Wingate beaten by Bognor
Bognor Regis Town edged out Wingate and Finchley by the odd goal in five, in a tight game in tricky wintry conditions.
Ryman League Premier Division:
Bognor Regis 3 Wingate & Finchley 2
Saturday, 8 November, 2014
The sides could not be separated through the first half, but the home side dominated the second period before finally scoring a late winner.
It was the visitors who took the early lead though, as David Knight latched onto a horrendous piece of defending from a long ball, to flick the ball past the goalkeeper and roll it into the empty net in only the eighth minute.
Wingate had a varied attack, and a Ronayne Marsh-Brown cross was headed out only as far as Iffy Allen but he shot narrowly wide of the bottom right corner.
However, midway through the half Bognor levelled, after a harsh handball was given against Marc Weatherstone in the box – the defender was sliding to block a cross on the wet surface and the ball hit a trailing arm. Ben Johnson scored the spot kick down the middle.
Wingate continued to play the better football as Allen curled a shot towards the top corner which goalkeeper Chris Winterton acrobatically parried away.
Bognor’s James Crane then had a glorious chance as he turned a cross towards goal, but was denied by a superb reaction save by Bobby Smith. The clearance found Crane again but he had no time to control his header.
Wingate retook the lead in the 37th minute with the best goal of the match. Tommy Tejan-Sie fired a superb right-footed volley from the edge of the area which nicely found the bottom left corner. However, once again Bognor were immediately awarded a penalty, amid even more controversial circumstances. Mark Goodman was adjudged to have made a trip despite appearing to win the ball – outside the box. Johnson this time found the top corner from 12 yards.
Wingate continued to push forwards, and Harold Joseph, who had been introduced for the injured Goodman, played the ball up to Knight who waited before patiently finding Laney, however he pulled his shot across goal.
The second half however belonged to Bognor as Wingate struggled to keep up their momentum. Ollie Pearce received a cross from the left wing, he spun and shot towards goal but the effort was straight at Smith.
Bognor were also hit and miss for much of the second half, but increased their urgency for the final 20 minutes. Smith was called upon to make a great save on 75 minutes flicking the ball over from a far post header with an outstretched right hand.
Bognor had volleyed a few chances from corners over the bar, before the deserved goal finally came in scrappy circumstances. A mis-hit shot outside the box fortunately found Jason Prior at a wide angle who slid the ball in.
Ahmet Rifat fired over from 18 yards with Wingate’s final chance as Bognor secured their deserved win.
Wingate & Finchley Line-up:
Smith, Goodman (Joseph 41), Marsh-Brown, Lake (Udoh 89), Weatherstone, Rifat, Knight, Tejan-Sie, Laney, Sogbanmu, Allen (Graham 65). Subs: Wright, Nielsen.
Referee:
J Hillier
Attendance:
330
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
