Sussex Senior Cup 3rd Round
The Polegrove, Bexhill-on-Sea
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 225
This match was one I was very much looking forward to, having been a regular midweek visitor to The Polegrove this season, watched both of Bexhill's victories to progress to this round, where the draw rewarded them with a third consecutive home draw, but whereas previously they were drawn against lower ranked opposition, this time they would face opposition two steps higher in the pyramid, and who are the holders of the Sussex Senior Cup, having won the most recent completed competition in 2019.
On paper, it would be a tall order indeed for a Step 5 club to defeat opposition from Step 3, but there was certainly scope for a major upset, with Bexhill playing at home and in great form, unbeaten in their last 19 games in all competitions (discounting a couple of cup defeats on penalties), and were in fourth place in the Southern Combination League Premier Division, following 12 wins and 7 draws from their 22 league games so far. Bognor Regis were in 11th place in the Isthmian League Premier Division, following six wins and nine draws from their 18 league games, drawing their last two league games. To reach this stage of the competition, Bexhill won 3-0 at home in both of the previous rounds, first against Wick and then against East Preston, while Bognor won 2-5 at East Grinstead Town after receiving a bye in the first round.
On a mild evening, Bexhill put in a great performance, setting the tone by forcing a couple of early corners in quick succession in the opening minutes. Unsurprisingly, it was Bognor who created the better chances, and the home side were grateful for some very good saves by their keeper, but on 19 minutes, the visitors broke the deadlock, Harrison Brook's cross deflected kindly into the path of Charlie Bell, who tapped the ball home from close range. They created further chances to extend their lead, but at half time, the difference remained at just the one goal, with Bexhill still very much in the game, as they deserved to be following a solid performance, and far from sitting back, they did look a threat on the break.
The second half continued in a similar pattern, with Bexhill holding their own, but Bognor's extra bit of quality creating more chances to score. And on 66 minutes, it was the visitors who scored what felt like a crucial second goal, when a corner was headed goalwards by Craig Robson, but Nathan Odokonyero diverted it with his head past the keeper. And four minutes later, it really was game over when Odokonyero scored his second and Bognor's third following a great jinking run from deep into the penalty area, before gently dinking the ball over the keeper and over the line. Unfortunately, the scoreline developed a one-sided look in the closing minutes which Bexhill really did not deserve to be on the end of. On 81 minutes, Bognor scored their fourth when Odokonyero crossed the ball from the right for Kayne Diedrick-Roberts to steer the ball home, and on 88 minutes, the visitors made it 5-0 when Jake Flannigan ran forward before unleashing a lovely low shot into the bottom left corner from outside the penalty area. Straight from the restart, Bexhll had a great chance to grab a consolation goal when Evan Archibald ran to the byline and chipped the ball across the goal, but sub Ollie Hull could only head the ball just over on the stretch. So, in the end, it was Bognor who progressed to the next round, which they deserved to on the balance of play, but the scoreline was very harsh indeed on Bexhill.
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