Trophy Tie on Saturday

Hereford United travel to Bognor next Saturday for a FA Trophy 1st Round tie which takes place at Nyewood Lane.

As ever HUISA are organising coach travel.

The coach will be leaving at 8:30 on Saturday morning and the cost of travel is £18. Tickets can be purchased during the week at the Blackfriars St office.

Directions to the Ground:

Supporters coming from Hereford will probably approach Bognor on the A259 from Chichester. Turn right into Hawthorn Road, then turn left into Nyewood Lane, entrance to the ground is approximately 400yds up the road on the left hand side.
The journey from Herefordshire to Bognor should take around three and a half hours.

Coming from the London area, supporters are likely to approach Bognor on the A29. Turn right at the T Junction for the A259 and then left into Hawthorn road.

Car Parking is usually on close-by streets.

The Capacity of the ground is 6,000. However there are only 243 seats, but over half of the area is covered. There is terracing on all four sides.

Below is an edited history of Bognor Regis Football Club reproduced with their kind permission.

Bognor Regis Town Football Club were founded in 1883 and their early years involved playing friendly matches until they joined the West Sussex League in 1896. They topped the league five years in succession in the early twenties. As a result they joined the Brighton & Hove District League in 1926, however, their stay was short as the following season they applied to join the Sussex County League where they remained until 1972.

The club enjoyed mixed fortunes in the West Sussex League, winning the Division One Championship in the 1948/49 season. Relegation to Division Two in 1969 was to start a new era for the club. Winning their way back to the First Division at the first attempt, they went on the next season to win the Championship. This prompted them to apply to join the Southern League, which meant they had played in three different leagues in three successive seasons.

Known as the `Rocks', Bognor took their time to settle at a higher level, and in the 1981/82 season were runners-up in both the League and the League Cup, but won the Merit Cup for the most goals scored in a season. The following season saw Bognor playing in yet another league, The Isthmian, as they were elected to Division One, and their first season saw them promoted as runners-up going forward into the Premier Division.

Bognor's highest Isthmian Premier League placing was fifth in 1986/87, and their lowest 21st seven seasons ago, when they avoided the drop due to Dagenham leaving the league, and no Conference side being relegated to the Isthmian League. They were, however, relegated the following season.

The Rocks have reached the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup on four occasions, the first time being in 1984. After holding Swansea to a 1-1 draw at the Vetch Field in the First Round, they won the replay 3-1 before a record crowd at Nyewood Lane, only to lose to Reading at Elm Park in the Second Round. The following season they reached the same stage only to lose away to Gillingham. The 1988/89 season again found Bognor beating League opposition, this time Exeter City 2-1, but their hopes of reaching the third round for the first time were dashed when they lost 1-0 at home to Cambridge United. The Rocks last appearance at this stage was in season 1995/96 when they again failed to reach the third round. Losing 4-0 at Peterborough's London Road ground.

In addition, the club have reached the First Round Proper on three occasions, the first being 1972/72 followed by 1986/87 and 1987/88. Bognor enjoyed their best ever run in the Umbro FA Trophy in the 95/96 season, reaching the last sixteen, before losing 3-1 at home to Radcliffe Borough.

In the 1998/99 season saw The Rocks lose at the first hurdle in all the six cup competitions entered, this created a new, albeit, unwanted record for the club. However, this left the way open to concentrate on promotion, and by Christmas the team had built up a commanding 13 points lead. Unfortunately, this could not be sustained in the second part of the season, picking up just 25 points from 25 games, and the club eventually finished in sixth Place.

The 1999/2000 season saw the club exit from the FA Cup at the 4th Qualifying Round, and with a number of players coming and going, it did not help the side play consistently. This resulted in the club involved in a relegation battle for the most of the season.

Season 2000/2001 saw the club finish in a disappointing 16th position. However, they did reach the final of the Sussex Senior Cup, losing to Lewes and also reached the 3rd Round of the FA Trophy. The 2001/2002 season saw the club just missing out on promotion finishing in 4th place, this after being unbeaten in the first fifteen league games. Bashley became a real thorn in the clubs side, knocking Bognor out of the FA Cup and then the FA Trophy.

2002/3 saw the club finish in 2nd place and gain promotion to the Premier League. This was achieved despite a long list of injuries, which at times devastated the squad. Promotion gave the whole club a huge lift and on their return to the Premier League, the club finished in a respectable 10th position and with it qualification to the new Nationwide Conference South.

Bognor are currently in 12th position in the Conference South with 26 points. Last Saturday they travelled to Basingstoke and beat them 3-2 with goals from Piper, Beck and Watson. In 19 league matches they have scored 32 goals and average exactly two goals a game at home.

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