With a second successive home game to start the new year Regent welcomed Kingstonian on a damp afternoon on which the drizzle was less severe that the forecast downpour.

Regent had Ollie Bell fit and Zak Littlejohn back from suspension but were without Henry Day and lined up with Turner; George, Ribchester, Littlejohn and Osinfolarin at the back; Locke, Bell Skinner and Durling in midfield and Valter Rocha and Aaron Blair up front. Connor Barnby, Kane Gilbert, Tim Ogunrinde and Jamie Bennett were on the bench.

Kingstonian kicked off in a change strip of blue and yellow and went on the attack which saw an early collision between Ribchester and Charlie Turner. Not long after Kingstonian got the start they were looking for when a weak clearance from a corner came to centre back Cook who hit the ball through a forest of legs in the area into the far corner of the goal. It was a decent if rather flukey hit but once again Regent were left chasing the game against one of the sides chasing promotion.

After that it was all Kingstonian for half an hour which saw Dom Locke booked for a deliberate handball and Theo Osinfolarin given a torrid time by Kingstonian’s lightning fast winger Daniel Ajakaiye. All the action was in the Regent half and the only respite was when a blood injury caused a lengthy break in play. The Kingstonian goalkeeper busied himself jogging across the penalty area to keep warm.

After 30 minutes all this changed with a good attempt from distance by Osinfolarin which the keeper initially spilled but managed to recover. It was a turning point and suddenly it was all Regent as Osinfolarin was brought down in full flight to win a free kick and Rocha swivelled and shot only for the ball to be turned away to slam noisily off the back boards behind the goal.

Regent piled forward and this time the keeper spilled a shot from Aaron Blair only to see Zak Littlejohn on hand to put away the equaliser.

More pressure by Dom Locke led to a bad clearance from the keeper and Locke was brought down in the area for an easy penalty decision. To the dismay of the Regent fans the kick, when it was eventually taken was a tame affair and was easily saved by the keeper.

Second half
Regent started off the second half in the same fashion as they finished the first with another attempt from distance by Valter Rocha. Five minutes later Aaron Blair got the service he clearly looks for and stuck the ball high into the net to put Regent into the lead.

And it continued like this for another twenty minutes with Regent well on top and the forward pressure leading to errors in the Kingstonian defence. Rocha tried to chip the keeper in one mix up but missed and Blair was put through for another but found himself too wide to convert the chance after rounding the keeper. After 70 minutes Regent could easily have been 5-1 up and cruising.

But the pace of the Kingstonian wide players were a constant threat and this was how they scored three in a short period of eight minutes towards the end of the half.

Regent still pressed to get back into the game and after coming on to replace Ollie Bell, Connor Barnby was unlucky not to get one back when his shot went past the post from a corner and then Rocha got into a good position but got his feet into a mess and couldn’t get off a shot.

Late in the game the expected heavy rain arrived to put a damper on the game and in spite of a further Barnby attempt Kingstonian were able to celebrate a win that looked rather unlikely at one stage.

Match Verdict
This was a game of three periods with Kingstonian dominating the first 30 and last 20 minutes and Regent dominating the 40 minutes around half time. The lesson is that at this level you have to take the chances that you make or which come to you, otherwise the opposition can always turn things around.

By Paul Ketchley