Bognor rugby promotion hopes suffer New Forest setback

However, having led from the twelfth minute throughout the match, Bognor were punished for their missed opportunities and it was the Hampshire side who took the honours with a try just five minutes from the end of a pulsating match.Bognor are still in charge of their own destiny but, with a tough match to come at home against Millbrook, to whom they lost in October, followed by away matches to in-form clubs US Portsmouth and Ellingham & Ringwood, Head Coach Karl Flinn knows that they cannot afford any more slip-ups.Frozen pitches wiped out all other league matches but the New Forest pitch was in surprisingly good condition and the match was watched by an enthusiastic crowd. A lively start by both sides was notable for Bognor falling off some big tackles and failing to clear their line. Eventually the visitors worked their way into the opposition 22 and, from a ruck ten metres out, scrum-half Jack Hornibrook dummied to Josh Burgess, popping the ball instead to Jamie Foote who crashed over for the first try of the match.New Milton upped the physicality with a late tackle on Hornibrook and a spear tackle on Burgess before Foote was penalised for a no-arms tackle. Bognor again worked their way with some big carries to within metres of the home line and, after twenty minutes, MoM Charlie Jays drove over for the visitors’ second try. Jack Lysaght converted to give his team a twelve-point lead but nobody at that time would have thought that they would be the last points that Bognor would manage to score.There followed a long delay for a neck injury to New Milton’s excellent loose-head prop who was unable to take any further part in the game. As a result Bognor became more dominant in the scrums but, ten minutes later, it was the home side who took advantage of some weak tackling to score in the left-hand corner.Bognor had the stronger strike runners, both Burgess and Foote going close to adding a third try before half-time but, whenever the ball went wide, it was the New Milton backs who looked more incisive in attack and more confident in defence.A few minutes before half-time Bognor were awarded a kickable penalty but opted to kick instead for an attacking lineout. Unfortunately for them they conceded an interception pass and New Milton cleared their line. As the halftime whistle approached it was the home side who were pressing for their second try and Bognor were relieved to keep them out.New Milton grew in confidence in the second half and Bognor were slow to respond to quickly-taken penalties, putting themselves under more pressure with some poor decision-making and costly handling errors outside. However, the visitors’ front row of Webb, Bailey and Weller continued to boss the scrums and, from a heel against the head, Burgess fed Tyrone Makasi who made good ground before being bundled into touch.Midway through the half another loose kick out of defence by Bognor was pounced on by New Milton and some quick hands combined with impressive pace saw the home side score their second try. The missed conversion meant that Bognor’s lead had been reduced to just two points, and the game really was wide open.Bognor missed, for the second time, a penalty kick to touch for an attacking lineout, and Flinn rang the changes, bringing on Marc Voigt, Darren Bidwell and Ollie Fuller. The veteran Voigt made an immediate impact at the next scrum and then carried well to put his team on the front foot.Another mistake in the visitors’ three quarter line almost resulted in gifting New Milton a try but their tails were now up and the pressure was on Bognor. Sure enough, ten minutes before the end, a well-judged cross kick found the winger with the line at his mercy. Fortunately for Bognor he dropped the ball but, a couple of minutes later, another intelligent chip was well gathered and New Milton took the lead for the first time.With time running out Bognor came to their senses and built pressure deep inside the home 22. They turned down an easy penalty which would have secured a draw and opted once more for a quick tap. The home defence initially held firm but struggled at the two five-metre scrums that followed , the referee deciding to re-set instead of rewarding Bognor’s dominance with a penalty. In the final scrum Bognor demolished their opponents, splintering the whole pack and pushing them back over the goal-line. The ball spurted loose and Jays gleefully pounced on it for what everyone thought was the winning try. Unfortunately the referee thought otherwise and penalised Bognor for an earlier infringement.At the end of the day Bognor had only themselves to blame: there was no lack of effort but it was a scrappy performance overall, full of missed opportunities, lacking their usual intensity and punctuated by some poor decision-making.They will certainly need to do better this Saturday when they entertain Millbrook at home. (KO 2pm)Team: J.Newton-Young, D.Robinson, E.Millen, N.Archer, T.Makasi, J.Lysaght, J.Hornibrook, C.Webb, S.Bailey, C.Weller, M.Norrell, S.Stevens, J.Foote, C.Jays, J.Burgess. Replacements: M.Voigt, D.Bidwell, O.Fuller