Glasspool nets first Bognor Regis Town goal but Fareham hit back for point
Danny Hollands chalked up a seventh game unbeaten since he became Bognor Regis Town boss with a 1-1 draw at Fareham Town in an Easter Monday Isthmian South Central division clash.
Charlie Glasspool, dual signed from Folland Sports last month, put the visitors in front on 13 minutes with his first goal for the club but Matty Pates brought rock-bottom Town level after 29 minutes.
The point leaves the Rocks in 11th spot in the standings and with three games remaining it looks like a mid-table finish is on the cards – a place offering relief given how perilous the situation looked likely to become two months ago as Bognor struggled to pull away from the drop zone.
In truth it wasn’t a classic at Cams Alders in the sunshine watched by 602 supporters with a distinct lack of quality on show. Yet there was plenty of endeavour from both teams in an encounter in which it’s probably fair to say that neither side merited a victory.
Hollands shuffled his pack from the 1-1 draw at home to Harrow Borough on Saturday with players such as Glasspool, George Britton and Beau Mullins given a start.
Town enjoyed decent possession early on but Hollands’ men settled in to the game and took the lead in their first real attack of any threat.
Cal Laycock, back from a dual signing stint with AFC Stoneham, played Henry Searle in on the right channel and his cross was inch-perfect for Glasspool to place his header past Dec McCarthy.
The Creeksiders hit back after indecision in the visitors’ rearguard and Dan Lincoln picked the ball out of the back of the net for the Rocks for last time – as he now leaves the Rocks to head to Australia to play cricket.
Before that Lincoln, who has played 29 times since signing last October in his second spell with the Rocks – and made 171 appearances overall – is getting married. One onlooker commented on the upcoming nuptials, “one hell of a catch”. It is unclear if the remark was made about one of the custodian’s many saves or his undoubted eligibility as a husband.
A composed display from Ethan Robb, playing as a central defender in the absence of Finley Walsh-Smith – recalled by Gosport Borough for their 4-0 loss at Havant in which he was an unused substitute – earned him the man-of-the-match bubbly for the second game on the spin.
Bognor: Dan Lincoln, Henry Searle Matty Jones Ethan Robb, Chad Field (C), Kaya Tshaka, George Britton, Preston Woolston, Callum Laycock, Charlie Glasspool, Beau Mullins. Subs: Callum Barlow – Callum Laycock (67′); Lennie Smith – George Britton (51′), Laurentiu Sendrea, Finlay Chadwick – Charlie Glasspool (61′), Lee Seok-Jae – Beau Mullins (51′).