Goalkeeper Jack Metcalfe was disappointed that his penalty save proved to be in vain as Wingate & Finchley slipped to a home defeat against Bognor Regis Town on Saturday.

With the scores tied at 1-1 in the second half following Alex Addai’s debut equaliser for the Blues, Metcalfe dived to parry away Jason Prior’s spot-kick. However, after Wingate fell behind again after sloppy marking at a set piece, Prior had the last laugh, sending Metcalfe the wrong way with a second penalty 10 minutes from time to seal a 3-1 win for The Rocks.

Metcalfe said: “They are a lottery, penalties. I look at it as a win-win situation. If I save it, fantastic, whereas if it goes in everyone is really expecting the striker or whoever is taking it to score anyway.

“Luckily I chose the right way and it was nice to get it away from the goal, so I was really pleased to save it, but disappointed with the result.”

The hosts began well enough with Billy Healey teeing up Ola Sogbanmu for a shot which was blocked.

The striker went close again with a 30-yard shot over the bar, but at the other end Metcalfe had to be at his best to palm away Prior’s deft flick as their match-long duel got underway.

Addai, who arrived last week on loan from Grays Athletic, was a bright spot for Wingate and he soon combined well with Sogbanmu to set up Healey for a shot which forced an acrobatic save from Grant Smith.

But it was Bognor who broke the deadlock when Prior’s counter-attack led to a corner and Ollie Pearce’s resulting set piece found an unmarked Craig Robson, who headed home.

Wingate levelled soon after the interval, however. Sogbanmu powered towards goal and, although Smith kept out the initial shot at full stretch, Addai seized on the rebound to score in his first appearance for the club.

Healey and Sogbanmu went close to completing the turnaround before Metcalfe had his big moment, diving away to his right to save Prior’s contentiously awarded penalty.

The momentum was seemingly swinging the hosts’ way, but their revival was cut short as another corner was allowed to travel through a sea of legs, and Robson was on hand to bag his second of the game.

Wingate pushed forward but they conceded a second penalty when Harvey Whyte was upended and, given a second chance, Prior this time made no mistake.

Wingate went on to suffer another home defeat in their London Senior Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night, losing 3-2 to Redbridge.

The Blues were 3-0 down at the break and needed a big fightback. They nearly achieved it as Tarik Moore-Azille pulled a goal back in the 82nd minute with his first goal for the club, and Healey then scored another, but it was too little, too late.