Southern League Premier football: AFC Totton on the right tracks with Railwaymen thrashing
Southern League Premier South
AFC Totton 7
Didcot Town FC 1
IT was seven heavens for AFC Totton as they thrashed Didcot Town to move three points off the play-off places in their first season after promotion.
The Stags were quick out the blocks, with Jordan Chiedozie scoring his first goal for the club before Scott Rendell and Alfie Stanley each grabbed a brace, with Jordan Ragguette and Leon Maloney grabbing the others.
The host got off to the perfect start when former Arnewood School pupil and the son of former Tottenham Hotspur’s John Chiedozie found the corner with an acrobatic effort after two minutes.
The Railwaymen pulled themselves in the 14th minute after Benjamin Putland guided a header past Lewis Noice before Stags’ manager Jimmy Ball was forced into a double change with Charlie Kennedy and Alfie Stanley replacing Benny Read and Matty Burrows.
It took until the 49th minute to retake the lead when Rendell converted a well-taken spot-kick before he scored his 50th goal for the club minutes later, pouncing on a loose ball after a strong initial save by Didcot keeper Leigh Bedwell.
From then on, AFC Totton was too much for Didcot and 18 minutes from time, Stanley made it 4-1 with a delightful chip.
Minutes later, Stanley grabbed his second, firing past keeper Bedwell, who was subsequently shown a second yellow following a scuffle after the goal.
The ever-present Jordan Ragguette added a sixth four minutes from time, slotting past substitute keeper Timmy Mungali to complete a magnificent solo run.
Moving into stoppage time, the Stags were not finished, and Maloney scored a contender for goal of the month, if not season. The winger expertly curled the ball past the despairing Mungali into the far-right corner.
The Stags play at home on Saturday against Merthyr Town at 3pm.
AFC Totton: L. Noice, B. Read, J. Ragguette, L. Hallett, J. Oastler, A. Tomasso, S. Rendell, J. Chiedozie, S. Magri, , M. Burrows, L. Maloney. Subs: C. Kennedy, L. Brown, A. Stanley, O. Pelham, R. Nixon.
