Howell: Rocks are ready to deliver

Bognor Regis Town manager Jamie Howell reckons his Ryman Premier giant-killers are far from down and out in their bid to beat Grimsby Town and reach May's FA Trophy Final at Wembley.

The Rocks are only 1-0 down going into the second leg of their semi-final with the Mariners at Blundell Park on Saturday and Howell believes they can secure a hat-trick of successes against National League sides after knocking out Altrincham and Torquay United on the way to the last four.

Howell, pictured, told TheFA.com that the battle to make it to Non-League's showpiece final at Wembley on Sunday 22 May to face either Nantwich Town or FC Halifax Town is far from decided despite his side trailing to Nathan Arnold’s second-half strike from the first leg.

The Rocks were cheered on by a bumper crowd of 2,629 at a packed out Nyewood Lane and Howell said: “I was very proud of the boys despite the first-leg defeat. I thought we played well and ironically Grimsby actually scored during our best spell of the match. So I wasn’t happy to lose but I was happy with the performance.

“I thought we stepped up to the challenge and the boys can take a great deal of confidence away from that game for the second leg at their place. The idea was to make sure we go to Grimsby with a chance and that is what we have got because it is only 1-0. It is a bit of a tricky scoreline because you don’t know whether to push hard early or sit back a little bit.

“So the first goal will be massively important, but we are still in this tie for sure. And whatever happens we can look back on this competition full of pride. You only have to look at the teams we have beaten and the confidence we have gained from it."

He added: “We have shown what we are about and hopefully people will see that I have some players that are capable of playing at a higher level, but first and foremost we are concentrating on Grimsby this weekend.”

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