‘Shambolic’ – Blake laments Bognor Regis Town defending in defeat at Cheshunt

Boss Blake was furious that Nnamdi Nwakuchu was able to grab a hat-trick that left the Rocks pointless on the road and 14th in the table in what was a frustrating day for the visitors.

Nwakuchu struck on 19 minutes when he burst through the middle before shooting low beyond Ryan Hall. And the lively hitman scored again as he beat Hall to the ball before finding the net on 42 minutes. He completed his treble on 53 minutes with a good finish from a tight angle.

Bognor had their chances throughout the game. Before the break, Dan Gifford and Lucas Pattenden each had a couple of efforts that troubled the home side but couldn't find the all-important goal. And in the second half, Calvin Davies and Gifford had perhaps the best chances but again, the home defence made sure there was jo way through.

Gifford eventually got Blake's men on the scoresheet when he converted a penalty after the spot-kick was awarded when Jasper Mather was deemed to have been brought down by Anwar Moutawafiq. But the Rocks couldn't add to their tally and were left frustrated at the rearguard frailties that cost them in this encounter.

Blake spoke of his frustration at the display, given how well his charges had performed last week when they earned a point at Enfield Town with a 2-2 draw.

He added: "We have created stacks of chances but the bottom line is that our defending is nothing short of shambolic. Their No.9 (Nwakuchu) has ran through the heart of our defence three times and scored three goals and other than that I can't really remember him having a touch of the ball. And when you defend like that you have no chance off keeping a clean sheet and no chance of winning a game.

"We have certain individuals that don't know what it takes to get success. It's a big thing. Some of the players haven't got the mentality or the mindset just yet. You have to roll your sleeves top and defend properly You can't give their No.9 the freedom of the park to stroll through your team. It's so calamitous. We have created so many chances -- how we have scored just one goal with the chances we have created is beyond me.

"When you don't do the basics, don't do the fundamentals right, it is game over. It is shocking and it needs to be addressed. It’s nothing to do with shape, it’s to do with personnel and if you’ve not got the right personnel you are going to struggle -- it fundamentality can’t happen.”

Bognor host Kingstonian in their next league game at the MKM Arena next Saturday and Blake is looking for a reaction from his players. He said: ‘We must dust ourselves down. It’s one defeat and we have got to bounce back and we have to do it quickly.”

Bognor Regis Town: 1 Ryan Hall, 2 Harvey Whyte, 3 Joe Rabbetts, 4 Calvin Davies, 5 Tobi Ogundega (Danny Howick 55'), 6 Craig Robson, 7 Lucas Pattenden, 8 Matt Burgess (Bradley Lethbridge 73'), 9 Dan Gifford, 10 Jasper Mather (Dan Smith 71'), 11 Isaac Olaniyan. Subs: 12 Dan Smith, 14 Bradley Lethbridge, 15 Danny Howick, 16 Tommy-Lee Higgs, 17 Sam De St Croix.