From villain to hero – Gifford praised as Bognor Regis Town build Isthmian momentum

The Rocks were trailing 1-0 through Gary Lockyer's fine strike on 18 minutes but Gifford was brought down in the box and had the chance to level on 67 minutes but blazed his spot-kick high.

But the diminutive striker refused to be downcast and popped up with three minutes remaining to snatch an equaliser. And deep into time added on he reacted instinctively to head home from close range to give the home side a deserved three points and preserve the unbeaten run in the Isthmian premier division at the MKM Arena.

Blake was satisfied that his players battled to the end to secure the victory and has now asked for the same level of commitment when his side head to Hashtag United on Saturday.

He said: "I've got to say for Giffs to miss the penalty and then score the goals he did, especially the second which was a great finish, an instinctive centre forward's finish, was brilliant. He deserves a lot of credit.

"I was really pleased with our attitude, the never-say-die determination that got us there in the end. I said to the lads at half-time, 'be patient, keep, banging on door and the goals will come’. I predicted 3-1 at half-time but I’ll take 2-1!

"The win was crucial and this is a massive three points for us and as I said, really pleasing that we were determined to keep going right until the end. Our togetherness and team spirit were top class and I thought we dominated and were much the better team. Now the challenge is to do the same against Hashtag and we should be going into that game full of confidence."

The triumph came from a team performance in every sense but Blake chose to pick out the contrasting fortunes of young full-back Joe Rabbetts for special mention.

He added: “Special shout out to Joe who was all over the place in the first half, lacking in confidence, and I asked him for more at the break. In the second half he rolled his sleeves up and didn't shirk it and we have got our rewards.”

The Rocks face Wingate & Finchley at the MKM Arena on Tuesday, January 16, kick-off 7.45pm.