AFC TOTTON will encounter a familiar face in the opposition goal when they continue their pre-season build-up at Winchester City tonight (7.30pm).

Young home-grown Stags ’keeper Ross Casey – understudy to Gareth Barfoot last season – has left the Testwood Stadium and signed Sydenhams Premier forms for Graham Kemp’s new-look Winchester side, writes Wendy Gee.

With Barfoot having joined Gosport Borough, goalkeeping coach Steve Hollick donned the Totton No1 shirt for Saturday’s home friendly against Tommy Widdrington's  Eastbourne Borough which the Conference South side won 3-0 in front of a 185 crowd. But Hollick dislocated a finger late in the first half and had to be replaced by Ali Pugi, one of several Stags trialists.

“If Ross hadn’t gone to Winchester, he’d be playing for us tonight,” said Totton boss Steve Riley.

“But I think he wants to be a number one and he’s gone to Winchester to be their first-team keeper and good luck to him. The door’s always open for him at Totton. He stayed patient last season when he was number two to Gareth and it should be interesting playing against him tonight. I’m hoping to get a couple of trailists in for us.”

Striker Nathaniel Sherborne was unavailable for the Eastbourne game, leaving right-back Ryan Hill and young wideman Luke Roberts as the only members of last year’s first-team squad to feature.

Totton have confirmed the signings of former Andover midfielder/full-back Chris Onoufriou, who ended last season with Lymington Town, and Michael Bada, an ex-Guildford City player. Fawley AFC midfielder Lewis Ross has also joined the Stags and Saturday’s squad included ex-Romsey frontman Ryan Long and Dean Faithfull, who grabbed a late leveller for Stags in a 2-2 friendly draw with Saints in 2009.

Home-grown youngsters Nathan Hurst, Ellis White, Sam House and Taylor Edwards are also pushing for places in Riley’s rebuilt side. The step into the Southern Premier Division will be a tough one, but Riley said: “They’ve all got good attitudes and maybe they can emulate what Luke Roberts did last season.”

Winchester have won all four friendlies to date against US Portsmouth, Stockbridge, the 2004 FA Vase winner and East Cowes Vics. But manager Kemp said: “I’m not reading too much into it. I’ve not been overly impressed with all the performances. The side’s still gelling and it shows at times that we’ve got 16 or 17 lads who’ve never played together before.

“It’s a new scenario for me and Dave (director of football Dave Malone) to literally be starting from scratch. He knows half the squad and I know the other half and we’re trying to build it from that. It’s very much a work in progress, but we’ll know a bit more after tonight and Fleet Town (home) on Saturday. ”

Winchester will be without former Totton skipper Jamie Austen (bad back). Lloyd Webber has a tight calf but should be okay to play.