Bognor Regis Town and Chichester City end season with defeats

Enfield Town 1 Rocks 0 - Isthmian premier

Bognor's battling display at Enfield Town saw them only narrowly defeated 1-0 at a blustery Donkey Lane ground in North London. A single goal by Adam Cunnington was the difference as Bognor finished up in 9th place.

Amadou Tangara made a great save early on pushing away Mahammadu Faal's incisive run and shot. The goalkeeper pushed it over the bar with one hand. Harrison Brook was making runs down the right and won a corner. But Charlie Bell's ball into the box was easily cleared. Ethan Robb was playing high up the field. Dan Gifford tried to play in Brook on the right but the ball rolled out of touch.

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Sam Youngs headed it into the path of Ryan Kirwan but his cross was cleared for a corner by Joe Cook. Tangara punched it away though. Nathan Odokonyero tried to knock on Harvey Whyte's long ball through the middle but failed to get decent contact. Lewis Taaffe played a corner across but he won another on the opposite end.

Emmanuel Maja-Awesu played the ball wide to Taaffe again but his cross was cut out by Tangara in the air. Robb played a hopeful ball into the box but this was easily gathered by the goalkeeper, Nathan McDonald. Kirwan set Faal on the way and one on one with Tangara he struck low and wide of the far post when he really should have done better.

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Bognor were having to defend a lot and Alfie Bridgman had to rebound the ball to win a goal kick. Then Tangara had to head the ball out from a forward ball on the edge of his area. Adam Cunnington smashed a diagonal ball out of touch on a difficult and dusty pitch. Bell was denied by a defender's block and then Odokonyero followed up with a strike saved by the legs of McDonald.

Bognor won a corner. Bell’s searching cross saw Cook rise up but he couldn't find contact with the ball. Calvin Davies took a direct freekick straight at the goalkeeper on 32 minutes. A free-kick by Taaffe was struck into the wall and out for a corner. Then Taaffe's corner found Cunnington in the air but he was under pressure in the air.

Bridgman won a corner on the left. Bell drove the ball in and it was headed out to Brook who slammed it narrowly wide of the right post. HT 0-0

Bognor started the second half well. Bell hit one from distance of which McDonald pushed it over the bar with both hands. Tangara failed to come out off his line and tried to punch Youngs' ball forward into the area and Cunnington got a touch in the air but was injured from Tangara's advance in the air in the box and it bounced into the net on 51 minutes to give the hosts a lead.

Jeremiah Gyebi didn't get his head a Taaffe corner from the left soon after as Enfield wanted to double their advantage. A long throw was knocked onto the path of Faal who nodded it towards goal but it was well stopped by Tangara. Bridgman did well to find Gifford but in a neat one-two move. Bridgman tried to push it back into the striker's path but it bounced harmlessly out.

Faal was twisting and turning before hitting it wide along the deck and past the right post on 57 minutes. Odokonyero did well to hold up the ball near the halfway line and Brook supported him to cross it but Bridgman couldn't keep it from running out of play. Percy Kiangebeni made a good run. He picked out Cunnington but he stubbed his shot low and straight at Tangara.

On 64 minutes Shola Ayoola replaced Brook for Bognor. Robb and Nathan Smith clashed in the air as Smith had his foot up. He received treatment as he hurt his back in the process. Davies struck the direct free-kick straight at McDonald on 67 minutes. Robb went into the book soon after a foul near the touchline.

Tangara pushed out the cross heading for Kirwan but he went to ground as he clashed in the air with the goalkeeper. Kirwan did have to come off after suffering from double vision and had to be replaced by Jonathan Muleba. Good build up saw Bridgman get a low cross in but it was hacked clear in a rare second half attack for Bognor.

Gifford played it out neatly for Bridgman but his driven cross but Robb couldn’t keep the ball in play over the other side. Cook and Cunnington clashed trying to win a bouncing ball and both received treatment. Then Bognor lost possession cheaply allowing Cunnington in and a shot was blocked and fell into Tangara's arms.

Craig Robson committed a foul on the outside corner of the box. But Lyle Della-Verde struck it into the defensive wall. Tom Chappell's long throw had to be punched out again by Tangara as it was damage limitation for Bognor towards the end. Della-Verdi got a freekick into the box but Cunnington, under pressure in the air, headed a deflected chance wide.

Davies got booked for dissent right at the end as he felt he was fouled. Davies had to be replaced by Danny Howick right at the end to avoid any late sending offs. Bell lost possession in front of Bognor's penalty area but Kiangebeni stuck wide of the left post in the last chance of the game a Rocks ended the season in 9th.

Rocks: Tangara, Brook (Ayoola 64), Robb, Davies (Howick 90), Cook, Robson, Whyte, Bell, Odokonyero, Gifford, Bridgman. Subs Not Used: Holland, Barnes.

* The BRTFC Supporters Club are holding a players presentation evening on Sunday 1 May from 7.30pm, with all welcome. The bar will be open, with a chance to meet the players, enjoy free food and celebrate the season with players and staff of the club.

Chichester City 0-2 Ramsgate - Isthmian south

An up and down season came to an end at Oaklands Park as Ramsgate got the better of Chichester courtesy of goals from Ollie Bate and Karn Miller-Neave in the opening 20 minutes.

After two COVID-curtailed campaigns, the Sussex club finally got to complete a first ever Step 4 season finishing eleventh in the Isthmian south east division.

