IT was only fitting that the name Mike Gosney should be etched on the scoresheet as AFC Totton saw off Bridgwater Town 2-0 at the Testwood Stadium yesterday.

The skilful wideman now stands on the threshold of making outright club history after equalling Mark Osman’s all-time record of 386 appearances in Totton blue.

Having joined the Stags as a 16-year-old from Winchester City Reserves in 2005, Gosney has been entwined with all the club's best moments of the last decade.

He is the last remaining member of Totton's FA Vase final side of 2007 and was an integral member of the 2010/11 Southern One South & West title-winning squad.

Gosney’s talent earned him trials with the likes of Millwall, Wycombe Wanderers and Reading and, after the briefest of stints with Eastleigh, he climbed the pyramid with Gosport Borough having scored more than 150 goals in 300-plus Stags appearances.

But Totton always held a special place in Gosney’s heart and, after a spell back on loan during the 2014/15 season, the fans’ favourite returned on a permanent basis last summer.

It took until the 42nd minute yesterday for the 27-year-old to stamp his mark of quality on the game.

Set up by Totton’s other gifted wideman, Nick Watts, Gosney stunned Bridgwater with a 25-yard, left-foot belter which found the bottom corner of Jake Viney’s net before the 'keeper could even react.

The Somerset visitors have made significant strides since their wobbly start to the season which included a 7-2 opening-day hiding at Winchester City and a 5-0 home thrashing by Totton in mid-September.

And Stags’ head coach Lee Burch admitted that the timing of Gosney’s opener had come as a bit of a relief.

“We were conscious of how much Bridgwater had massively improved and we got out of jail a bit scoring when we did, so close to half-time,” he said.

“We knew we had a few more gears to go up but, saying that, I don’t think Mowy (Totton goalkeeper Steve Mowthorpe) had had many big saves to make. We’d worked hard on the defensive stuff in training and keeping a clean sheet today was a big plus.”

Just as in the first half, the game remained finely balanced until the very last knockings after the break.

With just seconds of normal time remaining, ex-Sholing wideman Watts played a neat one-two with industrious midfielder Neil Williams and applied a cool finish to make the points safe.

New strike signing Mark Gamble made his entrance as a 57th-minute substitute for the hard-working Dylan Knight, who had been unlucky not to score.

Gamble is still feeling "fragile" after long-term injury, but his link-up play with Watts, Nathaniel Sherborne and Gosney already shows signs of promise.

The former Wimborne marksman said: “I fed on scraps at Wimborne, never knowing when the next cross was coming in. But here you know that as soon as these players get half a yard, they'll whip the ball into the box.

“Lads like Mike Gosney and Nick Watts have been a constant threat when I’ve played against them for Bashley and Wimborne.

“The quality's better at Totton, you can tell some of them have played higher. I think we’ll make a push next year.”

The Stags, 11th in the South & West after winning five of their last seven league outings, host Evesham United next Saturday.

AFC Totton: Steve Mowthorpe, Liam Hibberd, Ian Oliver, Neil Williams (Jake Burgess, 90), James Roden, Patrick Wilson, Nick Watts, Jack Alexander, Dylan Knight (Mark Gamble, 57), Nathaniel Sherborne (Mark Lilley, 87), Mike Gosney. Subs (not used) Marc Diaper, Kyle Joryeff.

Referee: Marcus Carmichael.

Attendance: 290.