MATT Renouf overcame an unfortunate start to his AFC Totton debut to walk away with the man-of-the-match honours.
The former Sholing goalkeeper, who switched camps to the Stags during the summer, was called in to cover for Steve Mowthorpe’s one-match ban.
He didn’t get off on the best of footings as a poor throw-out handed visiting Bridgwater Town a 19th-minute lead at the Testwood Stadium.
But all was forgiven when he redeemed himself with a vital penalty save, paving the way for Totton’s 1-1 draw in the Southern One South & West.
“Matt’s come in and done well to get man-of-the-match on his debut,” said Totton boss Steve Riley.
“After quite an even start he threw the ball out to Liam Hibberd through a crowd of players and their left winger (Kyle Tooze) has nipped in, got the ball and hit a brilliant strike into the top corner.
“Matt was disappointed but he’s made up for it by saving a penalty.”
The signs looked ominous for Totton when, on 38 minutes, Tooze went tumbling over Stags midfielder Liam Gilbert, but Renouf proved more than a match for Joe Bushin from the spot.
Riley felt justice had been done, pointing out: “Liam was actually pushed in the back and the lad’s tripped over him, but Liam’s been shown a yellow card.”
Totton’s boss had just scribbled the words “need more spark” in his notepad when Zac Mouland provided it with a 39th-minute equaliser.
This time it was the Stags’ turn to punish a mistake with a smart interception – Mouland pouncing on Jack Allward’s headed back pass and sweetly lobbing goalkeeper Ben John.
Sadly, though, the spark petered out in a low-key second half with Riley admitting: “Both teams lacked quality.
“Their ’keeper made a decent save from Nathaniel Sherborne after good link-up play with Craig Feeney and Matt Renouf did really well again to block a shot with his legs after Bridgwater had intercepted a back pass.
“We didn’t play well, but we’ve come out of it with a point. I said after the midweek game at Bashley (a 4-0 win) that we needed to go on an unbeaten run and we’re doing that. We’ve taken four points out of six and we’re sixth in the league with 22 points after 13 games. We’d have taken that at the start of the season.”
Renouf is likely to keep his place in goal for tomorrow’s Red Insure Cup trip to Fleet Town. “Matt needs games, so he’ll probably play,” said Riley. “He did great on Saturday, commanding his area and coming out for crosses and corners. It adds competition and will bring the best out of him and Steve Mowthorpe.”
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