AFC TOTTON produced a performance packed with heart and desire to register a long overdue first win of the season at home to Yate Town today.

There were some nail-biting moments late on after Yate had halved the deficit following goals by Craig Feeney and Nathaniel Sherborne, but the Stags held on for a richly deserved 2-1 Southern One South & West victory.

Totton welcomed back striker Feeney from injury, but fellow attackers Nick Watts and Mike Gosney were still missing.

The Stags showed plenty of early promise, but it was home 'keeper Steve Mowthorpe who was required to make the first big save on seven minutes, springing to his left to push away Kane Ingram’s bending strike.

Totton were knocking the ball around confidently and, that one Ingram chance aside, showed no signs of continuing their costly habit of conceding early goals.

An otherwise amicable contest boiled over in the 20th minute when, following a high cross into the Totton area, mass pushing and shoving broke out, seemingly sparked by an alleged stamp on Stags defender Luke Dempsey.

Four players were booked in the aftermath – Mowthorpe and Dempsey for Totton and Jamie Laird and Ingram for Yate.

The Stags kept battling but, although Feeney and Sherborne linked up promisingly, Yate keeper Martin Horsell didn’t have a save to make until the 45th minute when he got two strong hands on Sherborne’s 20-yard strike.

The home side’s hard work was finally rewarded two minutes into the second-half when Neil Williams played in FEENEY to steer the ball across the keeper into the far bottom corner for his first goal of the season.

The Stags came close to doubling their advantage when Sherborne’s tenacity forced a corner and Williams planted a gift header over from Jake Burgess’s delivery.

The visitors continued to push, clattering the bar through sub Caman Harvey at one point, and the Stags badly needed a second goal to relieve the pressure.

It arrived on 71minutes via a crisp SHERBORNE finish following good work by Mark Lilley and Feeney on the right.

With seven minutes remaining, the visitors pulled one back when Ingram ran unchallenged along the byline and crossed for JACKSON to stab over the line.

Mowthorpe made one last important save to deny Harvey and then dealt with a late corner before, to the immense relief of everyone in Totton blue, referee Craig Robson blew the final whistle.