Match report: Southern League Premier South title chasers AFC Totton held on the road by second-placed Gloucester City in 0-0 draw
AFC Totton earned a hard-fought point from a goalless draw with Gloucester City at the TigerTurf Stadium in the Southern League Premier Division South on Saturday.
The league’s second and third-placed sides did table-topping Merthyr Town a favour, restricting each other to a goalless draw, allowing the leaders to extend their lead at the top.
“It was a tight game, you know, two good sides”, said AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball. “We cancelled each other out. Both keepers had saves to make, with most of the game played between the two boxes. It felt like it would take a mistake from someone to win it, and neither side made one.
“In these sorts of games, you need a little bit of magic, a little bit of quality, and we tried – both teams tried – but it never came.
“Credit to the defence, though. It’s another clean sheet away from home, and as they say, good defences win leagues or certainly put you in a position to win leagues, so all credit to them!”
The opening 30 minutes was a cagey affair. Gloucester had the first real chance on goal, but Stags’ keeper Ryan Gosney was equal to it. Another good chance fell to the home side on 40 minutes when Joe Hanks unleashed an effort Gosney saved on the line with his feet.
Adam Tomasso had a shot bravely blocked by Tyrone Duffus after a flowing AFC Totton move presented the midfielder with the chance to take aim from the edge of the penalty area.
The Stags picked up momentum and increased their urgency. With 15 minutes to go, George Franklin got forward from right-back to drill a low ball into the area that substitute Charlie Austin clipped just over the bar at the near post.
Despite a period of concentrated home team possession in stoppage time, Gosney’s clean sheet also remained unsullied – not least, thanks to the keeper catching a close-range header on the line in virtually the last action of the game.
AFC Totton takes on Gosport Borough on Wednesday at 7.45pm before a Saturday afternoon home match against Marlow at 3pm.
AFC Totton: R. Gosney, J. Oastler, C. Kennedy, S. Magri, B. Seymour, A. Tomasso, E. Taylor, C. Tanner, G. Franklin, T. Lee, R. McIntyre. Subs: M. Carter, S. Rendell, C. Austin, L. Hallett, L. Bennett.