Browsing the Sport4Salisbury website on Sunday I discovered that AFC Totton had arranged a friendly at Bemerton Heath Harlequins ahead of their big FA Cup match against Bristol Rovers next weekend. Seemed like a good excuse to watch some football so after preparing for a cold night on the terraces I stepped out of the house to discover it was warm and wet! The rain was quite heavy when I arrived at the ground and I was grateful for cover in the darkened ground. I was charged £2 for admission to go towards the cost of the officials which was a bargain.
The match was due to kick off at 7.30 but the teams didn't enter the pitch on time and kick off was a couple of minutes later than scheduled. The game started at a great pace, both teams having an attack in the first minute. I recognised a few of the AFC Totton team as first teamers, noticeably Jon Davies who started his career at Salisbury and Grant Porter who was with Bemerton a couple of seasons ago. Bemerton's keeper had to be careful when sliding into a tackle outside the area in the wet conditions, conceding a corner in the process. The first was cleared, the second a few moments later was wasted when Davies slipped when taking the kick and limped away having tackled himself. The visitors came close again with another corner on 5 minutes, the ball bouncing down and wide from a header.
Despite the near constant pressure on the Bemerton goal, the wet conditions seemed to favour the home team as Totton didn't produce the ball control necessary to break down the defence. When they did, shots were either hit wide or directly at the keeper to make some straightforward saves. Bemerton didn't have a clear chance until the 35th minute when Sanger broke through but his shot was deflected over the bar for a corner. The next chance fell to Young a couple of minutes later after he flew down the left wing from a Sanger flick on and put a shot past the keeper but narrowly wide of the far post. It looked like the half would finish goalless but in the 43rd minute a Totton player went down in the box near the goaline and the referee awarded a penalty kick. The ball was hit hard past the Bemerton keeper to give Totton the lead their earlier play had deserved. There was still time for a nasty challenge on a Bemerton defender which drew blood and he had to limp off as the referee blew for half time. If this had been a competitive league or cup game then a card probably would have been shown but the referee was content to talk to the player instead and exercise a bit of common sense.
After 55 minutes both teams made changes to their strikeforces with both Totton strikers being replaced and Slade coming off for Bemerton. The change seemed to work to Bemerton's advantage. They won a corner a couple of minutes later when a defender misjudged a long ball and put it out of play. The ball was crossed into the centre with pace and while a defender blocked Mankin from getting a header, the deflection fell to Gallacher who controlled the ball and hit a shot past Porter. It took Bemerton a minute to win a corner, putting pressure on 3 different defenders to keep the ball in the Totton box before it went out. The corner was sliced and span towards the near post where it bounced off a defender's shin and out. He made no attempt to clear the ball, which allowed Mankin to smash the ball into the top of the net. An unlikely lead!
The Totton players weren't happy to be behind and it required a world class save to keep the score at 2.1 in the 69th minute. The ball was whipped into the box from the right and a Totton striker curved a first time shot towards the post at close range. The Bemerton keeper dived low and his reflexes were quick enough for him to get a hand to the ball and put it wide for a corner. Things got worse from Totton in the 75th minute as Bemerton carved open their defence with some quick passing. Sanger burst forward into the box and crossed it low for Eves to slam the ball past Porter. Despite further pressure from the visitors, the home defence kept the ball out of the net to give Bemerton a good win against a strong side.
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