Early disaster – then brilliant Bognor sweep aside youthful Eastbourne Borough

The Rocks recovered from early disaster to sweep aside a youthful Eastbourne Borough 6-1 to progress to the last eight of the Sussex Senior Cup.

It might have been different if the home side had capitalised early on. Borough opened with a stunner: straight from the kick-off, Fletcher Holman chased down a long ball on the right and clipped a perfect cross for the onrushing Milly Scarlett to head home. Nine seconds on the clock, and 1-0 to the home side.

And that early breakthrough sparked waves of home attacks. The lead was almost doubled on ten minutes as Charlie Walker’s inch-perfect through ball found the impressive Luke Pearce racing through - but Rocks keeper Lloyd Thomas denied the Southampton loanee with a brave save.

Bognor’s riskily high back line was an open door to the pace of Pearce and Scarlett. They were almost breached again on 20 minutes as Holman raced clear and delivered a rasping low ball across the goal area, but Pearce’s glancing strike sliced just past the left hand post.

The visitors were putting decent passes together through midfield, but had to wait until midway through the half for their first proper sight of goal. A left-wing corner was headed out to Joe Rabbetts, whose impressive swerving 30-yarder just cleared the Borough crossbar.

A high-paced game always looked likely to produce more goals and the Sports came desperately close with a marvellous Scarlett-Pearce combination to set up Walker, but the skipper’s goalbound strike was deflected for a corner, possibly off a defender’s arm – but only a corner was awarded: an escape for the Rocks.

Two minutes later Harvey Whyte was toppled as he raced into the Borough box, but referee Joel Lamping was not persuaded. And immediately after that, the Rocks were level: a fabulous curling strike from the right foot of Sam de St Croix, cutting in from the left.

Jaden Perez was close to restoring Borough’s lead with a direct free kick that drew a fine stretching save from Thomas. But by now, Rocks had grown into the game, keeping the ball alive and keeping up a swift pace. After Thomas gathered a Walker direct free-kick, the visitors raced away through a stretched Eastbourne midfield and Dan Gifford ended the move with an angled shot that cleared the far post.

And with Bognor pressing high, the Sports found themselves having to work much harder now, simply to get out from their own defensive third. A goal apiece, then, and the half-time conversations were anticipating second-half goals at either end. Well, yes and no…

Rocks opened the second half with two fruitless corners, and from the second Pearce broke through midfield but was cynically impeded – a rare sour moment in a match played in excellent spirit. Then, on 49 minutes, a crocked Scarlett was replaced by Hayden Beaconsfield – and, with Perez already substituted at the interval, it left Charlie Walker as the only senior professional in the Borough side. Eight minutes later, Walker was also substituted, and it was boys against men.

By that point, Bognor were already ahead. A piercing run into the box found Alfie Bridgman ten yards out, and he slid his shot just inside the left post. Bridgeman might have doubled the lead seven minutes later, with a rising 25-yarder that smashed away off the angle of post and crossbar. The Rocks were now dominating midfield and Borough’s young side struggled to put any moves together.

And on 67th minute the Rocks put clear water between the teams with a sweet right wing move, Bridgman’s cutback setting up a rifled 15 yard finish by de St Croix.

Was there any way back for the Sports? Not against this vigorous, high-pressing Bognor side. A freakish deflection on 79 minutes allowed Nathan Odokonyero to make it 4-1, and then two minutes later a trip in the box gave de St Croix his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

Bognor were playing with freedom, inventiveness and panache. On 85 minutes it was 6-1, as hesitation between centre back and keeper allowed Odokonyero to slide home from a ball through the centre of defence.

The Sports had scored the first goal, and they did claim the last. The alert Fletcher Holman notched a consolation two minutes from time with a cool finish under the keeper. But this was a night for the Green and Whites, and a tough lesson for Danny Bloor’s young team. The latter youngsters do have bags of potential, and some will surely make their first-team mark before long. But Robbie Blake’s Bognor Regis Town stride on.