Bognor Regis stalwart James Crane showcasing versatility after dual signing for Horndean

The highly-experienced Crane is a former Bognor Regis playing colleague of Deans boss Michael Birmingham.

He suffered a bad knee injury which required surgery ahead of the 2021/22 season, and wasn’t back playing again until last February..

In order to get regular minutes, Crane – a stalwart at Nyewood Lane for many years - has dual signed for Horndean, already showing his versatility.

Having previously played at right-back, he started in central midfield against Pagham last night and also had a spell in central defence when Luke Dempsey was off having treatment on a leg injury.

‘I played alongside James when I was an old man and he was a young whipper-snapper,’ said Birmingham. ‘He’s got great experience.

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‘We’ll keep him ticking over until he’s called back by Bognor, as I’m sure he will be at some point.’

Horndean are up to third after beating Pagham 4-0 with two goals in each half.

Tommy Tierney opened the scoring, the first player other than Rudi Blankson to score a Wessex goal for the club in 2022/23.

Connor Duffin converted a penalty before second half subs Harry Jackson and Blankson put a somewhat flattering look on the scoreline.

Asked if his side deserved to win 4-0, Birmingham replied: ‘Probably not.

‘It was ok, a good reaction (to a 1-0 league loss at Hythe & Dibden). We played excellent at Hythe and lost, and maybe we didn’t play as well against Pagham but won 4-0. It’s a strange game at times …

‘We got the job done in the first half, but then got a little bit sloppy and a bit complacent in the second half.

‘It wasn’t until Harry and Rudi came on that we started to get a grip of the game again.’

After starting their Wessex League life with two straight wins, Pagham have now lost three in a row.

Dempsey, who carried on playing after his injury, is a doubt for Horndean’s home league game with Fareham Town at the weekend.