Rocks boss Robbie Blake believes true grit coupled with sheer quality gave the Rocks a morale-boosting Isthmian premier division win at Carshalton Athletic on Monday night.
Bognor ended a dismal run of five games without a victory thanks to Harvey Hughes' first-half strike that came off home keeper Lloyd Thomas and was subsequently given as an own goal.
It came after a bitterly disappointing 3-2 loss at home to Cray Wanderers at Nyewood Lane on Saturday and was the visitors' first three points under the new management regime of Blake and No.2 Jamie Howell after long-serving boss Jack Pearce stood down from the role.
Blake, talking to Peter Kelly-Sullivan on Rocks Radio after the triumph at Colston Avenue, said: "We were exceptional and deserved the win, no question. To a man, everyone was in that together for the football club. The effort, commitment and work rate were incredible and we know we have quality to go with those attributes.
“To perform like that on a Monday after playing on a Saturday speaks volumes for the players. One thing I would say, regardless of all the goals we have been giving away, what these players do is they work hard for each other and no player hasn't tried their hardest though this bad patch we have been through.
"And that's what it takes to breed confidence and now we need to go forward and do better. That's the best we have played, especially in the first half, for a long, long time. I thought we were outstanding and we could have been 3-0 up at half time and we deserved that. We should have been out of sight at a place that is very difficult to come and get a result. We're really pleased and we have to kick on."
Now Blake wants his charges to take the application and hard work into Saturday's trip to Kingstonian -- a game in which it is expected he will welcome back injured keeper Amadou Tangara. Bognor borrowed Dorking Wanderers custodian Slav Huk for the clash with the Robins and the Slovakian was exceptional.
And the Nye Camp gaffer has thanked Dorking manager Marc White for his help in arranging cover for Tangara in the shape of his No.2 keeper Huk. He added: "We'd like to thank Mark White for his help -- gestures like that go missing in football but to do what he did for us speaks volumes for the man and everyone at Dorking."
*Rocks are at home to Merstham on Tuesday, March 22, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
Carl Eldridge
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