
AFC Totton will be hoping to go one better than last season's playoff final heartache by securing promotion to the National League South for the first time in their history.
Currently sat eight points off table toppers Merthyr Town despite having two games in hand over the Welsh outfit, the Stags will need to hit top form to get that automatic promotion slot.
After rattling off seven consecutive wins after their home point against Gloucester in October, Totton have experienced a trickier patch in recent weeks having won just two of their last six games with costly draws against lowly Poole Town and Frome Town damaging the chances to put pressure on Merthyr Town.
Totton promotion charge has been spearheaded by a strong defence having conceded just 22 goals in their 25 matches so far this season, six less than Merthyr Town with an opposition side having scored more than one goal against the Hampshire based side just four times in the league.
Despite having two games in hand over their title challengers, Totton have not been as potent in front of goal as Merthyr, having scored 21 less goals in the league although they are the second highest scorers in the Southern Premier Division with 54.
Totton backed by having one of the highest budgets in the divison have a number of high quality, well known players at their disposal such as lower league veteran Scott Rendell, defensive marshal Sam Magri and the talented Ethan Taylor.
Their most well known player is former Premier League striker Charlie Austin who scored 12 times in League Two last season for Swindon Town before dropping back to the Non League where for Totton he has netted half a dozen times in the league up front alongside top scorer Tony Lee who has netted 14 times so far for the hosts, having bagged a combined 30 for Totton and Poole Town in 2023/24.
The famous faces do not stop there with the sides director football being another ex Premier League attacker in former Southampton and Sheffield United star James Beattie with Totton's boss Jimmy Ball aiming to get a second promotion under his belt after securing promotion from Southern League Division One South in 20223/23
Having picked up 34 points and unbeaten at the Snows Stadium, the hosts wull be looking to improve on their away form to claw back the gap to the top of the table, with six wins from 11 matches so far this season, alongside three draws and two losses both of those being topsy turvy 3-2 thrillers at playoff hopefuls Dorchester Town and Walton and Hersham.
Totton have dropped just three points from winning positions at half time in the league, as Totton have won 13 out of 14 games they have led at the interval, four wins higher than the next best sides which is Merthyr and Gloucester.
On the contrary in the 11 games that they have not been leading they have won just three times, with two of those from drawing positions, and another when they've been losing at the break highlighting the importance of Totton being able to establish a lead, holding on with their incredible defensive record.
In the reverse fixture there was nothing to seperate the two sides after Brandon Smalley gave the Tigers a half time leader, before Taylor levelled the scores in an incredibly high quality match at the Snows Stadium with two of the strongest sides in the divison slugging it out.
Dan Leadbitter was sent off for two bookable offences at the end of the game but City held firm to stop the hosts from all three points for just the second time at home in the league.
Having finished the previous season in 2nd and picking up points at a rate of 1.9 points per game, Totton's form has improved with 55 points from 25 so far at a rate of 2.2ppg but the incredible season from Merthyr has blown all statistics out the water so far and the Stags will be hoping to use the clash between second and third as a springboard to chase down the top spot.
With the club heralding EFL ambitions and plans to build a gym and a 3G pitch, another near miss would stop Totton in their tracks, but with such lofty intentions it will be a matter of when rather than if they can climb out the Southern Premier Divison.
AFC Totton has had quite the journey this season, showing some real resilience and talent despite the challenges. Their strong defense and high-quality players like Charlie Austin and Tony Lee are certainly a great foundation for a promotion push. With their eyes on the top spot, it’ll be interesting to see if they can break through and make that historic leap into the National League South. It's a lot like the excitement of a thrilling game at https://pragmaticplay-game.com/ never know what will happen next, but the potential for greatness is always there! Good luck to Totton on their journey!