Bognor Regis Town 1, Basingstoke Town 2

FRANCIS Vines spoke of his relief after Basingstoke Town picked up their first win of the season on Saturday.

After conspiring to either draw or lose their first nine games this term, the Dragons claimed their first victory with a hard-fought away win over Bognor Regis Town.

The team's lack of confidence showed as they left it late to score the winner, despite playing against 10 men for more than an hour after Kevin Hemsley was sent off for a foul on James Taylor.

Speaking after the game, Town boss Vines voiced his relief at the result.

"It is about time we won," he said. "It is great to win and I think if we had been winning on a regular basis, this game would have been easier. But as we have not been winning we were a bit tentative with our crossing and shooting.

"It is only one win but I hope it sets us off on a run."

For the match at Nyewood Lane, Vines handed Argentinian striker Cristian Levis his first start since returning to the club and left Mark Peters out of the squad.

Basingstoke started well and were rewarded in the 16th minute when Levis pounced on a poor back-pass from Hemsley. The striker beat Bognor 'keeper Craig Stoner to the ball, bundled it over him and blasted in from close range to put Town ahead.

Matt Warner hit the outside of the post from a free kick moments later, but Bognor got back on level terms in the 26th minute when a Richard Hudson corner was flicked on by Luke Nightingale. The touch found Hemsley and he fired the ball past Stuart Searle and into the net off the far post.

However, just 10 minutes later, Hemsley pulled James Taylor back as he raced on to a long ball. He was the last man and the referee had no choice but to show him the red card.

From the resulting free kick, Warner again hit the outside of the post. Simion Howell, playing on the right wing, had an effort cleared off the line during a goalmouth scramble minutes later.

Early in the second half, Jason Bristow headed home from a Warner corner, only to see the effort ruled out for a push by Taylor.

Vines decided to replace a tiring Levis with youngster Ben Wright in the 72nd minute, a move that provoked criticism from a section of the travelling support, who made it clear they would have preferred to see the introduction of Neville Roach.

One particularly vociferous fan even subjected the Town manager to a tirade of obscene abuse.

Vines defended his decision after the game. He said: "At this particular moment, Neville is still not as fit as the rest. Cristian had been causing their defence a lot of problems and Ben is a similar player. Why would I want to try and fix something that is not broken?

"Does that supporter think shouting like that does Neville, or the team, any favours?"

Basingstoke finally got the winner with eight minutes remaining. Warner received the ball on the half-way line and set off on a great run down the left wing, beating three men before crossing the ball perfectly for Taylor to dive and head home at the far post.

After that, Bognor pushed forward and put Town under pressure, but the defence held out and the team earned their maiden victory of the season.

Vines said he was pleased with the way the players performed.

"We played football the right way," he said. "It would have been nice if we could have scored a couple more to settle the nerves, but it does not matter when you get the winner as long as you come out on top.

"I should have been feeling this happy about winning our first game of the season a while ago but it has taken 10 games, which is nine games too long."

Bognor Regis Town: Craig Stoner, David Piper, Stuart Tuck (sub Dan Marney 76min), Darren Budd, Kevin Hemsley, Jason Pearce, Ben Watson, Jamie Howell (sub Steve May 67min), Richard Hudson (sub Jodie Rowland 40min), Luke Nightingale, Dan Beck. Subs (not used): Ben Johnson, Dean Harris.
Basingstoke Town: Stuart Searle, David Ray, Joe Bruce, Jason Bristow, Joe Dolan, Francis Quarm, Simion Howell, Ben Surey, Cristian Levis (sub Ben Wright 72min), James Taylor, Matthew Warner. Subs (not used): Neville Roach, Joe Harris, Danny Brown, Matthew Ottley.