AFC TOTTON got their first Southern One South & West points on the board with a 3-2 win at North Leigh on Saturday.

But pleased as manager Steve Hollick was with the bulk of the performance, he could have done without breaking out in a hot mid-August sweat in the closing stages.

The game should have been done and dusted for the Stags when Dave Allen bagged his second of the match to make it 3-0 to the visitors with 78 minutes gone.

But Totton then put Hollick through hell as North Leigh's ex-Saint Callum McNish and Roger James scored at the death to make the outcome far closer than necessary.

“We were in total control, but then the last few minutes were a bit twitchy,” admitted Hollick.

“North Leigh is a difficult place to come, but we were really good going up the slope in the first half and led by a Dave Allen penalty.”

Pat Wilson doubled the Stags’ lead five minutes into the second half, teed up by a corner from the excellent Jake Burgess, before Allen seemed to have wrapped up a comfortable win.

“Dave and Jake also hit the bar, so we could have been five up,” said Hollick.

“But then we’ve switched off for the last few minutes and that’s taken the gloss off it a bit.

“Even so, it was a good three points away from home, especially as we had no Nick Watts, Mike Gosney, Nathaniel Sherborne, Tony Rolls, Mark Gamble or Pele. We’ve got all these guys to come back and when everyone’s fit we’ll be in a really good place.”

Hollick reserved special praise for two debutants, midfielder Alex Haynes and centre-back Sam Roberts, who were both outstanding. “Neither of them put a foot wrong,” he said. “Jake Burgess was awesome, too. He and Neil Williams ran their socks off in the middle of the park.”

Totton are targeting their first home win against Larkhall Athletic on Tuesday (7.45pm)

*STEVE Claridge’s Salisbury suffered a second successive away defeat in the Southern One South & West.

Having lost 4-2 at Winchester City on Wednesday, the newly-promoted Sydenhams Premier champions were beaten again, 3-1 at Taunton Town.

It was a former Salisbury player, striker Matt Wright, who plunged them into arrears before on-loan Sutton United forward Tommy Wright headed in his third goal in three league matches to level on 55 minutes from Lewis Benson’s corner.

But another Whites old boy, Adam Kelly, restored the Peacocks’ lead 12 minutes later and, with Salisbury pressing for an equaliser, Craig Veal bagged Taunton’s breakaway third deep into added time.