Totten v MERTHYR

4-1 now Traylor

4-1

4-1 Traylor 72mins

Saints alive...vapour Traylor is flying high too....Boz

5-1 up

Well this is turning into a nice day!

1-5 Corey 85mins

I demand a recount....Boz

FT 5-1 win

F/t 1-5 get in!!

Sounds like tonight the Bennettorial Army will have a great stag night in Southampton but the other stags have had a bad day...no Taunton them please....Boz

Thanks for all the updates.

Certainly showing championship form in these last two away games.

Five more goals needed for the 100.

Absolutely magnificent result and performance.

Great respect to Jenks & the whole squad for ending our bad run of form in style, 2 superb performances at Swindon & Totton, now let's show our class and win this League in style.

Onwards & Upwards to Bridgewater on Tuesday and lets beat that bunch of spoilers.

Also, best wishes to John Strand for a speedy recovery after his recent Op. Hope John you will feel well enough to be at the Park next Saturday for the Tiverton game..

That's right Imp ..if we score two against Bridgewater on Tuesday night...then we will only need a Traylor Hattrick to get a TiverTON?....Boz

Taunton lost 2 nil! 9 games to go we are 10 pts clear and superior goal difference. Half-dozen wins should be enough!
Get in!!

Well done lads. Another big win.

Amazing what a week can do in football. All doom and gloom this time last week.

So much for our blip. Brilliantly recovered by the boys! If we can keep this going it would be great to have a title clincher on the bank holiday Monday. Let's get the next few games out of the way first mind

Taunton have got Cinderford, Evesham & Larkhall away in 3 of their next 4 fixtures, so hopefully we'll have the title sown up before Easter.

great result back on course for the title

Recognise anyone..?! Decent report.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/football/afctotton/11841075.Totton_outclassed_by_league_leaders/?ref=mac

I'd recognise Father Christmas anywhere....trying to hide in amongst his fellow Saints....Boz

Harold Bishop second left.

What a difference a week makes!  The doom & gloom expressed on this Forum last Saturday has surely evaporated thanks to 2 away wins in a week and to cap it all with Taunton losing today we are now 10 points clear at the top.
 
We had to make enforced changes today thanks to Williams (G) being suspended and Leek & Williams (S) not travelling due to work commitments.  We retained our 4-4-2 formation and our team lined up as follows –
 
Bradley
Green, Rewbury, Wright & Davies
Harris, Bauza, & Patten
Traylor, McLaggon & Prosser
 
Subs – Summerfield, Jenkins, Morgan & Evans
 
On a surface that was bobbly and not really conducive to good football Merthyr kicked off and we immediately gave the ball to Totton and they broke forward towards our area and Rewbury challenged Maxwell who tried to give it wide and it came off Harris and away for a corner and Prosser challenged Gilbert and the ball was cleared up to the halfway line.  Totton had started well and again got to the edge of our area and Harris dug in and got the ball clear to the halfway line where it was headed back by Totton towards Edwards who got to our area but Rewbury got in a challenge who got it to Patten and then onto Green who got it clear for a Totton throw.  The ball was thrown back into the Totton half and Flooks sent a long ball which went all the way through to Bradley.  Totton were well on top in the early part of the game and Wright broke up another Totton attack and got the ball away well up to the halfway line and Hibberd put the ball out of play. 
 
All our clearances seemed to be falling to Totton players and one clearance went out of play for a Totton throw which led to them breaking down their right and Rewbury got in a challenge at the expense of a corner.  Gilbert took the corner low into the area and Bauza got it clear to Harris and onto McLaggon but a Totton defender got in and put it out for a throw.  Davies took it and found Prosser and after a period of head tennis Totton put the ball out of play roughly where the original throw was taken.  Davies took the throw towards McLaggon who tried to find Prosser but Flooks got in and cleared the danger.
 
We were slowly getting a foothold in the game and after a throw by Davies, Bauza picked the ball up and got it back to the thrower who returned to Bauza who got it high into the area towards Prosser but O’Flaherty in the Totton goal got his fist to the ball and punched it away.  Harris headed it back in but Traylor was challenged and the ball went away for a Merthyr throw which came to nothing.  Merthyr got their first shot on goal when Traylor collected the ball on the right and he got past White and got into the area and got it back to McLaggon but he put his shot over the bar.  Hibberd then broke into the Merthyr half and went right, turned and got it back to Mott and his cross was headed on by Maxwell but Bradley made an easy catch.  Totten again caused a moment of danger when McLaggon lost the ball on the halfway line and Lowes broke forward and got past Traylor and got it forward to Hoey who shot but Bradley made a simple save going down to his right.
 
