The Dons travel down to West Sussex to try and change the mood amongst the club after the heavy cup defeat on Tuesday. Bognor Regis Town will be tough opponents and boast a magnificent home support.

Kick-off: 3pm

Need to know

Founded: 1883
Nickname: The Rocks

Manager: Jamie Howell

League: Isthmian League South-Central Division

Stadium: Nyewood Lane

Capacity: 4500

Hendon

It was a dismal midweek showing from the Dons, as we lost 6-1 at home to Leyton Orient in the London Senior Cup. Although we rotated to rest some key players for the league, old habits keep coming back to haunt us and our defensive record needs improving and quick.

A few, if any, positives to take would be Sam Shaban getting on the scoresheet once again and the fact that Hendon are their worst enemy - not the opposition, in the sense that we are the ones that are giving away silly, avoidable goals that pretty much take the game away from us. That’s 16 goals conceded in 4 games, with 3 of them at home, and that is something that Ben and his team need to look to sort out, not just on the training pitch but also in terms of recruitment.

We have a chance to put it right this Saturday away to Bognor Regis Town, who are a team that has lost 14 games this season and concede goals for fun as of late. The problem is so do we, so it is very likely it will be a high scoring game, which could swing either way.

Tactically this season Ben has been very flexible with his formation, sometimes deploying a back three and sometimes a back four. Both have seen us concede goals, so maybe there are other ways around this. We could try a three-manmidfield with players that provide athleticism and a defensive mindset, which we have in abundance with the likes of Victor Ferrini, Jordan Grey and Rohdell Gordon.

Also, something we have lacked all season is pace on both wings, so it might be time to unleash a wing pairing of Flo Ada and Tobi Adaje to stretch slower defences like Bognor Regis Town’s. This would mean though that one of Niko Muir or top scorer Sam Shaban would have to miss out, but it could benefit the team.

Predicted Lineup

Opposition

Our weekend opposition Bognor Regis Town F.C. was founded in 1883 and the club became founding members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Senior Division. They won the championship of this league for five successive years in the early1920s, after which they joined the Brighton, Hove & District Football League in 1926. Just one year later however, they joined the Sussex County League where they would remain until 1972. The club became Bognor Regis F.C. in 1929 after King George V added the suffix 'Regis' to the seaside resort. The club won the Sussex County Division One championship in the 1948–49 season.

At the end of that season, they added "Town" to their name so as not to be confused with the local rugby club. At the end of the 1969–70 season they were relegated but won Division Two at the first attempt. The club won the Division One championship title the following

season and were promoted to Division One South of the Southern League. In 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6–0 at Colchester United. In 1976 Jack Pearce became manager at the age of just 26 and went on to hold the position until 2007.

In 1981 the club were transferred to Division One of the Isthmian League and were promoted at the end of the 1981–82 season after finishing second. In 1984–85 they. reached the first round of the FA Cup again, beating Swansea City 3–1 in a replay after a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field. In the second round they lost 6–2 at Reading. They reached the second round again the following season, beating Enfield in the

first round, before losing 6–1 at Gillingham. They went on to reach the first round again in 1986–87 (losing 1–0 in a replay to Slough Town) and 1987–88 (losing 3–0 at home to Torquay United). In 1988–89 they beat Football League opposition again, defeating Exeter City 2–1, before losing to Cambridge United.

In 2002–03 they finished second in Division One South and were promoted back to the Premier Division. After finishing tenth the following year, the club were placed in the newly established Conference South. They were relegated back to the

Isthmian League Premier Division at the end of the 2008–09 season and were relegated again the following season. Season 2010–11 saw the club compete in the Isthmian League Division One South and they missed out on promotion back to the Premier Division by the tightest of margins. Having finished with a club record total of 96 points, they lost out in the title race to Metropolitan Police on goal difference by just one goal, having led the table by two points going into the last fixture. As a result, they found themselves having to participate in the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost at home to Dulwich Hamlet, who had finished 31 points behind.

In 2011–12 they again finished second in Division One South. They won the end-of-season play-offs, defeating Godalming Town in a thrilling semi-final, before beating Dulwich Hamlet 1–0 in the final and thus gaining promotion to the Premier Division. The 2013–14 season started slowly, with just one point from the opening four matches. However, they soon rose up the table, eventually finishing in thirdplace and qualified for the end of season play-offs, although this ended in defeat in the semi-final at home to Lowestoft Town.

