Eastleigh Ruin The Stags' Party
Eastleigh won the Hampshire Cup after a 2-0 victory over the
holders AFC Totton at St Mary’s, a game which made history due to the first
ever use of goal-line technology.
The Stags were hoping to drown their sorrows after narrowly
missing out on promotion, as they lost in the play-off final to Oxford City
just a week earlier. It was always going to be a tough task though, considering
Totton manager, Stuart Ritchie, had left the club to join Havant and Waterlooville
prior to the Cup final.
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| Both teams warming-up before kick off |
The Spitfires were also without their manager, Ian Baird,
who committed to a trip to Hong Kong after his side were knocked out in round
two of the competition, Eastleigh were reinstated though as their opposition
fielded an ineligible player.
The Spitfires, who were being managed by assistant manager
Shaun Wilkinson, took the lead just thirteen minutes in; an exquisite ball from
Daryl McMahon allowed Mitchell Nelson in behind the back four, who sent the
ball towards the far post, Chris Flood was in the right place at the right time
to stick it into the net.
McMahon was involved in the action again instantly, his
thunderous free kick was too powerful for Stags’ keeper Grant Porter, who could
only parry the ball straight to the head of Gary Elphick, but the centre-back
put his header over from just a yard out.
With Eastleigh dominating, it was down to Totton to take
advantage on the counter attack. Half an hour played, the Stags broke from a
corner as Jonathan Davies carried the ball forward and eventually sent
Nathaniel Sherborne through on goal. The striker could only put the ball wide
though, despite having acres of space and time.
Half Time Eastleigh 1-0 AFC Totton
As the second half began, the fans were reminded that these
two sides are local rivals, Totton’s Ryan Hill and Eastleigh’s Michael Green
came together after a tackle which resulted in both players receiving a yellow
card for raising their hands, although some may have felt a red card was
necessary.
The Stags seemed lifted and their aggression went into the
style of football they were playing, a string of superb moves saw the team in
yellow dominate the early stages of the second half.
Totton were producing the chances on goal but a number of
clear cut opportunities were being wasted, James Couttes was the most recent
player to miss from five yards.
Gareth Barfoot remained alert, as he kept Eastleigh in front
with a fantastic double save as Jonathan Davies hit two identical shots within
seconds from a narrow angle.
The Blue Square South outfit doubled their lead against the
run of play, Spitfires’ Chris Flood chested the ball down into his path and
took it wide on the left flank, then crossed the ball far post which looked to
be heading into the net, but Mitchell Nelson arrived on time to make sure the
goal-line technology wouldn’t be needed.
The second goal appeared to have drowned the life out of
Totton, who couldn’t find a way back into the game after Eastleigh’s second.
‘So near, yet so far’ would sum up the Stags’ season in a
nutshell, as they fell two games short of promotion and a Cup win in the space
of a few days, but the celebrations went Eastleigh’s way at St Mary’s stadium
in front of a bumper crowd of 2,303.
Full Time: Eastleigh 2-0 AFC Totton
"It feels good coming off the back of the game at Maidenhead, I had a good game. I thought to myself, try and take it into the next game, so i thought why not enjoy myself?"
Written by Josh Harris.
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