Merthyr then broke down the right with Bauza heavily involved and gained a throw close to the corner flag.  Davies took the throw to Traylor who got it back to Davies.  Davies held it up and got it inside to Traylor who beat a Totton defender and got into the area and sent in a shot which was going somewhere close when the ball hit Prosser on the head and the ball rocketed into the back of the Totton net and Merthyr were 1 up after 15 minutes.
 
The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Totton who had started energetically putting in early pressure which rarely threatened the Merthyr goal and it was they who were now under pressure.  Bradley took a free kick high into the Totton half which Mott cleared under pressure from Prosser.  The ball broke to Harris and it went up in the air and was headed on by Green to McLaggon who got to the byline and he crossed it low towards Prosser whose shot was stopped on the line by Sherborne and away for a corner.  The corner was taken by Patten to Traylor and then back to Patten and his cross found Bauza on the edge of the area but his shot went wide of the Totton goal as Merthyr started to dominate. 
 
We were pushing forward at every opportunity and a long ball into the Totton half was headed on by Traylor to Prosser and he broke into the area and sent in a shot that was well saved by O’Flaherty but he could only manage to push it out to Traylor on the right and he went past Lowes and his cross was cleared away by Flooks but only as far as Harris and his shot was again cleared by an increasingly desperate Totton defence to the halfway line.
 
Totton then gained a few corners which were easily cleared by the Merthyr defence and from one clearance just after the half hour mark the ball found McLaggon close to the halfway line.  He sent a ball forward to Prosser who got to the edge of the area and he sent in a powerful near post shot which went past O’Flaherty and into the back of the net and Merthyr were now 2-0 ahead. 
 
Our midfield were starting to control the game and a forward ball from Bauza found Prosser who sent a ball through to Traylor on the left hand edge of the area and he approached the goal and shot but O’Flaherty made a good save and he got the ball clear. 
 
Then with about 5 minutes left to the interval Patten sent a long ball out right towards Traylor and he sent a low cross into the area and McLaggon pounced from about 6 yards and put the ball past O’Flaherty and Merthyr were 3 goals to the good.
 
We could have had a fourth when Totton lost the ball straight from the kick off and from the edge of our area Rewbury sent a long ball into the Totton half which was held up well by Prosser and he sent it left to Traylor who got towards the area and was faced by Gilbert.  Traylor cut inside and shot near post but this time O’Flaherty got his feet to the ball and got it away for a corner which came to nothing. 
 
We continued to attack gaining the odd corner but we couldn’t increase our lead and the referee blew the half time whistle with Merthyr winning 3-0.        
 
Totton kicked off at the start of the 2^nd half and the ball was played back into their half and Gilbert was robbed by Bauza who got it to Prosser who sent it back to Green who sent it up right to the edge of the Totton area and Traylor was robbed by Sherborne who got it up into the Merthyr half and Rewbury cleared.  Rewbury seemed to fall awkwardly and lay on the floor and Chubbs came on to give treatment but it was obvious that Rewbury wasn’t fit enough to continue and he was replaced by Summerfield who went to right back with Green moving inside.
 
We were still doing the bulk of the attacking and the likes of Harris & Bauza were passing the ball about well but we were yet to see our second half cutting edge and moves were breaking down in the final third.  Then Harris got the ball on the halfway line.  He sent it wide left towards McLaggon who got to the ball on the byline on the left hand edge of the Totton area.  He cut inside and got past Hibberd with ease and shot but O’Flaherty made a superb save with his right hand to keep the ball out and the ball was cleared up to the halfway line.  After a good passing move out of defence involving 5 Merthyr players, McLaggon received the ball just outside the Totton area where he was fouled by White and Merthyr had a free kick, 5 yards out from the 18 yard line to the left of the D.  McLaggon’s kick came out off the wall and Totten partially cleared to Bauza who tried to find Harris but a defender got a challenge in and it fell to Wright who tried to find Prosser but the ball rolled out of play for a Totton goal kick.  From the kick, Prosser picked the ball up on the halfway line and passed it forward to Traylor on the left who got to the byline and crossed the ball but it was intercepted by Hibberd and away for a corner.  Patten took the corner high into the area and Prosser got his head to it but he sent it wide of the keeper’s right hand post.
 
