AFC Totton and Bashley on track as Lymington Town, Blackfield & Langley, Hythe & Dibden and Sway FC play in the cup

IT was a big night for AFC Totton and Bashley, who kept their respective title challenge and promotion hunt on track with positive results.

Four other local sides were also in action, with Lymington Town, Hythe & Dibden, Sway FC, and Blackfield & Langley all in the Southampton Senior Cup.

AFC Totton kept pace with league leaders Gloucester City, beating Taunton Town 5-2 to keep themselves in second place.

The Stags took an early lead when Tony Lee poked home after an excellent cross from Dec Rose with just 15 minutes played.

After the break, AFC Totton looked unstoppable. Five minutes into the half, Tom Blair floated a corner out to Ethan Taylor, whose sublime volley flew into the net, leaving the keeper with no chance.

Taylor added another goal minutes later before Sam Magri powered a header in at the back post to make it 4-0.

The visitors pulled one back after burying a rebound when Josh Gould made the initial save, but AFC Totton got the final word when Adam Tomasso popped a ball over the top for Ash Clarke to run onto. The attacker still had much to do, holding off his man and finishing superbly.

Bashley battled back from two goals down to rescue a point after Conor Whiteley struck in the 84th minute against Westbury United.

Bashley started the game terribly, with Westbury looking like they could score with every attack.

With 27 minutes played, they finally did just that. The Bashley defence did well to scramble the ball away at a corner, but it only went as far as Daniel Restorick. His shot benefited from a healthy deflection, and it flew home before Joe Beardwell added a second in the 39th minute.

Bashley still looked second-best as the match reached the hour-mark, but a foul on Conor Whiteley on the edge of the 18-yard box turned the game on its head. Luke Delaney took responsibility, flashing the free-kick past the helpless keeper.

From then on, Bashley looked like the only side who could score. Westbury survived multiple scares before Whiteley stunned the watching crowd after firing home from the tightest of angles to level.

Lymington Town have been in decent form lately – two wins, one draw and a loss in their last four – but they were second-best to Hamble Club.

Despite being separated by 32 league places, Lymington held their own for periods, but they never managed to find the back of the net.

Hamble took the lead after a moment of magic from Will Gange, who sat the defender down with a faked shot before firing into the top corner after 18 minutes.

James Johnson nodded home another before Clayd Roach fired home after a cutback with 42 minutes played.

The suffering was not over, and Hamble took a four-goal lead into the break when Braydon Douglas lobbed the Lymington Town keeper.

Lymington Town put everything on the line in the second half and never gave up till the final whistle.

Blackfield & Langley were the night’s biggest winners, running out 6-0 against Braishfield.

Maciej Marcinkowski led the way with a hat-trick, while Dylan Roocroft, Charlie Hitchings, and Harry Edmondson chipped in with a goal apiece.

Finally, Hythe & Dibden took on New Forest side Sway FC, who did themselves proud with a battling effort against a superior opponent.

Hythe plays two divisions higher, with the sides separated by a colossal 41 places, but Sway fought for every ball and covered every inch of grass.

The match was finely poised at 2-1 at half-time, but Hythe eased through to the next round after extending their lead with another strike.