Bognor are Whyte hot in the Sussex Senior Cup - father and son prove it

Dallas was in the Bognor side of the 1980s that won the trophy a number of times – while his son Harvey was skipper of the 2018-19 side who beat Burgess Hill to claim it for the first time in 32 years a fortnight ago.

Dallas said: “I have one very clear memory of the first final I played in, against Peacehaven in 1982, which was the goal. The ball came across the six-yard box and as I tried to strike it, well, even now I can hear the sound of my studs rolling off the top of the ball – and it trickled into the corner.

“I was carrying an injury and was taken off after about an hour or so. On our way to the final we beat a Brighton side that contained a number of first-team players, four of whom were in Ireland’s World Cup squad that summer.

Former Rocks loanee released by PompeySeason could mark start of new Bognor era“I must mention the core players we had in these teams, like the Pompey boys Kev Clements, Neil Hider, Graham Mariner and me, and the Bognor boys Mick Pullen, Paul Pullen, Geoff Cooper and David Poole.

“The second final, in 1984, was against a Littlehampton team, whose manager made a mistake of saying this was a poor Bognor side. When we got into our dressing room before the game Jack Pearce, our manager, had plastered the report all over the walls.

“He had steam coming out of his ears and by the time we went out there was no way anyone was going to beat us. I played centre-half that day and we did have to defend at times but we had too much quality for them.

“I have better memories of this final as I feel I had a better game and contributed more. I think Jack even complimented me!

“They were such great memories and now I’ve seen Harvey play so well in this year’s final and lift the cup as skipper, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

The cup is set to be on show when the Rocks’ supporters’ club hold their player presentation night at Seasons on Sunday.