It was ,ore heartbreak for Bognor as they succumbed to a late penalty which saw Dover Athletic take the win, moving them back to top position in the league.

Inside the first minute, Luca Cocoracchio caught Tommy-Lee Higgs as they both went in for a loose bouncing ball in Dover’s half.  Higgs returned to play after treatment.  The eventual freekick was kicked into the box but Jordan Gillmore was there to gather it.

Bognor got their opening goal on 12 minutes.  Chad Field did well following a freekick by Calvin Davies and the low ball met the boot of Tommy-Lee Higgs who fired it in on the turn low into the net.

Jacob Mensah did well to hit his freekick into the box but Ryan Hall gathered it on 22 minutes.

On 25 minutes it was a fine move from Field at the back who found Matt Burgess with a through ball and he sped through the Dover half to find Higgs with a pass and with only Gillmore to beat it was a great legged save from the goalkeeper, keeping the scoreline 1 – 0.

Hall stopped Alfie Matthews’s cross before George Nikaj’s strike was hacked away off the line by new signing Harvey Rew.

Ruben Soares-Junior’s flying header from a left sided cross bouced off the right post but he followed his chance up with another header low to the ground into an open net on 35 minutes, levelling the score.

Then Burgess swirled his corner in on 40 minutes and it was Rew who met it with his head, directing the ball at goal but it was Charles-Cook who diverted it away off the line.

Dan Gifford was fouled on the turn by Fuad Sesay 2 minutes into first half stoppage time and he got a yellow card for it.

Early in the second half, Burgess did well to get Bognor on the attack and it fell to Dion Jarvis who hit an early strike but it spun up off a defender and it flew into Gillmore’s grateful arms.

Calvin Davies was badly fouled by Matthews but he avoided the booking on 50 minutes.

Bognor had another chance on 53 minutes as Jasper Mather combined with Preston Woolston before he passed it square to Burgess who fired it over the bar from outside the box.

Jarvis was beaten on the right allowing Soares-Junior to have a chance, flashing his opportunity dangerously across the box and luckily for Bognor no fellow player was in pursuit.

Then Rew did enough to put off Soares-Junior as he fired wide from a tight angle soon after.

A short freekick saw Burgess curl the ball towards the back post with Jarvis rising for it but under pressure from the defender he headed it wide.

Gifford won a freekick and it was curled in by Burgess.  It was flicked on onwards goal but the ball bounced out to Mather who hit it low but again it was cleared off the line somehow on 65 minutes.

Then Matthews punted a freekick into the box and it was punched away again by Hall.

Higgs went into the book for simulation as Bognor were creating chances continuously.

Soares-Junior did well to commit Hall into a fine save on 70 minutes as he pushed it away again diving to his left.

A freekick by Davies found the head of a Bognor player and Field on the back post could only win the fifth Bognor corner of the game on 75 minutes.

Harrison Pont fired a chance high and wide following a cross that was knocked down to him on 84 minutes.

Jarvis threw the ball in and it was Gifford who turned instantly to shoot but Gillmore was well position to save on 87 minutes at his near post.

Hall impeded his man after a through ball as Soares-Junior who was tripped.  Luke Baptiste stepped up to slot it low into the net in the 90th minute, a real blow to Bognor who were deserving of at least a point.

Davies curled a freekick into the area but Gifford diverted his header wide of the goal.

Then a nice ball down the right was met by Spencer Spurway who hit it well into the area but Lewis Beale couldn’t direct his header at the back post.

But Bognor didn’t deserve to lose this game though in a hardworking performance but despite piling on the pressure at the end, couldn’t get the equaliser they desired.

They travel next to Cray Wanderers on Saturday 1st February with kick off at 3pm, hoping for points in their battle to get out of the bottom four.