Bognor kids beaten - but approach is to be admired

Rewards in football can be hard to attain even if you have the best intentions in terms of your approach to style and tactics. And it can be argued that this was the case as Bognor U19s fell to a 4-2 reverse against Chippenham Town at Nyewood Lane in the National League Alliance.
Ollie Clark heads home for the Rocks. Pic: Martin DenyerOllie Clark heads home for the Rocks. Pic: Martin Denyer
Ollie Clark heads home for the Rocks. Pic: Martin Denyer

The Rocks/Chichester College outfit had the very best of intentions in regards to their methodology and were pretty in patches. But they faced a visiting team with a bit more strength, craft and nous -- and it was they who took the spoils from an entertaining encounter.

Despite both sides having decent chances in the first-half, they resumed after the break at 0-0 but there was surely no way the next 45 minutes could unfold without the net being ruffled. Indeed it wasn't too long before the deadlock was broken. And the opening goal was scored by Bognor around the hour mark when Ollie Clarke headed home superbly from Pagham's new signing Lukas Micevicius’s inviting free-kick.

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Chippenham, briefly recoiling from a blow they didn’t see coming, were level two minutes later and then took a 2-1 lead shortly after that when keeper Ethan Galea failed to deal with a long-range effort that ordinarily would have been safely collected. The visitors extend their lead on 73 minutes before Dylan Clifford had his hard work rewarded with a goal to make it 3-2 after 80 minutes.

Alas, there was to be no comeback for the home side and the Bluebirds made it 4-2 in the dying moments of the game.

Bognor: Ethan Galea, Flynn-Lee Hinshelwood, Lukas Micevicius, Ben Sparrow, Ollie Clarke, Harrison Bullen, Michael Baker, Enrique Andre-Paris, Dylan Clifford, Jake Clark, Finley Aldridge. Subs: Tyler Whiffen, Josh Taylor, Morgan Mockford-Allot.

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