Players warned - Fine football must add up to wins if Bognor are to challenge

A second straight away loss, 2-1 at Haringey, left them ten points outside the top five last weekend – and fans realise there is little room for further inconsistency unless the league campaign is to peter out.

Bognor won at Lewes on Wednesday night to get back on track and move back to within seven points of the play-off zone but now face a run of critical runs with four at home and three away to come before the end of March, starting with Saturday’s Nyewood Lane tussle with 12th-placed Bowers and Pitsea.

They have added another new face to the squad in the form of left-back Kristian Campbell - well known across Sussex for sparkling spells at Bognor and Eastbourne Borough - and are hopeful their three recent additions –midfielder Tom Dinsmore, central defender Jerry Puemo and winger Tresor Shema – will all continue to make an impact.

But there are still no guarantees about when injured trio Doug Tuck, Joe Cook or Jake Flannigan will be fully fit.

Midfielder Flannigan (hamstring) may be fit to face Bowers this weekend, but midfield man Tuck (heel) has had to see an orthopaedic specialist while Cook (knee) is thought not quite ready yet for a return.

Meanwhile winger Mason Walsh’s hip problem now looks likely to keep him out long-term.

Rocks manager Jack Pearce said the loss at Haringey summed up Bognor’s season – but asked fans to remember they were playing at present with six under-20s in the side.

“Did we create more chances than Haringey? Yes,” said Pearce. “Did we play the more attractive football? Yes. Did we win? No.

“That’s what it boils down to. We continue to play well without getting results and that needs to change.

“We are still a very young side and one that is developing.”

Blake said he could barely believe they’d lost at Haringey, where Harvey Whyte’s equaliser seemed to have set the Rocks up for a push to win the game, only for them to lose to an 82nd-minute goal.

Blake said of the loss at Haringey: “We’ve battered them. I can’t remember a first half being so easy. The criticism in the first half would be that we didn’t use the ball well enough. It took us 30 minutes to have a shot even though we dominated possession.

“I said at half-time we have to be brave. Because of wind we had to try to pass the ball because if we could keep the ball they wouldn’t be able to camp in our box like we had done in the first half.

“I thought we did that. We showed some great play and had so many chances and we’ve ended up losing to a team having two chances. It’s so disappointing, it’s the story of our season. We haven’t been resolute enough defensively and it’s cost us dearly again.

“They’ve had two chances: tell me another save that Amadou Tangara has made - he hasn’t made one. One goal was from a mistake that put us on the back foot. Then we got the equaliser and have tried to go on to win the game and Tommy (Leigh) had a bad touch on the edge of the box, we lost the ball and it was in the back of our net.

“I can’t fault the players’ attitude or commitment - I thought we played really well - and never in a million years should we have lost that game.

“It was a massive game in the season and we haven’t got over the line. We have so many inconsistencies that don’t allow us a platform to build on. We were the only side who tried to play. We looked the only team who were going to win it.”

Blake praised the weekend's scorer Whyte, whose goal went some way to making up for the red card he picked up against Brighton U23s in the county cup last Wednesday.

Good news for Whyte is that although his second red card of the season means a four-game ban it applies only in the Sussex Senior Cup and not in the league.

“I’m pleased for skip,” Blake added of Whyte's goal. “We’ve been desperate for him to get in and around the box. We need players around Dan (Smith) and players from midfield to score goals.

“We get to too many areas in the final third and blow it. At Haringey we lacked composure and belief.”

Blake praised the fans who continued to follow the Rocks away from home - and said it was great that supporters shared a coach with the players on Saturday to boost the bond between the two parties.

More additions to the squad are quite possible. Blake said: “We have to build a foundation to go on next season, Jack’s doing a great job of bringing players in and all the lads who have come in have been great.”