AFC TOTTON chairman Andy Straker voiced his support for caretaker boss Steve Hollick after yesterday’s 2-1 defeat at Fleet Town.

The Stags had picked up their first point under Hollick’s interim charge with a 1-1 home draw against North Leigh on Saturday.

But, faced with a Fleet side who needed victory to make certain of Southern One South & West survival, they came up just short at Calthorpe Park as the hosts edged victory courtesy of an injury-time penalty.

Fleet, player/managed by former Totton midfielder Craig Davis, had struck early when a clearance went straight to Pat Cox who calmly carried the ball towards the penalty spot before tucking it away.

Totton made a strong start to the second half and their pressure paid off when top scorer Craig Feeney bagged a 52nd-minute leveller.

But the balance of power then shifted Fleet’s way and twice the Stags goal lived a charmed life with both Dan Rousell and Chris Hall hitting the crossbar.

As the final whistle beckoned it looked as if honours would end even. But Fleet were awarded a penalty when Ben White was adjudged to have been brought down and Davis – who famously scored a hat-trick of spot kicks for Totton against Fleet in the 2008/09 FA Cup – worked his usual magic from 12 yards to complete back-to-back Easter wins for the north Hampshire club.

Totton chairman Andy Straker admitted: “We weren’t at our best today.

“Fleet were playing off the back of a good win on Saturday and knew another win today would make sure they were free of relegation.

“We started the second half brightly, but seemed to take a step back again. We might have got a draw, but it was probably a fair result because Fleet hit the bar twice. Saying that, I don’t think we’d have got the penalty that was awarded to them at the end.”

Goalkeeping coach Hollick has picked up just one of nine points since taking over from Steve Riley, but results were already in freefall and Straker said: “You can’t overturn where we are in just two weeks with a new manager.

“Steve (Hollick) has done a great job. He is working really hard, training is spot on and the players understand where we’re trying to go.

“What we need now is to build the players’ confidence. We’ve got to get behind them and support them for the three games we’ve got left.”