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Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks',the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
History
Bognor Regis Town F.C. was founded in 1883 and the club became founding members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Senior Division. They won the championship of this league for five successive years in the early 1920s, after which they joined the Brighton, Hove & District Football League in 1926. Just one year later, however, they joined the Sussex County League where they were to remain until 1972. The club became Bognor Regis F.C. in 1929 after King George V added the suffix 'Regis' to the seaside resort.
The club won the Sussex County Division One championship in the 194849 season. At the end of that season, they added "Town" to their name so as not to be confused with the local rugby club.
At the end of the 196970 season they were relegated, but won Division Two at the first attempt. The club won the Division One championship title the following season and were promoted to Division One South of the Southern League. In 197273 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 60 at Colchester United. In 1976 Jack Pearce became manager at the age of just 26, and went on to hold the position until 2007.
In 1981 the club were transferred to Division One of the Isthmian League, and were promoted at the end of the 198182 season after finishing second. In 198485 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, beating Swansea City 31 in a replay after a 11 draw at the Vetch Field. In the second round they lost 62 at Reading. They reached the second round again the following season, beating Enfield in the first round, before losing 61 at Gillingham. They went on to reach the first round again in 198687 (losing 10 in a replay to Slough Town) and 198788 (losing 30 at home to Torquay United). In 198889 they beat Football League opposition again, defeating Exeter City 21, before losing to Cambridge United.
In 199192 Bognor finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved after Dagenham and Redbridge Forest merged. However, the following season they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. In 199596 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a fourth time, before losing 40 at Peterborough United.
In 200203 they finished second in Division One South, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. After finishing tenth the following year, the club were placed in the newly established Conference South. They were relegated back to the Isthmian League Premier Division at the end of the 200809 season, and were relegated again the following season.
Season 201011 saw the club compete in the Isthmian League Division One South and they missed out on promotion back to the Premier Division by the tightest of margins. Having finished with a club record total of 96 points, they lost out in the title race to Metropolitan Police on goal difference by just one goal, having led the table by two points, going in to the last fixture. As a result, they found themselves having to participate in the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost at home to Dulwich Hamlet who had finished 31 points behind.
In 201112 they again finished second in Division One South. They won the end-of-season play-offs, defeating Godalming Town in a thrilling semi-final, before beating Dulwich Hamlet 10 in the final, and thus gaining promotion to the Premier Division. The 201314 season started slowly, with just one point from the opening four matches. However they soon rose up the table, eventually finishing in third place and qualified for the end of season play-offs, although this ended in defeat in the semi-final at home to Lowestoft Town.
The 201516 season saw The Rocks miss out on the Premier Division title by one point and then lose in the play-offs to Dulwich Hamlet. They did, however, also enjoy their best ever run in the FA Trophy by reaching the semi-finals. They beat a number of teams from higher divisions along the way, including Bath City, Maidstone United, Altrincham, Sutton United and Torquay United. But hopes of an appearance at Wembley Stadium were dashed when they were defeated in the semi-final by Grimsby Town, losing 1-0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2-1 at Blundell Park (3-1 on aggregate), despite putting up spirited displays in both legs.
Season 201617 saw them finish in second place for the second season running, but this time they triumphed in the play-offs, beating Wingate & Finchley F.C. in the semi-final, before victory over old foes Dulwich Hamlet in the final, to win promotion to the National League South for season 2017-18. However, despite a promising start to life in the Vanarama National League South in 201718, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 201819 season.
The club spent much of the 201819 season in play-off contention but a dip in form in the last couple of months saw them eventually finish in 14th place. However, there was something to celebrate at the end of the season as they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years, defeating Burgess Hill Town 2-1 after extra time in the final played at Falmer Stadium, Brighton.
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