Bognor Regis Town boss rues big chances as Herne Bay hit back with late, late goals

The Bognor boss watched on in disbelief as two last-gasp goals gave the hosts an unexpected win to keep alive their hopes of pulling clear of the drop zone. The unlikely triumph left the Rocks feeling flat and desperately trying to work out how they didn’t come away from this game in Kent with the three points they arguably deserved.

Sam De St Croix handed the visitors the lead after just three minutes of the game when his miss-hit shot from inside the box crept beyond home keeper Harry Brooks.

The goal and subsequent possession and creation of chances gave supporters the belief that Blake’s charges would go on to win the affair but it wasn’t to be the case, largely down to a handful of missed chances. Alfie Bridgman was lively as he ran at pace at the Bay rear guard for most of the opening half and in truth he could have had at least a couple of goals but for good saves. And those missed opportunities were ultimately to prove very costly indeed.

The Rocks went in at half-time 1-0 up and no-one present could have thought that the visitors wouldn’t add to their tally once the second half had commenced. But, crucially, Bognor were robbed of the influential services of Craig Robson on 53 minutes after he broke a finger in a challenge and had to head off to hospital in nearby Margate.

His departure upset the balance of the side and also lessened the confidence as Blake was forced to shuffle his pack and formation with the introduction of Walter Figueira. That said, chances were still crafted and perhaps the best of them fell to top scorer Nathan Odokonyero but he couldn’t make his effort count.

Calvin Davies was superb at the back and his efforts won him the man of the match plaudits but although he was excellent it was his department as a whole that failed to keep out the two late goals. Laurence Harvey delivered a thunderbolt that Matt Rowley couldn’t keep out to level the scores on 90 minutes and them just four minutes later, during seven minutes of injury time, Connor Dymond smashed home an unstoppable winner.

A disconsolate Blake said: "I'm not quite sure how we lost the game but it typifies our season in many respects. We are really disappointed to lose in the way we did and it is hard to take when you have controlled the game and then two late goals deny you, but that's football and we mustn't let it get us down. We go again is the simple answer.

"There were positives to take from the game and the biggest aspect of what we did right for me was our effort and our commitment. Work rate was excellent too but we won't win as many games as we would like if we don't take our chances and then switch off defensively. It’s so simple.

"Losing Robbo was massive in the game for us and we are too young and inexperienced to be able to cope with the loss of such an influential player it seems. The good thing is that we don't have time to sit and mope and we will get back at it and continue to do so until we improve. There is a lot more to come from this team, of that I am convinced.”