For the second week in succession Uxbridge lost to a key rival in the bottom six and as a consequence their opponents leapfrogged above them in the table. The previous Saturday Wealdstone had extended their unbeaten league run against the Reds to six matches and at Nyewood Lane Bognor did likewise with this victory making it five years since the Reds last avoided defeat on this part of the south coast. In fact the only tiny consolation for Uxbridge was that they didn’t concede two goals this season as they had for the past four. All in all though there wasn’t that much between the two sides on a cold Saturday afternoon and the game was always going to be settled by whoever scored the first goal. Uxbridge almost got off to a perfect start when within thirty seconds of the kick off Paul Mills’ shot was pushed away by Will Packham in the Rocks goal. Bognor enjoyed plenty of possession in midfield in the opening exchanges and on fifteen minutes captain Michael Birmingham broke through on the left hand side before slipping a pass into the path of Jamie Howell who shot tamely over. Three minutes later Birmingham caused problems again, this time with a twenty-five yard shot which Daryl Pelton held comfortably. However, the home side were unable to get on top and Uxbridge put together a fine move on twenty-four minutes. After some decent approach work Chris Moore played the ball back to Steve Walters and Mark Gill headed his curling cross over the bar. Six minutes later though the Rocks broke quickly from defence and David Birmingham’s cross set up Adie Miles but the veteran striker didn’t make clean contact and shot wide. In the run up to half time the Reds came close to breaking the deadlock on two occasions themselves. Firstly Lee Tunnell created an opening on the right, beating a couple of home defenders and then firing over a cross which flew across the six yard box with nobody able to get a touch on it. Then, Packham punched weakly from the edge of his area into the path of Dean Clark but the Uxbridge midfielder’s lob wasn’t high enough and Packham was able to save and breathe a sigh of relief at the same time. It was still tight after the break but on fifty four minutes Michael Birmingham sent over a dangerous cross from the right hand side and when the ball fell to Matt Russell only a superb point blank save from Pelton kept the scores level. That chance seemed to inspire the home side and a minute later Miles had acres of space and plenty of time on the edge of the area but his shot was saved by Pelton and Michael Birmingham’s effort from the rebound was blocked. At the other end a Stuart Bamford attempted cross almost deceived Packham and he was forced to tip the ball over the crossbar. Shortly afterwards Clark’s free kick was met by Gill in the penalty area but the Uxbridge captain’s header was straight at Packham. Then, midway through the second half, came the goal that was to decide the game. David Birmingham set off on a tremendous fifty yard run down the left touchline before squaring the ball to a waiting Howell who hit an excellent shot from just outside the penalty area which flew into the top corner giving Pelton no chance whatsoever. It was always going to be tough for Uxbridge to get back into the game after the goal and initially they needed to be at their sharpest to keep the lead down to one. Pelton saved well from Russell before Miles shot wide from a Guy Rutherford cross. The Reds only real threat to the home defence, who were well marshalled by the experienced Jay Pickering all afternoon, came on seventy eight minutes when Stuart Bamford headed narrowly wide from a Steve Walters free kick. After that in the dying minutes Rocks substitute Neil Scammell broke through before being denied by Pelton and then the Reds goalkeeper saved again in injury time from Russell. Nyewood Lane remains an unlucky venue for Uxbridge to visit and two defeats against fellow relegation strugglers in two weeks has ensured that every point remains vital for the Reds in the second part of the season.
BOGNOR REGIS TOWN: Packham, M.Rutherford, Rowland, Wright, Pickering, D.Birmingham, Russell, M.Birmingham, Miles (Scammell 83), Howell, G.Rutherford.
UXBRIDGE: Pelton, Mills (Carter 68), Granville, K.Cleary, S.Bamford, Walters, G.Bamford, Gill, Tunnell, Moore, Clark (B.Bamford 73).