TWO goals in four second-half minutes unpicked AFC Totton’s perfect start to 2015.

After dominating the first 45 minutes at Larkhall Athletic, the Stags were floored by Joe Tumelty’s quickfire double in a 2-0 Southern One South & West defeat.

Had Totton capitalised on their first-half chances it would have been a different story, but Stuart Mott glanced a header against the upright and Zac Mouland, Mike Gosney and Nathaniel Sherborne were all denied by Larks ’keeper Alex Shaftoe.

Larkhall, though, upped the tempo after the break and sounded out a warning shot when Brad Norris rose to meet a right-wing corner and crashed a header against the Totton bar.

Having survived that scare, the visitors fell behind on 56 minutes when they failed to clear the ball which bounced kindly for Tumelty to fire home from just inside the area.

Three minutes later a misunderstanding between Mott and ’keeper Steve Mowthorpe cost the Stags dear as Tumelty ran between the pair for a simple tap-in.

Totton came desperately close to replying late on when Sherborne powered into the area, evaded a challenge and unleashed a shot which clipped the crossbar on its way over.

“We were never going to give up the ghost, but we just couldn’t get the goal we needed,” said Totton boss Steve Riley.

“Larkhall are a strong, physical side who are solid defensively and scoring that first goal gave them something to hold onto.

“It was a fortunate goal. There was a bit of ping-pong, we didn’t deal with the situation and as the ball’s bounced on the edge of the box it’s fallen to their player who’s nicked it past Steve Mowthorpe.

“The second came from a ball over the top which we should have done better with. Mowy or Stuart Mott should have dealt with it, but the lad’s got in between and had a simple tap-in.

“Once they’d got that second goal, the wind was in Larkhall’s sails.

“We were well on top first half but didn’t capitalise on our chances.

“Larkhall are a really well organised team and they were going to be difficult to break down if they went ahead.

“We looked a mature side in the first half and those five wins gave us confidence, but we’ve got to make sure that when we get into those situations defensively we deal with them better.

“I was disappointed with the second goal, but it happens. Players are human beings and you have to deal with it and make sure you get it right next time.

“The reality is that we’ve won five out of six games, but today we’ve been beaten by a strong Larkhall side who are good at what they do.”

The result keeps Totton tenth, just three points outside the play-off zone. They hit the road again this Saturday to face seventh-placed Didcot.