Ringwood Town recorded their first win of 2022 after defeating fellow strugglers Totton & Eling 2-1 at Long Lane
Ringwood earned their first win since early November courtesy of goals from Joe Petty and Ryan Hamm as they beat Totton & Eling 2-1 at Long Lane.
Harrison Clarke was missing for Town which meant Josh Taylor who normally plays as a forward, was drafted into the centre of midfield, giving Richard Morse’s side an attack minded line up as they looked to build on last week’s 0-0 draw with East Cowes Vics.
The home side also welcomed back Ryan Osmam to the club, the defender left in the summer to take a break from football but returned at the weekend and slotted straight in at left-back.
The win lifts Ringwood into 15th place, leapfrogging AFC Fawley whilst Totton drop to 20th and now sit bottom of the Wessex Division One table after 12 consecutive defeats for the Southampton-based club.
Ringwood started the game brightly and carved out several early chances. Captain Ben Harris and top scorer Harry Smith tested Ollie Eyres in the Totton goal within the first 10 minutes before Hamm had a one-on-one well saved by the Totton keeper five minutes later.
With almost 20 minutes played Totton registered their first attempt on goal as Owen Roles took aim but his shot was comfortably saved by Ringwood keeper Joel Hirdle.
But it was the home side who took the lead as their early pressure paid off. Petty was on hand on the edge of the box to unleash a well hit strike which found the bottom left-hand corner putting the host 1-0 up after 25 minutes.
Totton were almost through on goal just before the break as Nehniah Burke looked to slip Rory Wood in, but Ringwood’s defence was able to cut the ball out and avoid any danger.
The away side started the second half in search of an early equaliser but Israel Matonga was flagged offside as he bore down on goal before Burke and Wood again combined only for Hirdle to deny the Totton striker as he spread himself to deny a goal.
Then on 55 minutes, Ringwood doubled their lead through Hamm. The Ringwood striker cut inside from the left and took his shot from just inside the box and the striker’s shot clipped the underside of the bar before crossing the line.
Ringwood seemed content with their two-goal lead and rarely troubled Eyres between the Totton sticks again with a shot from range with 15 minutes to go not really troubling the Totton keeper.
The Millers kept huffing and puffing as the game went on and did manage to pull one back with six minutes to go. Joe Steel was able to find the corner of the net after being left unmarked in the box but the goal would only serve as a consolation as Ringwood held firm to record their first win of 2022 and secure a vital three points.
After the game, Ringwood Town manager, Richard Morse was in a buoyant mood, he said: ”I’m really pleased for all of us at the club and pleased for the result.
“All the team worked really hard all over the park and it is good to see all the hard work over the last few weeks pay off like it did.”
The Ringwood boss came into the match with a game plan and looked to expose Totton’s defensive frailties early on but did admit he thought some early missed chances may come back to bite the team but the first goal settled the team down.
He added: “We started off brightly and tried to go for the jugular as we know when they go behind they can struggle so we really went for it.
“We had six good chances in the first 15 minutes and I started to think it might be one of those days again where we don't take our chances.
“Joe’s goals settled us down as we needed to win the game and we defended well and looked good going forward."
Morse continued: “I felt we managed the game well after taking the lead but they did have a little spell late on and I was a little bit disappointed we conceded."
Ringwood are now unbeaten in two and look ahead to the Southampton Senior Cup on Tuesday evening when they welcome Southampton Saturday League side Tendown Athletic to the Lane.