Bognor Regis Town suffer setback at Littlehampton Town – as bosses urge patience
Bognor Regis Town suffered a frustrating 2-0 derby defeat in an absorbing encounter at West Sussex rivals Littlehampton Town in the Isthmian South Central division.
Golds striker Zion McLeod hit a brace to inflict the devastating reverse on the Rocks in their second league outing of the campaign following the 5-4 win at AFC Portchester on Saturday. The side bossed by Michael Birmingham and Jamie Howell enjoyed decent spells in possession but lacked any cut and thrust in front of goal to reward their approach play.
The co-gaffers were without commanding central defender Chad Field after he picked up a hamstring strain in the victory against the Royals and Joe Alman came in to pair up with Tommy Block in the heart of the rear guard. Alman did well while Block was man of the match.
Otherwise the Rocks were unchanged for this keenly anticipated battle at the Sportsfield which was watched by an attendance of 973.
It was a fiery affair that boiled over a couple of times and referee Thomas Farr seemed to struggle to keep a lid on various overheated confrontations in a game where he booked eight players.
The hosts took the lead on 19 minutes when McLeod struck a stunning shot beyond a despairing Mac Chisholm. The goal came four minutes after Bognor almost took the lead thanks to George Britton’s shot which hit the post after he latched on to the ball following good work from Cal Laycock.
After the break it was Laycock involved again as he raced clear on goal but watched in agony as his lobbed effort missed the target in the first real attacking action of the half.
The Nye Camp chiefs thrust young attacker Lennie Smith into the skirmish on the hour mark as he replaced Harvey White — and his jet-heeled endeavours immediately added a threat down the right.
Rocks went all out for the leveller against the outfit bossed by joint managers George Gaskin and Mitchell Hand but through a combination of the dogged determination of the Golds’ well-drilled defence and sheer bad luck they couldn’t make an impact.
By committing players forward in numbers, there was always a fear that the hosts would break away and grab a second and McLeod did just that in the 97th minutes when he raced clear to double the lead and earn the bragging rights for Littlehampton.
Bognor Regis Town: 1 Mac Chisholm, 8 Billy Allcock, 5 Joseph Alman, 6 Tommy Block (c), 7 George Britton, 3 Matty Jones, 9 Callum Laycock, 11 Simba Mlambo, 4 Ethan Robb, 10 Tommy Scutt, 2 Harvey Whyte. Substitutes: 15 Callum Beck, 12 Sam Hookey, Matty Jones (72′), 17 Liam Murphy, 14 Jake Sayers (George Britton (86′), 16 Lennie Smith (Harvey Whyte (60′).
BOSSES ASSESS ROCKS PROGRESS
Bosses Michael Birmingham and Jamie Howell are happy to a demonstrate a degree of patience as they mould Bognor Regis Town into the outfit they believe can succeed in the Isthmian South Central division.
The belief is that the "real" Rocks side will emerge after half a dozen games or so this campaign as players respond to the shape and tactics that the co-gaffers are implementing in a bid to bounce back from relegation to step four football last term.
Bognor go into Sunday's FA Cup preliminary round clash at Hackney Wick with a 5-4 victory under their belts from the opening day of the season at AFC Portchester and having lost a West Sussex derby at Littlehampton Town 2-0 last night (report above).
The visitors found themselves 4-1 down in Hampshire after an hour but mounted a tremendous comeback to snatch the three points with a 97th-minute winner from Simba Mlambo.
But the Nye Camp joint managers reckon fans won't see the authentic version of their team until a period of bedding-in has taken place. Birmingham told Rocks Radio's James Powers: "Until you get the first five or six games out of the way, you are still getting over pre-season; the lads are still finding their form, their freshness and their sharpness.
"Portchester certainly got it a lot quicker than we did and fair play to them. I’ve got a lot of time for them because I was here as a youth team manager and I wish them all the best. But don't take anything away from our boys, they were excellent for the final half an hour."
With Chad Field picking up a knock that forced him off in the game, the bosses reacted swiftly to bring in reinforcements in the shape of defender Jake Sayers, 29, who has joined from Southern Combination Football League division two outfit Rustington after he was recommended to the Rocks by former striker Terry Dodd.
The rearguard operative got some game time as a trialist in the 2-0 pre-season friendly win at Chichester City and has now signed on. Birmingham added: "Terry recommended him and said he should be playing at a higher level. He's a good age at 29 and a left-hand side centre half and he gives us that balance.
"We've only got Chad Field, Tommy Block and Joe Alman and that leaves us light for a centre half. So, when he became available, we had a look at him and he did okay against Chichester.
"He fits all our criteria; the way we want to play and he will give us that balance on the left-hand side. He's a man, he's very dominant, very aggressive and he can slot into how we are looking to play. Defensively we have to do so much better than we did on Saturday. We didn't defend well enough. So, it's no surprise that we have gone out and made another signing, it's adding strength in there.”