitch the professionals presented a colourful evening of football entertainment that compensated the 2,000 or so that were tempted away from the firesides.

Those hardy fans saw Charlton Athletic, who are in the early running for a place in next years First Division, displaying their class and refusing to yield in the heavy mud of the Clarence Park pitch. They were never content to reduce the game to an exhibition.

They must have been proud to witness the amateurs of the Isthmian League reaching unexpected heights in standard in their defence and attacking with a stern vigour which kept them in the game until nearly the end.

The Citizens were, of course, beaten. If anything else had happened it would have been a sensational result. But their keen fighting spirit and some moments of really intelligent football was a joy to see in such high company.

The St Albans City eleven were exactly the same team who beat Kingstonian on Saturday and Harry Gibson would appear to have at last brought the best eleven men on the clubs books together. That is, perhaps with the exception of Ken Dowler, who has been injured for so long.

None having found a more suitable berth than the fiery Alan McDonnell. He played as a deep lying centre-forward and was the Citizen who impressed the most against this professional defence.

Great things were expected of Firmani, the man who cost Charlton £35,000 this season when he joined the club from the Italian league. But the great star of The Valley will, unfortunately, be mainly remembered for making the biggest boob of the evening when goalkeeper Dave Westcott dropped the ball at his feet and Firmani shot wide of the post with nothing to beat.

Firmani left the limelight to dashing right-winger Mike Kenning, clever ball juggler Dennis Edwards and dynamic skipper Mike Bailey, who played an exciting attacking game at right half.

Their football was deadly accurate despite the conditions, they found their men superbly with long penetrating passes and the teamwork flowed with some high class running off the ball by every member of their team.

Charlton never gave St Albans an easy time of it as they might have done in such a friendly, and it was the feature which brought the best from the Citizens and contributed immensely to the 90 minutes of interest.

The professional did, however take the liberty of instructing their full-back to play in a full-scale attacking game. And they proved highly capable of doing this particularly linking up with Frank Haydock, the dominant centre-half, always available to slip into a gap almost before it had appeared.

Charlton were lucky to go ahead in the sixth minute when a terrific shot by BAILEY from some 35 yards soared over goalkeeper Dave Westcott’s fingers and into the net when he tried to punched it away.

Quickly pressuring forwards had the St Albans defence on the back foot and 11 minutes later when Firmani moved to the right wing and slipped through a neat pass from John Howie, who had assumed an inside-forward role. The ball was passed to KENNEDY, who had taken over the centre-forward role. His flashing drive just evaded Westcott and landed in the net.

The big moment for St Albans came in the first minute of the second half when they pulled back the score to 2-1. Herbie Smith cleverly beat the full-back and, drawing another man out, he passed neatly into the goalmouth where centre-forward NISBET slid the ball into the net.

But only a minute went by before Charlton moved into a 3-1 lead. A long cross field ball from Brian Kinsey found BAILEY who brought the ball under control as he ran in and sent it straight past Westcott.

With Charlton now dominating the midfield football with ease, and St Albans making spirited attacks where possible the remainder of the game was always interesting with KENNING flashing the fourth goal in the last five minutes.

Full Time St Albans City 1 Charlton Athletic 4

Team. D Westcott, B Payne, J Adamson, P Wood, D Bromley, D Lawrence, E Rolfe, A McDonnell, B Nesbitt, H Smith, W Spicer
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brummies note. The Charlton Athletic goalkeeper was Mick Rose who was St Albans City’s goalkeeper the year before.

Thanks, as always, go to Brummie for delving into the City Archives to provide us with an interesting read alongside our usual match previews!

[Daedalus]

Line-up for tonight's game:

Jupp, Seeby, Watts, McGonigle, Gray, Ngakam, Hart, Hyde, Lansiquot, Martin, Henry.

Bench - Shields, Bakare, Ijaha, Bernard.

[riddickthesaint]

@afctotton GOAL! Handball on the line. No red card surprisingly but the keeper doesn't move as Gosney puts the penalty away. 1-0.
HT

[Daedalus]

HT score is Totton 1 Saints 0.

Apparently the Saints have been playing the ball in the air too much with nobody up front to win it.

[Daedalus]

The Gosney penalty goal came on 44 mins by the way.

[Daedalus]

Saints back in it!

Hart 46 mins!

1-1.

[Daedalus]

Bakare now on for Lansiquot.

[Daedalus]

Shields on for Henry.

[Daedalus]

Shields on for Henry.

[Daedalus]

Bernard on for Hart.

[Daedalus]

FT score:

AFC Totton 1 Saints 1

[stanj]

Not a bad result....

[Hatboy]

Line up and short subs bench showed the injury niggles affected us so a good result me feels

[Deleted]

Att 353

Good result tonight from the team

[Canary Saint]

Good work Daedalus!

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

[Boomer]

Probably one of the gutsiest performances of the season tonight, especially considering the walking wounded in the squad at the moment. Great all round team performance and could even have nicked it at the end. Nick Jupp and James Gray were colossal. Can't rest on our laurels though, need to keep this going against Oxford City on Saturday.

COYS

[Deleted]

Agree with Boomer,this was an excellent battling performance thoroughly deserving of a point against the team with the best home record in the league.Chances were non existent for both teams in the first half,then shades of Leamington right on half time with the Lino giving a penalty,after the referee (who was definitely closer) pointed to his chest.I was too far away to tell. Very well taken equaliser by Hart from a Chris Henry cross,and we improved markedly for the introduction of Sakho for Lansiquot .Nicky Jupp made a few saves in the second half,one to tip a free kick against a post was outstanding.I hope we can keep hold of him,he is the best custodian in this league by a street.
Hope I can remember how to get to Clarence Park after all these away matches!

[Daedalus]

Unfortunately, Danny Hart's equaliser was not caught on camera.

[Hatboy]

Mr Howells post match interview: www.sacfc.co.uk/index.php/news/-manager-interview/1856-owsy-when-we-counter-attacked-we-looked-dangerous.html

And Herts Ad report: www.hertsad.co.uk/sport/football/howell_seeking_home_comforts_1_1224078