Green hat-trick gives 10-man AFC Totton the spoils
Southern League 1: AFC Totton 5-3 Fleet Town
DESPITE going down to ten men in the 45th minute AFC Totton claimed all three Southern League 1 points against Fleetwood Town, winning 5-2 at the Testwood Stadium.
Stags started the match like a runaway train and were a goal up within seven minutes when Craig Feeney shrugged off a challenge and found captain Jack Masterton on the edge of the area who then curled one over the keeper and into the side netting.
The blitz continued and Stags could have buried three separate chances in the next three minutes. The second came after Jason Brookes clipped a cross to the far post where Stuart Green was waiting to expertly volley to make it 2-0 ten minutes in.
Fleet started to have chances and the lively Bradley Wilson finished well after cutting in from the right wing and blasting it under Stags’ goalie Matt Harris.
The visitors weren’t allowed to enjoy the goal for long however as moments later Brookes played in Green who claimed his second of the match sliding the ball past the keeper to restore the two goal lead.
The Fleet cause received a glimmer of hope when Craig Feeney received his marching orders in the 45 minute. In response Stags’ management duo Adam Wilde and Louis Langdown replaced Jason Brookes with Ollie Bradley.
The game looked to be slipping from Totton when a mishit clearance bobbled to Sam Williams who put his foot through the ball for Fleet’s second of the match in the 50th minute.
Eleven minutes later Totton’s Alex Haynes found winger Green who ran into the space behind at pace before cutting the ball back superbly for Bradley to tuck home.
Stags put the game to bed in the 73rd minute when Masterton clipped the ball to Callum Chugg who headed back across goal for Green to acrobatically head home to claim his hat-trick.
With a minute of injury time remaining, Fleet claimed a consolation goal when their number 9 caught Stags in possession in their own half before releasing Wilson for his second.
AFC Totton: M. Harris, C. York, C. Chugg, J. Smith, E. Perrett, J. Masterton, S. Green, A. Haynes, C. Feeney, J. Bennett, J. Brookes (O. Bradley).
