A wet day at the Ray Mac - there was a late pitch inpection in the morning and the weather remained dry until I left for the ground at 2.30, when it started to chuck it down. Arrived at the ground and managed to get a parking spot just outside the turnstiles on the hardstanding.
Salisbury started the game brightly and the Bognor keeper made a spectacular flying save in the third minute to keep a Scott Bartlett header out. Both teams were trying to play a passing game but the downpour made playing conditions difficult. Salisbury had the most of the play but found it difficult to break down the Bognor defence.
Probably the biggest cheer of the first half came from a crossfield pass that hit the referee's feet, causing him to trip up and fall face first into the mud. With the far side out of bounds due to the ground improvement works, the stewards allowed the Bognor fans round the ground to stand behind the goal. I'm sure it's the first time that Scooby Doo, Lou from Little Britain, Homer Simpson and Superman amongst others have been in the away end!
Salisbury continued to pressure in the second half and the goal finally came on 64 minutes. Luke Prince sent in another cross from the left and Aaron Cook rose up to plant a looping header over the keeper. After seeing it go in, he span around and headed to the halfway line with a Channonesque windmill arm celebration.
However this spurred Bognor on and suddenly Salisbury found themselves under pressure. After a couple of corners a clearance found Ben Watson on the right side, he sent a cross in that missed everyone in the middle but curved towards the goal, deceiving Ryan Clarke on it's way to the back of the net.
Both teams continued to press for a winner but it looked as if the game was going to finish as a draw. Late into injury time, the referee pulled back play on the edge of the box after a foul didn't leave Salisbury with an advantage. Robbie Matthews stepped up and blasted the ball round the wall, past the keeper's outstretched hand and into the bottom left corner of the net - cue delirious celebrations on the eve of Salisbury's 60th anniversary.
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