Kingstonian 1-0 Bognor Regis Town
K'S RETURN TO WINNING WAYS

After the mid-week disappointment of losing to local rivals AFC Wimbledon, Kingstonian put in another encouraging pre-season performance to see off Bognor Regis Town. Despite the opposition playing two tiers higher, in the Conference South, the K's were on top for much of the match, and a number of players gave a good account of themselves.

Attacking the athletics ground end in the first half, the K's made the more impressive start to the match. Crosses were swung in from both sides from Mazin Ahmad and Martyn Lee, which caused some panic in the Rocks defence, and both Tony Reid and Mark Watson were pressing the opposition defenders, although neither could create a clear cut opportunity.

Despite a couple of quick counter attacks by Bognor, Kingstonian were definitely on top. A Martyn Lee free-kick was nearly flicked on by Watson, and a few minutes later Tony Reid was played in by a long ball, only for Craig Stoner, the Bognor keeper to clear the ball. However, after 30 minutes K's number 5, Taylor, had to leave the pitch after picking up an injury.

Mazin Ahmad continued to cause the Bognor left back problems, making a number of forays into opposition territory and putting some terrific crosses into the penalty area. After just such a run, Bognor launched a speedy counter attack, and reached the Kingstonian box, only for Chuck Martini to comfortably deny the Rocks.

A short while later Ahmad was able to completely fool the defence by shooting despite a difficult angle, and forcing Stoner to stretch athletically to his right in order to deny Kingstonian the first goal. This signalled an exciting final few minutes to the half. First a Martyn Lee cross fell to the feet of Ahmad in the penalty box, and somehow Maz didn't make a connection, the ball going out for a throw in. Then Maz, again involved in a Kingstonian attack, was felled on the edge of the box. Lee took the resulting free-kick, and fired off a terrific curling shot towards goal. Once again Craig Stoner was equal to the effort, tipping the ball onto the post. Shortly after this, the half-time whistle was blown.

The second-half began much like the first had ended, with K's dominating possession. However the 150 faithful fans didn't have long to wait for a goal. On 54 minutes Martyn Lee, trapped by a number of defenders by the corner flag, was able to release the ball through a sea of legs into the area, and the ball was picked up in the box by Mark Watson, who hit a thumping shot which buried itself into the back of the net. GOAL: Kingstonian 1 - 0 Bognor Regis.

After the goal, a number of substitutions were made by both sides, including for Kingstonian Tony Reid leaving the field for Kenny Ojukwa. Just after Kenny's arrival, Mark Watson rifled a strong header towards goal, rattling the crossbar. The substitutions had opened the game up, and shortly afterwards Luke Nightingale was played into the box by a terrific through ball. However, Jon Coke showed a tremendous turn of pace, and was able to deal with the threat comfortably. From the resulting corner, Nightingale rose the highest, but fortunately put the ball just wide of the post.

On 67 minutes, Bashiru Alimi was replaced by Mark Rhodes, then on 75 minutes the sparkling Mazin Ahmad was replaced by Ben Yiadom, and Alan Hughes came on for Chuck Martini. By this point the game had become scrappy, with both sides counter attacking. Of note towards the end of the game, Mark Rhodes shot just wide for Kingstonian, and Richard Hudson tamely wasted one of Bognor's best chances, scooping a free shot high and wide.

The final whistle ended what was a very good performance by Kingstonian. Although the result was decided by the one goal, the K's had looked the better team for much of the game. There are a great many positives that fans will be able to take from this game. The clean sheet for one, although it would be fair to say that neither of our keepers were troubled that greatly. The defence, even after Taylor's injury, looked like a cohesive unit, especially with a strong performance from Jon Coke. Bashiru Alimi played very well, and looked to pick up possession as often as possible. Martyn Lee and Mazin Ahmad were both exceptional, controlling and bossing the middle of the park for long periods. And the number of good opportunities K's created will provide real hope for fans for the forthcoming season. The strikers also performed well, although a very good performance from Stoner kept the score low.

Bring on Fulham!!!