Match Preview - Bognor Regis (H)

Saturday sees the Blues back at home for the penultimate time this season. It has been a long season since these two sides last met. It was just our sixth game of the season when we took the trip to Nyewood Lane back in September, and an extra time winner for the hosts sent the ten-man Blues back to N12 empty-handed. That game was Bognor's first win of the season, in what has been a tricky campaign for the Rocks.

Our Opponents

Bognor Regis achieved promotion into the Isthmian Premier League in 2011/12 via the playoffs, beating Godalming Town and Dulwich Hamlet on their way to promotion. It didn't take the Rocks long to acclimatise to the level, reaching the playoffs in just their second season (13/14) after finishing in 3rd place, losing in the semi-final. Two years later the Rocks were in the playoffs again, missing out on the title by one point to Hampton & Richmond. Again, they were defeated in the playoffs. Another second place finish followed in 2016/17, and this time they were promoted, beating the Blues 2-1 in the semi-final; a late Sean Cronin penalty looked to have taken the match to extra time before Ollie Pearce scored in the last minute to break Blues' hearts. It was just one season in the National League South (17/18), finishing bottom and returning to the Isthmian Premier League, and since then Bognor have been unable to reach the playoff places again.

The Rocks finished last season in 10th place, and were part of the chasing pack for the playoff positions throughout much of the season, ultimately falling short, sitting 14 points outside the playoffs at the end of the season. Their final league position, and the fact that they stayed within reach of the playoffs was largely thanks to an excellent spell at the beginning of 2024 which saw them win 6 matches in a row in the league, and their manager Robbie Blake was awarded the manager of the month accolade in the process.

This season, Bognor are currently sat in 21st place of 22 teams, with 32 points from 39 games (W8 D8 L23). It has been a disappointing season for the West Sussex side, spending only a few weeks early in the season outside of the relegation zone. Manager Robbie Blake was relieved of his duties back in December after more than five years in charge, putting Jamie Howell and Michael Birmingham in charge as joint-managers. With three games left, the Rocks are 8 points behind Dulwich Hamlet which gives an outside chance of staying up, so the Rocks will be throwing everything at the Blues on Saturday and hoping for other results to go their way.

Head to Head

Last season, our first clash took place at the Maurice Rebak Stadium in March and Bognor came away 1-0 victors against ten-man Wingate & Finchley, who had Ruben Carvalho sent off shortly before the half time whistle. Matt Burgess scored the only goal for the visitors on that day. Less than a fortnight later, we travelled to Bognor, where two first half goals for the Blues (an Anointed Chuwku penalty and a rare Matty Achuba goal) were cancelled out in the second half by a Dan Gifford brace to leave the scores level at 2-2. Earlier this year it was a 2-1 defeat down at Bognor, Ogo Obi giving the Blues the lead before Tommy-Lee Higgs levelled the scores. Andronicos Georgiou saw red for two yellow cards and Callum Barlow scored an added time winner to give the home side one of only eight league victories this season.

Club vice-chairman Joe Sharpe making an appearance for the Blues against Bognor back in 2016/17.

Last Time Out

The last two games for Bognor have both been at Nyewood Lane and both have ended in 1-0 victories, these wins helping to keep the Rocks alive and ensure that they have a chance of survival going into the final three games. First up was Potters Bar, where Dion Jarvis scored the only goal in the first game, before Jasper Mather got the winner in the 4th minute against Dulwich Hamlet in a match which could have huge relegation implications.

For the Blues, it was a disappointing 4-1 defeat at Cray Wanderers, one which saw a number of the Blues players suffer injuries. Our last game at home was against another Cray side in Cray Valley PM, one which is battling for a playoff place, and also ended in defeat, this time 2-0. Ahmet Rifat's men will be looking to end the season on a high, so make sure you get down for our penultimate home match of the season!

Players To Watch

Despite the difficulties faced this season, Bognor have still mustered up 48 league goals, and a lot of those have been scored by two dangerous attacking players in Tommy-Lee Higgs and Jasper Mather. Higgs has 23 goals in all competitions this season, including 19 in the league which puts him right up amongst the league's top goalscorers. Just 20 years old, Higgs signed last season after his release from Southampton's academy and went on to score 18 goals in the 23/24 campaign. Mather has 14 goals this season after netting 19 goals last season, and has previously played for Eastleigh and Metropolitan Police.

For the Blues, given the injury concerns over a number of players in the squad, there could be an opportunity for some of our youth players to make an appearance, with Ahmet Rifat handing first team debuts to a number of U18s players already this season.

Tickets can be purchased in advance here or on the gate on matchday. Cash and card is accepted throughout the Maurice Rebak Stadium. We will also have our early bird beer offer running - all pints £4.50 before 2.15pm, so make sure you get in early to take advantage of that. After the game, we will have a number of awards presented in the bar, so please stay around to show your support and appreciation to the boys after another good season.

Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.