After a successful FA Cup trip to Thame United on Saturday, the Blues are back in league action for the first time since our narrow defeat to Potters Bar on Bank Holiday Monday with a trip to the south coast to face Bognor Regis. Blues fans may remember this fixture falling victim to the weather on a number of occasions last season so we will be praying for a dry weekend this time around.
Our Opponents
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 have made a slow start with two points from their opening five league matches, albeit all of their matches have been very close affairs. Starting the season with narrow defeats to Cheshunt (3-2) and top of the table Lewes (0-1), before back to back 2-2 draws with Hastings United and Hendon, and most recently a 2-1 defeat at Chichester City. The Rocks have secured their first win of the season, however, in the FA Cup convincingly defeating step five side Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 3-0 on Saturday.
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.
Last Time Out
A hat-trick from Tommy-Lee Higgs was enough to see Bognor to a 3-0 victory over Aylesbury Vale Dynamos in the FA Cup on Saturday, meaning they will now face Margate in the next round. In the league, a goal from midfielder Matt Burgess was sandwiched between two goals for Chichester City, seeing the Rocks fall to defeat against the recently promoted side.
In the Blues' FA Cup game, two goals for Ogo Obi, and one goal apiece for Arthur Iontton and Andronicos Georgiou saw the Blues through the first qualifying round against Thame United on Saturday, meaning we will now travel to Cray Wanderers on Saturday 14th September. In the league, a late Ryan Lowe goal was not enough to salvage anything at the Maurice Rebak Stadium against Potters Bar, with the Blues falling to defeat despite creating numerous chances against the Scholars, with the final score ending 2-1.
Players To Watch
Forward Tommy-Lee Higgs has started the season in excellent form, netting four goals in five league matches as well as his hat-trick in the FA Cup taking his tally to seven in six matches. This follows a breakthrough season in 2023/24 where he scored 18 goals in all competitions after the Rocks moved to sign the teenager upon his release from Southampton's academy. The Rocks' most recent signing is defender Essa Janneh, who played for Kingstonian and Eastbourne Borough last season, and he made his debut off the bench in the FA Cup on Saturday.
For the Blues, left-sided defender Mikey O'Donoghue played his first full 90 minutes for the club in the FA Cup match on Saturday and created a number of chances with his attacking runs. Meanwhile, midfielder Arthur Iontton got his first goal for the club on Saturday and Blues fans will be hoping to see more of the same from the former Stevenage player.
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
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