The 2015–16 season saw The Rocks miss out on the Premier Division title by one point and then lose in the play-offs to Dulwich Hamlet. They did, however, also enjoy their best run in the FA Trophy by reaching the semi-finals. They beat several teams from higher divisions along the way, including Bath City, Maidstone United, Altrincham, Sutton United and Torquay United. But hopes of an appearance at Wembley were dashed when they were defeated in the semi-final by Grimsby Town, losing 1-0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2-1 at Blundell Park (3-1 on aggregate), despite putting up spirited displays in both legs. Season 2016–17 saw them finish in second place for the second season running, but this time they triumphed in the play-offs, beating Wingate & Finchley F.C. in the semi-final, before victory over old foes Dulwich Hamlet in the final to win promotion to the National League South for season 2017-18. However, despite a promising start to life in the Vanarama National League South in 2017–18, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 2018–19 season. The club spent much of the 2018–19 season in play-off contention but a dip in form in the last couple of months saw them eventually finish in 14th place. However, there was something to celebrate at the end of the season as they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years, defeating Burgess Hill Town 2-1 after extra time in the final played at Falmer Stadium, Brighton. They reached the final again in 2023 losing 8-7 on penalties after a 0–0 draw at full time to local rivals Worthing FC. Robbie Blake, the former Premier League striker famous for his exploits up front for Burnley was handed the manager’s job in March 2022. Previously he had acted as assistant to Jack Pearce. In the 2022/23 season, the Rocks finished 14th in the league standings. Blake steered his side into the Sussex Senior Cup final at Brighton’s Amex Stadium losing 8-7 on penalties after a 0–0 draw at full time to local rivals Worthing FC. Last season the Rocks were relegated from the Isthmian Premier, alongside ourselves.

Last five results

Hendon

Hendon 1-6 Leyton Orient

Hendon 2-4 AFC Portchester

Hendon 4-4 Raynes Park Vale

Hanworth Villa 2-2 Hendon

Hendon 0-1 Harrow Borough

Bognor Regis Town

Hayes & Yeading 2-1 Bognor Regis Town

Bognor Regis Town 1-4 Brighton

Bognor Regis Town 1-0 South Park Reigate

Bognor Regis Town 2-4 Horndean

Bognor Regis Town 1-4 Littlehampton Town

Club Honours

West Sussex League Winners – 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25.

Sussex County League Division 1 Winners – 1948–49, 1971–72.

Sussex County League Division 2 Winners – 1970/71.

Isthmian Division One South Runners-Up – 2002–03 (promoted), 2010–11 (not promoted), 2011–12 (promoted)

Sussex Senior Cup winners – 1954–55, 1955–56, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 2018–19.

Isthmian League Cup winners – 1986–87

Opposition Gaffer

The man in the home dugout for The Rocks is experienced tactician Jamie Howell. Howell left his role as No.2 to Robbie Blake to return to Nyewood Lane in December 2024 to team up with former Bognor skipper David Birmingham, who hadquit his job as Horndean boss to join the Rocks.

Howell, who managed the Rocks between 2010 and 2017, took over the club in a dire state, staring down the barrel of relegation midway through last season. Despite the club being relegated in the end, Howell deeply cares for the club and knows what the club stands for, which gives him grace amongst the Bognor Regis Town fantastic support.

This season the Rocks are in a transitional phase and are stabilising themselves, so that they can push for promotion next season. With 14 losses they are joint second in this statistic, so are not averse to conceding goals, which is something Howell constantly takes responsibility for in his post-match interviews, as he attributes it to the open and free-flowing style of play he wants his team to play.

One to watch

Harvey White is not the most eye-catching or talented player in the Rocks ranks, but he is without doubt the most consistent over a season. White played for the club during two loan spells before signing permanently seven years ago from Havant & Waterlooville. Great ball control, a hard work ethic and blistering pace make him a fan favourite, in addition to being the son of 1980’s Rocks favourite Dallas Whyte. He began as a winger but is now an accomplished right midfielder. Harvey is the club’s former captain and lifted the Sussex Senior Cup in 2019.

The 33-year-old has already racked up 17 appearances this season despite an injury that kept him out from late November to early December. The only obvious weakness the experienced veteran has is that he can be prone to picking up a silly yellow card and has already got 5 this season, which could be something a tricky Dons wide-forward could look to target.

Written by Kyle Bodker