Blues held by Rocks
BISHOP’S STORTFORD 0, BOGNOR REGIS TOWN 0
(BOSTIK LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION)
BLUES were forced to share the spoils with high-flying Bognor, on Saturday.
An entertaining contest finished goal-less with both sides having good spells although Stortford had the edge in the closing stages.
The result meant that the Sussex side dropped to fifth in the league table with Stortford remaining in 11th place.
Following the Velocity Trophy semi-final at Enfield Town in midweek the Blues welcomed back a number of players into the squad but were still without the injured Jamie Cureton, Ryan Charles and Mark Haines.
Blues skipper Sam Robbins was close with a shot at the near postin the Fourth minute following a George Craddock deep free-kick from the right.
However, openings were few and far between early on, Stortford stopper Arthur Janata held a Theo Widdrington free-kick in the 20th minute after Ryan Henshaw was shown a yellow card for a foul on striker Dan Smith just outside the box.
In the 35th minute Craddock had a shot blocked by defender Harvey Read and an effort from Ben Worman suffered a similar fate soon afterwards.
The visitors came their closest to scoring when Janata made an excellent block to deny Smith eight minutes from the break following good work on the right by former Blues loanee Mason Walsh.
In the 40th minute both Craddock and Luke Callander had shots blocked away after an attack initiated by Jack Thomas.
On the restart Worman was close with an angled effort whilst the Rocks’ Bradley Lethbridge was just wide with a header after Janata had dashed out of goal.
Just after the hour mark Smith blazed over when through and soon afterwards, in the 64th minute, the hosts came their closest when Worman struck the bar from close range following good work by Johnville Renee and a cross from the right by substitute Alfie Mason.
The match quickened in pace late on with the Blues taking control .
Janata saved low from the Rocks’ Jimmy Muitt but Jack Thomas with a fierce drive from eighteen yards, Mason with a shot narrowly past an upright and Ryan Henshaw with a header from a Mason corner almost gave Stortford the lead.
In the 88th minute Mason almost scrambled the ball in at the far post from a Renee pass, but Bognor held on for a point.
STORTFORD: Arthur Janata; Ben Sampayo; Chris Gregan; Jack Thomas; Sam Robbins; Ryan Henshaw; George Craddock (Hector Kyprianou 74); Alex Warman; Ben Worman; Luke Callander (Alfie Mason 63); Johnville Renee.
Unused substitutes: Nathan Livings, Jerry Amoo and Olly Miles
BOGNOR REGIS TOWN: Dan Lincoln; Ed Sanders (Tommy Scutt 74); Mason Walsh (Calvin Davies 57); Doug Tuck; Chad Field; Harvey Read; Harvey Whyte; Theo Widdrington; Dan Smith; Jimmy Miutt; Bradley Lethbridge.
Unused substitutes: Josh McCormick and Corey Heath.
Referee: Thomas Hancock
Attendance: 347
