Bognor defender thought his injury meant Burgess Hill would win Sussex Senior Cup

In a game packed with drama and tension, it was the composed substitute, Doug Tuck, who sealed the win for Bognor, coolly slotting the ball home midway through extra-time.

Although it was a moment of euphoria for all sporting green and white, Bognor’s Chad Field was fearing the worst, having sustained a bad injury to his knee in the build-up to the goal.

The pain, however, was the least of his concerns.

“It was quite strange really. I was on the ground in agony and all I could hear was the crowd cheering. My immediate reaction was that their striker had gone through and scored and that I’d blown the whole thing for everyone. It wasn’t until I got stretchered off that I realised we were 2-1 up and would hopefully win the match,” the defender explained.

Fortunately, Field was still able to join in with the post-match celebrations. The medical team informed him that no treatment could be performed at that time, so armed with an ice pack, Bognor’s wounded soldier limped back to the bench to see out the final few minutes.

Although Burgess Hill deserved all credit for battling back, Field explained that the game should have been decided long before his extra-time injury, as the Rocks missed a catalogue of simple chances at 1-0 to extend the lead.

“We had so many opportunities in the first 10 minutes of normal time to go 3-0 up – Jimmy Muitt had a great chance to score and Jimmy Wild went one on one with the keeper. As soon as we missed those chances, I knew it was going to be a very tough match the longer the game went on,” he said.