Totton then started to see a bit more of the ball and after a good bit of play down their left the ball came into Sherborne but Bradley made a good save down to his left from the resulting shot.  Merthyr hit back, when Wright cleared a Totton goal kick up to Prosser.  He turned back inside and tried to find McLaggon who got it back to Harris and then onto Bauza.  He pushed it left towards Davies who stepped inside and sent a far post ball across towards Traylor who headed it towards goal but the lino flagged for offside. 
 
Then Totton’s White found Blackburn in the Totton half.  He sent a lobbed pass towards Mouland who got into the Merthyr half and down the left when he was brought down by Summerfield who earned himself a yellow and Totton had a free kick.  Gilbert took the kick high towards the penalty spot, Bradley came out and missed it and White had the simple task of heading it into an unguarded net.  So, with about 20 minutes left Merthyr now led 3-1.  As the teams lined up for the kick off, Jenkins replaced McLaggon. 
 
Merthyr hit back and Jenkins gained a throw on the Merthyr left which was taken by Davies.  He found Jenkins who from the left edge of the area got it back to Bauza but his cross aimed at Prosser went through to the arms of O’Flaherty.  Totten then gained a free kick just inside the Merthyr half after a foul by Green but the kick, sent high towards the Merthyr area was well claimed by Bradley. 
 
Then with about 13 minutes left of the game Merthyr cleared a Totton corner and Bauza found Jenkins on the halfway line.  He failed to control it and Hibberd nipped in but Jenkins recovered and set the ball back to Davies who sent a long ball forward towards the left hand side of the Totton area and Traylor ran onto it, easily beat Blackburn and shot wide of O’Flaherty’s despairing right hand and into the back of the net and Merthyr were now 4-1 ahead.  Before Totton could restart the game, Traylor was replaced by Morgan.
 
The game was over now but after a clearance from the Totton defence reached the halfway line and obviously frustrated Gilbert flared up after a tackle from Prosser resulted in a Totton free kick and the referee had words with both.  Gilbert was then involved again when a Prosser knockdown went towards Morgan.  Gilbert went for the ball and was fouled by Morgan resulting in another Totton free kick.  A few minutes later, Bradley sent a long ball into the Totton half which Morgan went for and he was brought down by Gilbert for a Merthyr free kick and the referee had another chat with Gilbert.  After receiving treatment from Chubbs, Morgan was fit enough to continue and the free kick was taken and partially cleared by Totton and Bauza found Jenkins who slipped it to Morgan who set it back to Green.  Green sent the ball forward towards Morgan who was fouled by Gilbert and by this time the referee had had enough and showed Gilbert a yellow card. 
 
With only a few minutes left, Green had the ball on the halfway line and Mouland went through him and Merthyr gained a free kick.  Green sent it long into the Totton half and the ball took an awkward bounce from Totton’s point of view on the uneven surface and Jenkins latched onto it just inside the area and sent a delightful chip over the head of O’Flaherty into the back of the Totton net and the lead was stretched to 5-1.
 
From the kick off the ball came into the Merthyr half and Morgan slid in on a Totton player and was shown a yellow card.  No further action of any note took place and we saw the game out comfortably and we came away with a nice little 5-1 victory. 
 
Our emphatic win has certainly sent out a clear message to our rivals that we are back to our best and we have a 10 point lead with only 9 games left to play.  It was always going to be difficult for Taunton at North Leigh and put the point we gained at Eynsham Park into a different perspective.
 
We played well yesterday.  To be fair to Totton they did come at us from the off showing a great deal of energy but as soon as Prosser’s slightly fortuitous first goal went in there was only going to be one winner.  I felt our midfield, with Harris & Bauza prominent, passed the ball quicker and crisper and we got the ball out to the likes of Traylor, Jenkins & Morgan at a much faster pace than we have done for a few months allowing them a bit more time on the ball and cause more damage before being closed down.  Prosser & McLaggon are playing well together upfront and it’s great to see the Bearded One in amongst the goals at the business end of the season.  The defence looked solid and the one downside from yesterday’s game is the ankle injury to Rewbury which he was getting assessed yesterday evening and I hope it doesn’t keep him out for too long. 
 
Onwards and Upwards to Bridgwater on Tuesday.  Rewbs will probably not be fit, Matthew’s away but the Leekster will be back and hopefully we can avenge our defeat of a few weeks ago.  Our support yesterday was superb and hopefully we'll have a similar turnout on Tuesday.

Great report Antique Patch, it sounded like we were on top for most of the game against a fair to middle range team. Good to read about the Prossiah's return to grace and Mattie Harris proving his worth to the team once more......who was man of the match for the Town?.....Boz