Horndean point lifts Bognor Regis Town after Harrow defeat
Nick Dembele gave Bognor Regis Town the perfect start on his return to the club with an early goal at Horndean on bank holiday Monday – but the visitors couldn't maintain their advantage and came away with a 1-1 draw.
There was a selection headache once more for the Nyewood Lane outfit due to players such as Tommy Block, Matt Jones and Harvey Whyte being unavailable but Dan Gifford, out for a good while last season through injury, was able to start his first game of the new term.
Attacker Demeble, signed just last week for his second spell with the Rocks, cracked home the opener after eight minutes when he latched on to a pinpoint cross from the right delivered by George Britton.
Dembele went on to provide a focal point for the side – with the hope that he forges a partnership with fellow forward Cal Laycock – and for periods it looked as if Bognor would increase their tally with him as the vanguard as they looked for a second win of the Isthmian South Central division campaign.
But the hosts were dogged and showed great resilience and determination to stay in the affair with a game plan that included a desire to compete for every ball and in every challenge.
And Shaun Hale's men got what they probably deserved on 67 minutes when Brandon's Chebby's edge-of-the-box low drive beat keeper Mac Chisholm, who was unsighted behind a scrum of players.
The Rocks went close to snatching a winner in a couple of heart-stopping moments where home keeper Myles Bowman failed to collect loose balls but a resolute Deans defence repelled the advances.
This game was the penultimate one in which Michael Birmingham will be joint manager of Bognor after he decided to leave his role – and after eight months as a partner to Howell, it was perhaps fitting that honours were even as he returned to Five Heads Park, a ground where he was manager for nine years before moving to PO21.
Now Birmy will hope to go out on a high when he is once again in the hot-seat for the last time when the Rocks host many people’s title favourites Leatherhead at Chichester City’s Oaklands Park ground on Saturday, August 30.
On Saturday, ten-man Bognor Regis Town slipped to a 2-1 Isthmian South Central division loss -- their second of the campaign -- at Harrow Borough.
Rocks went into the encounter beset with injuries and the pack was shuffled to accommodate the missing Harvey Whyte, Simba Mlambo and Tommy Block but they were able to welcome back striker Dan Gifford, who took a place on the bench.
Despite injuries to key players, they led 1-0 at the break thanks to Chad Field’s header on 37 minutes. But the home side came through to nab the points after Joe Alman was shown a red card a minute before halftime. Jack Hutchinson got the wrong side of last man Alman and he appeared to bring him down to give the referee little choice.
Gareth Chendik drew the Reds level on 52 minutes from the spot after a home attacker was upended in the box — and Wayne Carter’s men garnered inspiration from the goal.
Bognor battled hard to try to glean a point and banish the disappointment of last week’s shock 3-1 FA Cup preliminary round exit at Hackney Wick. But despite digging deep in a bid to keep the honours even, the Rocks fell behind to what turned out to be the winner on 82 minutes.
It came about after a headed clearance fell to Lenny Farhall on the left side of the area, and he superbly lobbed the ball over Mac Chisholm into the far corner.
It was a cruel conclusion to a challenging few days for the Nyewood Lane outfit following Birmingham’s decision to step away from his role as joint manager.