Rocks relegated after 4-1 defeat by ruthless Blues

On a glorious April afternoon, it was a clash between two sides whose seasons were as good as finished; the Blues were unable to reach the playoff positions, while Bognor Regis needed an unlikely combination of results to reach safety. Neither of these things affected the spectacle on Saturday, it was a thoroughly entertaining game between two sides who wanted nothing less than three points.

Ahmet Rifat made three changes, with Rhamar Garrett-Douglas and Jaiden Drakes-Thomas coming into the side, as well as an appearance for Fergal Hale-Brown in goal. The Blues started the quicker of the two sides, taking an early lead through Camilo Restrepo's 5th goal of the season, as he neatly headed home after some excellent work down the right flank from Ore Bello.

As the first half continued, it felt like a case of when, not if, the Blues would score again. Rifat's men were excellent in attack, creating numerous opportunities and barely giving Bognor a sniff at our goal. All of the attackers had a go; Ore Bello, Theo Alexandrou and Camilo Restrepo all went close, but it was Cain Keller who got the second, bursting through after a neat touch from Theo Alexandrou, his shot being deflected on its way over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net just two minutes before the break.

The visiting joint-manager was clearly disappointed with his side's showing at times during the first half, and made a half time substitution and clearly the Rocks came out with much more intensity in the second half. Fergal Hale-Brown was called into action on more than one occasion, including an excellent fingertip to divert a strike onto the crossbar. A long ball forward on the hour mark caused confusion at the back for the Blues, leading to a penalty being awarded and the visitors' top scorer Tommy-Lee Higgs stepped up to halve the deficit.

There continued to be chances at both ends, as Jaiden-Drakes-Thomas saw a shot turned behind for a corner. Into the final ten minutes and the visitors became increasingly desperate to take something from the game, with the goalkeeper up for a corner. Meanwhile, two Blues' academy players came onto the pitch, Alex Osei for his 4th appearance of the season, and Myles Thomas for his debut. Into added time and Alex Osei got himself onto the scoresheet, with an excellently taken goal with his left foot. As the seconds ticked down, Ore Bello also got in on the act, a long ball forward from Cracknell bouncing through and allowing Bello to force the ball through the goalkeeper and into the net, and with it the referee's whistle.

Wingate & Finchley: Hale-Brown; Garrett-Douglas; Byron; Cracknell; Frempah (Emovon 66'); Iontton (Watt 66'); Bello; Drakes-Thomas; Alexandrou (Osei 83'); Keller (Thomas 87'); Restrepo

Unused Subs: Grainger

Attendance: 254

Photos courtesy of Martin Addison. Match report by Liam Blaney. Hear from Ahmet Rifat on Saturday's game below:

After the match, there was an award ceremony for the 2024/25 season:

• Top goalscorer - OGO OBI

• Young player of the year - RYAN LOWE

• Supporters' player of the year - TOBY BYRON

• Top assists - RYAN LOWE

• Players' player of the year - RYAN LOWE

• Manager's player of the year - TOBY BYRON

There will be a further award for committee player of the season after Saturday's match, as well as a thank you from the committee to the supporters in the bar after the game.