Kingstonian 1-1 Bognor Regis Town
ENDING UP ON THE ROCKS

K's came into the game against Premier division newcomers Bognor Regis Town seeking to put an indifferent start to the campaign behind them. The visitors, still under the guidance of Jack Pearce, have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and were backed by a healthy following at a cold Kingsmeadow. Returning to the Kingstonian lineup were Mark Jones and Grant Payne.

It was the visitors who had the first chance on goal when Daniel Beck received a loose ball from a corner only to shoot wide across Lance Key's goal.

Liam Collins whipped in a dangerous cross on the quarter hour mark, though Stafford Browne was denied by a good defensive header. Minutes later Grant Payne had visiting 'keeper Craig Stoner in trouble as he moved past him and sent in a ball that was cleared by John Price, landing only for Collins to send in another cross for Browne. The striker was however unable to keep his header down.

Rocks defender John Price was again well positioned to help out goalkeeper Stoner, clearing with the K's strikeforce bearing down on the target.

The breakthrough for the home side came on thirty eight minutes when a free kick from the left was picked up by Mark Jones who crossed for Stafford Browne to head in just under the bar despite the efforts of Stoner.

Browne was again at the heart of matters when his attempted overhead strike required a save from Stoner to prevent a second before the break.

The second half started slowly, but K's had a claim for a penalty on the hour mark when Craig Lewington was felled in the edge of the box. The decision was a free kick on the edge of the area, from which Mark Jones' free kick was held comfortably by Stoner.

The action building up, a Mark Beard run down the left channel saw the K's skipper feed the ball through to Grant Payne whose effort on goal was just denied by Stoner. The following move saw Stafford Browne strike a Steven Broad cross, almost catching Stoner out. The 'keeper did well to recover and get a hand to the ball before Payne pounced.

Lance Key was called in for his first serious piece of action was about ten minutes, holding on to a strike by Bognor substitute Richard Hudson. The action in his third of the field became sustained and it was another substitute, Matt Russell, who showed some ruthless finishing when he struck a low angled drive across Key with four minutes remaining to level the scores.

Bognor almost stole the victory after Daniel Beck brought the ball down with an excellent piece of skill and fired just wide of the target.

There was a chance for K's to claim all three points at the death when Browne and Broad combined only to be denied by a smart save at his post by Stoner.

All in all, a game where Kingstonian played well enough to control the game but Bognor piled on the pressure in the last ten minutes with their bright substitutes. Either side could have taken the victory and maybe a draw was the fair result.