Robbie Blake hails Bognor's blitz

Bognor Regis Town boss Blake and assistant Jamie Howell engineered a masterclass from their troops in Essex to blitz the hosts with a passion-packed performance full of spirit and dynamic attacking play. See Trevor Staff's pictures from the big win here.

The Nye Camp aces went in to the game with an opening day win over highly-fancied Hornchurch and grabbed a creditable 2-2 draw and a valuable point midweek when they travelled to Cray Wanderers.

Both of those displays saw Bognor deliver quality football in spells and they also had to dig deep in defence at times to stay in the game and grab a share of the spoils. At Aveley though the shackles came off and the Rocks were at their expansive best. It was six and could easily have been more.

Nick Dembele gave the visitors the lead on 13 minutes but the hosts pulled one back five minutes later when George Sykes struck. An own goal from Jon Nzengo put Blake's men back in front after 24 minutes and just four minutes later Alfie Bridgman made it 3-1 and the Rocks were very much enjoying their outing in Essex.

Young striker Nathan Odokonyero earned all the plaudits midweek when he grabbed a wonder goal to give Bognor the point at Cray and he got in on the act against Aveley when he struck on 62 minutes to make it 4-1.

The rampant Rocks grew in confidence and gave the travelling fans plenty to cheer with their free-flowing football -- creating plenty of chances and working tirelessly out of possession.

And it was Odokonyero who drilled home from the spot on 66 minutes to make it 5-1 before former AFC Wimbledon starlet Isaac Olaniyan found a way past the home keeper's David Hughes for 6-1. An astonishing victory leaving Rocks top of the pile.

Blake was delighted with the triumph having thought his outfit were in for a tougher game given that he had seen Aveley record a 1-0 victory over Billericay on the Monday before this clash. He told Rocks Radio's Peter Hood: "We're very pleased with the win. I felt that if we got the ball down and played in the right areas we could hurt them and you could see that with the quality we had. It was nice to score the goals and see the quality we had in the final third.

“We have won handsomely but we have a really tough game coming up against Potters Bar and we are under no illusions we must be at it again. The league is very competitive so we must control how we play and how we go about things -- and so far, the lads have been top class in everything they have done.

“As for being top, we don't even think about it to be hones; there are so many competitive, good teams in this league and it is very difficult to be successful and I am under no illusions that it is a tough season ahead. But we have a group of players here that are playing well with and for each other and working tremendously hard. All we can do is keep our feet on the ground and see how we go from here."

Blake was asked about the polished performance from rock-steady central defender Craig Robson and he was quick to acknowledge the influence he can have on the game.

He added: “He is a class player, and a great lad and we are very pleased to have him. He is such a great footballer and if Tom Bragg (his defensive partner) wants to be educated and learn the game there is no better guy to learn from in everything he does. He has been different class and he is a top player."

Bognor Regis Town: 1 Toby Steward, 2 Jake Flannigan, 3 Joe Rabbetts (Ethan Robb 78'), 4 Calvin Davies, 5 Tom Bragg, 6 Craig Robson, 7 Harvey Whyte( Charlie Bell 70'), 8 Isaac Olaniyan, 9 Nathan Odokonyero, 10 Nick Dembele, 11 Alfie Bridgman (Sam De St Croix 71'). Subs: 12 Sam De St Croix, 14 Tom Chalaye, 15 Josh McCormick, 16 Charlie Bell, 17 Ethan Robb