Yaku and O’Connor reunited at last (04.12.04)

THE renewal of the strike partnership between Lawrence Yaku and Craig O’Connor heralded the first three points of the Richie Goddard era at Bognor Regis on Saturday.
A startling first-half display saw the fleet-footed Yaku and O’Connor embarrass the flat-footed Bognor defence time and time again, as they regularly latched onto accurately hit balls into the space behind the Rocks defensive line.
Yaku almost opened the scoring in the seventh minute, when his lob from the right was palmed over by goalkeeper Craig Stoner.
On 14 minutes Yaku linked up with Jamie Cook to force a corner and from the resulting Barrie Matthews place kick, a Brendan Gallen header found Yaku at the far post but his header went just wide.
The all-important break-through arrived six minutes later, when an O’Connor flick-on put Yaku away and this time he made no mistake with his shot to put the Magpies in front.
United were now rampant and looked like scoring every time they went forward, with Jamie Cook and Yaku again going close in the minutes following the goal.
Bognor fought back however and brought the best out of debutant keeper Mel Capleton in the Maidenhead goal, who was at full stretch to tip a Neil Davis shot round the post.
The Rocks then had a good shout for a penalty turned down, before United bagged the crucial second goal in the 38th minute.
In a move which would have graced the highest level, Yaku expertly dummied a ball from the back to put in O’Connor, who coolly hit the ball home before emulating his striking partner’s acrobatic head-over-heels goal celebration.
In the second half Bognor set about finding a way back into the game, with most of the action taking place in the Maidenhead half of the pitch.
Capleton had to be at his best in the 55th minute to turn a shot from David Piper round the post.
From the resulting corner, the division’s top scorer Luke Nightingale rose highest, only for his header to clip the crossbar.
On 63 minutes Capleton again saved well from Ben Watson, but the inevitable Bognor goal finally arrived on 79 minutes, when Kevin Murphy rose unmarked at the far post to head in a free-kick.
However, despite five minutes of injury time the Magpies held onto their lead to secure three points for the first time since Yaku and O’Connor last played together in October.

CELTIC CROSS: Brendan Gallen gets a cross into the box on Saturday. Picture by Nigel Keene