Blake hopes fightback at Hastings can kick-start Bognor Regis Town’s campaign

A Tommy-Lee Higgs penalty and a late Callum Barlow strike meant that the points were shared at the Pilot Field, giving the visitors their first point of the campaign after losing the opening two matches at Cheshunt and at home to Lewes.

Blake was able to welcome back influential central defender Craig Robson from injury but was without crocked Tommy Block and Dan Gifford. And Robson earned fulsome praise from the manager for his star man performance.

The match in pictures by Lyn Phillips and Trevor Staff.

After a goalless first half in which the Rocks enjoyed some good possession and looked comfortable against the side sitting at the top of the table, things took a turn for the worse for Blake's men after the break.

Davide Rodari cashed in on a poor clearance from Rocks keeper Joe Besant to give the hosts a 1-0 lead on 48 minutes and he was on hand to double the lead with 15 minutes to go. He smashed home from close range to score a goal that the home fans surely believed had sealed the deal.

But the Rocks showed tremendous spirit to get back in the game and got their rewards when Jasper Mather was upended in the box and Higgs converted the penalty.

Sub Barlow, on for Lucas Pattenden after 20 minutes, popped up to tuck the ball away and bring the visitors level on 83 minutes and Bognor held on to earn a point.

Blake said he thought his side could have easily won the game and praised the resilience of his players who displayed fantastic spirit to stage a courageous fightback.

He added: "It's a relief to get something from the game and we really dug in and showed a lot of character and a lot of bravery. Any neutral would say we deserved something from the game and actually might have won.

"That point might be a little kick-start we need, a little spark of belief because we have got good players and when we play as you could see against Hastings, they couldn't handle us and we're disappointed that we haven't got the three points. But that said we are delighted to get a point."

Blake reserved special praise for the returning Robson, who marshalled the backline in an imperious manner for the 90 minutes. He added: “Robbo comes back in and gets the man-of-the-match award and it's no coincidence because he is pure quality, absolutely class and he was a big loss for us when he was out injured and when he comes back in we are a much better team, it’s as simple as that."

Bognor Regis Town: 1 Joe Besant, 2 Harvey Whyte (Tyler Edmondson 72'), 3 Hayden Gale (Rocco Gamblin 72), 4 Calvin Davies,5 Spencer Spurway, 6 Craig Robson, Lucas Pattenden (Callum Barlow 20), Matt Burgess, 9 Jasper Mather, Tommy-Lee Higgs (Mason Vince 90), Doug Tuck. Subs: 12 Callum Barlow, 14 Rocco Gamblin, 15 Tyler Edmondson, 16 Mason Vince, 17 Ryan Hall.