Paul Booth bagged a coolly taken double as City cantered to a comprehensive victory over beleaguered Bognor who failed to register an effort on target during the entire ninety minutes.

This really should have been another goal fest for the Lilywhites, Michael Gash alone will be wondering how he’s not making space on his mantelpiece for the match ball as the Rocks were run ragged by wing wizards Craig Dobson and Dale Binns in a thoroughly one-sided contest.

Greg Lincoln gets up well for the ball

The hosts were boosted by the return of ‘keeper Danny Naisbitt, missing through injury for the last six games but on the negative side Lee Chaffey’s suspension meant that the impressive left back failed to feature for the first time since the opening day of the season. His place was taken by the newly arrived Daniel Blanchett. With Robbie Simpson again fit enough to take to the bench Mark Molesley is now the only first team player ruled out by injury.

Bognor came into the game on the back of a seven game winless run. Their last victory was in early January when St Albans were beaten 2-1 at Nyewood Lane. Two defeats and five draws have followed the latest of those coming last Saturday in a stalemate with Sutton.

Long serving boss Jack Pearce made two changes from the previous weekend, David Piper and Ben Johnson standing down for Matthew Day and Luke Nightingale respectively.

City were smartly out of the blocks and with less than a minute on the clock Paul Booth had exposed the alarming lack of pace in the centre of the Rocks’ rearguard only to be foiled by the alert Craig Stoner who was quickly off his line.

The Lilywhites maintained the early pressure and as Greg Lincoln wriggled clear on the right his low pull back picked out an unmarked Michael Gash but the teenage striker who has been in such good scoring form of late failed to connect and the ball sailed harmlessly clear of danger.

Gash came close in City’s next attack. Dale Binns switched flanks to good effect and played in Paul Booth whose first touch took him clear through the inside right channel, a neat reverse pass into the path of his strike partner saw the youngster come close to netting his ninth of the season as a rising drive rippled the side netting.

With only ten minutes on the clock City came within a whisker once more as Matt Langston narrowly failed to connect with a near post header from Greg Lincoln’s corner.

Craig Dobson then came deep and released Paul Booth, Charlie Balfe’s attempted clearance did nothing to alleviate the danger and the former Welling hit-man drew Stoner and angled the ball into the far post but Gash was unable to gather the pass in and another decent chance went begging.

Craig Dobson surges through midfield

Danny Naisbitt’s swiftly taken clearance found Paul Booth whose precision pass inside Jodey Rowland allowed Dobson to speed into the box and fire low at Stoner but the former Portsmouth stopper stood up well and made a good block with his legs.

Bognor were tidy in possession if a little one paced and they showed signs that it wasn’t going to be all one-way traffic when good build up play set up a shooting chance for Richard Hodgson who skied over from the edge of the box.

Midfielder Hodgson who used to ply his trade south of the River Cam nearly benefited from good work by Richard Hudson wide on the right. Danny Naisbitt palmed Hudon’s cross away but good defending by Lincoln denied Hodgson.

With City’s wide players making themselves available at every opportunity Josh Simpson’s angled pass again invited Dobson to run at Rowland and again it was Stoner to the rescue as he raced off his line to narrow the angle as the former Lewes winger shaved the outside of the upright.

Another flowing move saw play switch from one side to the other. Gash fed Dobson who freed Binns in all sorts of space on the left, he elected to shoot first time and forced another smart stop out of Stoner.

City’s well drilled back line stifled any danger before the visitors came within sniffing distance of the goal. Hodgson centred for Dan Beck but he was instantaneously closed down by the dominant figure of Glen Fuff and the ball was forced clear. Beck then seized on Matt Langston’s clearing header but again the Bognor finishing was woeful as he failed to trouble Naisbitt.

With only moments of the half remaining City snatched the lead that their display had deserved. In a carbon copy of the incident that had sliced the Rocks’ open in the first minute Paul Booth latched onto Michael Gash’s perfectly weighted through pass. This time even the resolute Stoner was powerless to intervene as Booth nudged the ball past the onrushing ‘keeper before sliding home into an empty net.

Michael Gash beats Matthew Day to the ball

For City there was no need to change anything after the interval. They dictated the pace of the game and were able to hurt Bognor at will by orchestrating incisive thrusts through the channels. For their part the Rocks were unable to do anything about it. Their passing was accurate but not once did they show the invention to get around the back of the hosts whose defensive shape was never stretched.

It was game over just before the hour mark as City netted a clinical second which perfectly illustrated the difference between the two teams. The hard working Greg Lincoln headed clear to Gash who found himself in space in centre field. Knowing that Binns would be bursting clear down the left his first time ball into the feet of the former Hendon wide man completely exposed the undermanned Bognor defences. Binns’ centre was perfectly placed between Stoner and the last defender. Paul Booth took one touch, wrong footed the ‘keeper and slotted home.

Without being disrespectful to Bognor the remainder of the game had the feel of an exhibition match as the visitors consigned themselves to damage limitation and City retained possession to good effect with one eye on the trip to Thurrock on Monday.

Almost at will City changed gear to put the visitors goal under threat. Binns’ mazy run took him past five defenders before he squared to Paul Booth but a lack of control deprived the twenty five goal striker of his second hat trick of the campaign.

Robbie Simpson provided something of an energy rush when he came on for Gash and as he drifted wide to collect Paul Booth’s pass he cut inside and teed up Dale Binns on the edge of the six yard box but the newly crowned ‘Player of the Month’ failed to cap an otherwise top class display thanks to more heroics from Stoner who rounded off an excellent afternoon’s work with a quality double save.

City have now collected 19 points out of a possible 21 from their last seven games at Milton Road and with Thurrock currently struggling for form the Lilywhites will be aiming to leapfrog Farnborough and go third on Monday night.