The opening minutes were unsurprisingly cagey and tight as both teams looked to shake off the final bits of rust from the off-season and get the league season underway.
The first chance of the game went to the home side in the 8th minute as Bognor won a corner, taken from the left hand side. The ball was floated into the box along the six yard line where Craig Robson was left unmarked to head low towards the net, only for the ball to deflect to safety off his own player.
The home side looked dangerous down the right hand side and a cross from the touchline found its way to the back post where Dan Kempson was left in space. His shot looked destined for the far corner but went narrowly passed the far post.
It took until the 17th minute for Grays to register their first real effort on goal as Alex Cruickshank played a searching through ball to Joao Carlos who drove into the penalty area but fired narrowly over the bar from twelve yards.
Bognor replied with another good chance as another corner was not dealt with and following a scramble in the box the ball broke to a Bognor attacked who hooked the ball over his shoulder towards the goal. George Kamurasi was alert in the Grays goal to close the shot down and parry the ball away to safety.
The save proved vital as Grays took the lead a minute later. A long ball out from the back was flicked on by Jeff Hammond to Joao Carlos. He took the ball passed the last defender before coolly slotting the ball passed Mark Zawadski in the Bognor goal and into the corner of the net.
The goal gave Grays a confidence boost as they looked to build on their lead.
In the 34th minute Craig Pope found space down the right hand side to whip a dangerous cross into the box, which was met by the head of Jack West but he couldn’t direct his header and it went over the bar.
The final ten minutes of the half failed to provide any clear chances for either side and Grays went into the interval with a one goal lead.
Grays were forced into two half-time substitutions as Ryan Kirby and Jared Small, both suffering injuries, were replaced by Junior Baker and Aaron Ramos-Gonzalez respectively.
Bognor started the second half the better, following harsh words from their manager at half-time, with Terry Dodd working his way into the Grays area down the left hand side, but his shot from a narrow angle was well save by George Kamurasi.
The towering goalkeeper was again called into action in the 57th minute as a rasping shot from the edge of the area looked to be heading for the bottom corner of the net, only for George Kamurasi to dive at full stretch and tip the ball round the post for a corner which came to nothing.
As in the first half, those saves proved vital as Grays doubled their lead in the 65th minute.
With little room to work with down the right wing, Jeff Hammond managed to flick the ball onto Jack West who was just outside the area. He worked his way past two defenders and into the area where he unleashed a low drive towards the near post, wrong footing Mark Zawadski, with the ball nestling in the bottom corner.
In the 71st minute Jack West came close to grabbing his second goal of the game as a free kick was played into the box and not dealt with by the Bognor defence. The ball broke Jack West at the back post but his snap shot went narrowly wide.
Grays put the result beyond doubt in the 78th minute with their third goal. Craig Pope did well under pressure to win a free kick thirty yards from goal which was taken by Aaron Ramos-Gonzalez. The ball was swung into the box, evading attackers, defenders and the cowering Mark Zawadski to go straight into the net, giving Aaron Ramos-Gonzalez his first goal from Grays Athletic.
Jeff Hammond made way for Usama Hamdan, his Grays debut, for the final ten minutes which the away side saw out comfortably to record an opening game victory.
Special mention should go the Alex Cruickshank who was called into the team late on and performed admirably in the centre of the field, collecting loose balls and getting his team moving forward throughout the game.

Grays Athletic: George Kamurasi, Craig Pope, Ryan Kirby (Junior Baker 46), David East, Lee Flynn, Joao Carlos, Leon Lalite, Alex Cruickshank, Jared Small (Aaron Ramos-Gonzalez 46), Jeff Hammond (Usama Hamdan 79), Jack West

Unused Subs: Phil Anderson, Brian Moses