‘Not acceptable’ .. ‘embarrassing’ – Bognor Regis Town boss unhappy over defensive frailties

Robbie Blake's men were 2-0 up with 13 minutes remaining thanks to goals from Craig Robson and Tom Chalaye but succumbed to a pile-on of pressure from the home side and, incredibly, left New Lodge with nothing other than a huge amount of pride from the manner in which they had played. They deserved much, much more and must try to take heart from a spirited performance and learn from the naivety that proved so costly.

Robson, retuning to one of his former clubs, found the net from close range after just eight minutes to give the Rocks the lead and the visitors went on to control the game with passing and possession at the heart of their playbook.

And the reward their front-foot approach deserved came when Tom Chalaye gave Bognor a deserved 2-0 lead on 59 minutes. The young attacker was coolness personified as he came on to the ball and drove home from the edge of the box after superb wing play from the increasingly impressive Isaac Olaniyan.

But it was an incident in the first half that would ultimately have a bearing in the outcome of this rollercoaster encounter. Robson had clashed heads with Matt Price on 37 minutes to help thwart a home attack and the Blues player needed lengthy treatment before being substituted.

Robson heroically carried on but his head continued to bleed through the rest of the game and he needed to leave the field for four shirt changes and to receive clean bandages for his head wound. The disruption to the visitors' rearguard efforts was starkly evident.

In between all the comings and goings to the sidelines, speedy winger Anthony Jeffrey pulled one back for the hosts on 77 minutes. Then, as Robson was yet again re-bandaged at the dugout, Chris Dickson pulled the home side level at 2-2 on 85 minutes.

There was more heart-breaking drama to come, though, when Billericay were awarded a penalty at the death and Bradley Stevenson beat Toby Steward from the spot. The goal left Rocks devastated at the final whistle but sparked wild scenes of celebration among the majority of the 850 in attendance.

Now Bognor must lick their wounds and try to put the heartache of the defeat behind them as they get set for a trip to Weston-super-Mare in the FA Trophy next Saturday.

Boss Blake reserved special mention for Robson but his assessment of the frailties of his team was damning. Yet he managed to see the plus points, too. He told Rocks Radio's Peter Kelly-Sullivan: "I thought Robbo was immense to be honest. Yet again. We have dominated that game for 70 minutes. But I'm struggling to come to terms with how we have lost that game.

"It's not acceptable. That's 22 goals conceded in 12 games and that is embarrassing -- and we continue to make basic errors. But we do so many good things. We are a passing team and we try to play but the best passing teams in the world are good out of possession and we struggle; we haven't got enough leadership, enough organisation.

"We haven't got the know-how to see games out and be successful. I'm really sorry because the supporters were amazing and they could see a good team who were 2-0 up. But when you are not under pressure and cruising you can't believe that we will lose that game 3-2. We have to get better. It's nothing to do with the attitude of the players because they all worked hard it's about what it takes to be successful without the ball."

Bognor Regis Town: 1 Toby Steward, 2 Sam De St Croix, 3 Josh McCormick, 4 Leon Baker-Neto, 5 Tom Bragg, 6 Craig Robson, 7 Harvey Whyte, 8 Isaac Olaniyan, 9 Nathan Odokonyero, 10 Tom Chalaye (Nick Dembele 71'), 11 Luke Robinson (Alfie Bridgman 81'). Subs: 12 Nick Dembele, 14 Alfie Bridgman, 15 Tom Holland, 17 Archie Bennett.