When Ramsgate and Chi met in the reverse fixture back in September the Kent side were third in the league, and looked like a shoo-in for a play-off spot, up until last month when a run of six straight losses derailed their promotion hopes. On that occasion Miles Rutherford’s men came away with a share of the points after Tyrone Madhani came off the bench to score a late equaliser in an enthralling 2-2 draw.

Here, Rutherford & Co made two changes to the starting XI that grabbed a share of the spoils against Burgess Hill on Easter Monday with Lloyd Rowlatt and Kaleem Haitham returning in place of Madhani and the suspended Emmett Dunn. The hosts started brightly enough and Ethan Prichard thumped a first minute effort into the side-netting after Lewis Hyde’s super pass sent Haitham away down the left.

Chi keeper Kieran Magee dealt with a long ball from Mitch Chapman and then gathered Tijan Jadama’s header easily, with the Rams player taking a knock for his troubles. The home side pressed again and Rob Hutchings almost got Josh Clack in but Jacob Russell was quickly off his line to claim ahead of the striker. Hyde sprayed another intelligent ball to Ben Mendoza only for Ben Fitchett to intercept.

A Clack cross was then headed away before the visitors went in front against the run of play after Hyde gave the ball away to Jadama who set up Bate for a simple finish on nine minutes. Fitchett was booked by referee Jordan McRitchie 60 seconds later for a crude challenge on Haitham before a neat exchange between Lee Prescott and the impressive Miller-Neave earned Ramsgate the first corner of the game off Ryan Davidson.

Hyde got in well on a marauding Jerald Aboagye and then Miller-Neave ran on to Jake McIntyre’s pass and doubled the visitors’ advantage with a low effort into the bottom right hand corner that might have nicked off another player. Chi then won a 19th minute corner which Hutchings whipped over too deep before Bate should have capitalised following a slip by Ben Pashley.

Rowlatt’s super ball to Clack got Chi going once more and Clack found Prichard whose delivery towards Mendoza was cut out. A clever dink allowed Eddie Carrington to slip inside Pashley with ease and at the other end Russell beat Mendoza to the ball following a slick catalogue of passes. Chi sucked Ramsgate out of shape just after the half hour mark as Pashley, Prichard and Davidson linked up to earn another corner that was punched away by Russell this time.

And then Jamie Horncastle struck a fierce attempt narrowly wide after Prichard, Mendoza and Davidson were all involved in the best move of the match so far. Jamie Coyle hooked the ball out for a throw-in ahead of Clack, and Bate and Carrington pressed at the other end with Miller-Neave going over in the box – Mr McRitchie wasn’t interested in Rams’ appeals for a pen.

Next, Jadama hit a wayward shot on the turn and the Chi back-line snuffed out the danger posed by Chapman. Clack then pulled a fine save out of Russell with the keeper getting a strong glove on the forward’s fierce attempt to concede a corner. Mendoza took this one and opponents headed it clear. The visitors won a free-kick some 25 yards out on the stroke of half time which Bate struck high and wide.

Davidson, who picked up an injury just before the break, was replaced by Eric-Georges Dellaud at the interval. Mendoza fired the first opportunity of the second half over the bar before Magee denied Bate, not once but twice, with an outstanding double save. A nice piece of skill from Pashley permitted him to bring the ball out of the penalty area before Rowlatt and Hutchings combined down the right flank for a cross that was blocked.

Hyde tackled brilliantly once again and got Prichard away in a move that was broken up by Ramsgate defenders. Dellaud and Mendoza probed down the other side but the No8 couldn’t deliver. Then Fitchett headed clear a Hutchings cross and Chapman hacked away a Mendoza corner.

No one was arriving late at the far post unfortunately to Prichard’s delivery 10 minutes in before Clack lost control after Prichard won the ball midfield. Next, Pashley coped admirably when Aboagye centered and Miller-Neave hit one straight at Magee. Callum Emptage came on for Fitchett on the hour and after Rowlatt was brought down Mendoza’s set-piece was headed clear.

Mendoza’s pass to Haitham was a little too strong before Clack wasn’t far off with a shot on 63 minutes. In Chi’s best spell of the game Dellaud had a cracking drive blocked and Horncastle crashed an effort on to an upright off a defender. Russell punched away the subsequent corner and a Rams player got something on Pashley’s long-ranger.

Rowlatt had a go next, but his attempt struck an opponent as well and deflected safely into Russell’s arms. Stan Bridgman replaced Pashley in the 68th minute and Denzelle Olopade came on for Carrington as the visitors made another change too. Trickery from Haitham earned the hosts a free-kick which came to nothing.

A Mendoza corner didn’t beat the first man; Madhani replaced Haitham; Will Hoare was introduced for Carrington; and Hutchings’s shot spun away off a defender but Rowlatt couldn’t keep the loose ball in. Madhani had an effort blocked with four to go before Hutchings conceded a needless corner which was headed onto the bar. Chapman then missed a free header and Miller-Neave, stretching for the ball, sent over a poor cross.

And in the two minutes of time added on Olopade fired one well off target. So, a season that generated a raft of emotions, highs and lows, euphoria and despair, over 38 league games and 13 cup matches in various competitions, drew to a close.

At the Presentation Evening after the game, Ryan Davidson picked up both the Supporters’ Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards, and Kieran Magee won Managers’ Player of the Year.

Chichester – Magee, Davidson, Hutchings, Horncastle, Hyde, Pashley, Rowlatt, Mendoza, Clack, Prichard, Haitham. Subs: (Carroll, Dellaud, Madhani, Weinberger, Bridgman).