The Rocks boys aren’t jolly down at Margate
Margate Rocks Bostik premier
Bognor are without a win in four games after Kadell Daniel’s 86th-minute finish condemned them to defeat at Margate and left them down to ninth in the table.
It further dims their hopes of making the playoffs although the top half of the table is still very tightly packed.
Doug Tuck was missing along with Jimmy Muitt, while young striker Ollie Humphries got a call-up on the bench after scoring for fun for the club’s under-19s.
In a lively start Theo Widdrington tried to find Joe Tomlinson but bounced out of play. Mason Walsh won a free-kick but Harvey Whyte’s cross was poor.
On the counter for Margae, Tobi Sho Silva passed to Noel Leighton who shot over. George Brown got a shot away as he turned inside the box but it was well gathered by Dan Lincoln, this following good work from Sho Silva.
Louis Wells denied Widdrington with a low strike from outside the box after good work from Whyte and Richard Gilot.
Harvey Read headed out Jack Paxman’s dipping cross before referee Kirsty Dowle gave Margate a freekick inside the box. Daniel curled his chance over the bar.
Lincoln pushed Daniel’s curling 34th-minute freekick on to the crossbar and out before having to punch the following corner clear. Silva was blocked by a brave Read on 36 minutes.
Walsh’s cross was searching for Lethbridge but Paxman got to it. Lethbridge got to a Widdrington through ball but his curling effort was well stopped by Wells on 42 minutes.
As the half-time whistle went, Bognor would have been happy with how they had defended but would need to up their game in the second half.
Lethbridge did well to beat his man on the left before getting the ball into Chad Field who poked it at goal, forcing Wells into a reaction save - Bognor’s best chance so far.
Leon Maloney made good ground before squaring to Walsh, who took his time before curling the ball well wide on 50 minutes. On 53 minutes Tom Mills’ throw saw Jordan Robins fire into the box but Brown headed wide.
Daniel got on the end of a high hanging cross but poked it wide in a let-off for Bognor on 55 minutes.
Joseph Hungbo came on for Brown and he soon smacked his low longrange strike wide. Keaton Wood received a booking for a challenge as the Rocks tried hard to contend with the counter-attacking of the Gate. Whyte did well on the right before curling the ball on to the head of Lethbridge, who couldn’t direct his header on target.
Hungbo forced a decent diving save from Lincoln on 78 minutes after Whyte went into the book for complaining to the linesman.
Tomlinson went to ground clutching his left foot but did return to play after treatment. Maloney was replaced by Tommy Scutt on 82 minutes as the Rocks sacrificed a forward player for a midfielder.
Liam Friend spun his header over the bar from Hungbo’s corner from the left.
Hungbo forced Lincoln into a save and the rebound was cleared off the line by Field. But a goal always felt possible and Margate took the lead on 86 minutes.
Daniel worked his way down the left before running inside and shooting low into the bottom corner with a fine strike.
Rocks: Lincoln, Whyte (c), Tomlinson, Read, Field, Wood, Maloney (Scutt 82), Widdrington, Lethbridge, Gilot, Walsh. Subs not used: Sanders, Humphries.