Early struggles as seasons start

As the rugby team continued to sturggle to adapt to life in Eastern Counties Division One, the hockey team also got their season started last Saturday. They also found themselves in a different division, but not through successes of the previous season - indeed they were fortunate to be in the same league after their shortcomings in the last campaign. A divisional reshuffle saw them moved to Division 2NE in a move that pleased optimistic captain Tina Bunch.

Speaking before Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Norwich City, Bunch was optimistic about her side's chances in the current camapign. She believed that this season would be one to build and forget about last season's failure when a string of successive defeats coupled with a late surge from relegation rivals Bourne II after Spalding folded saw Haverhill avoid defeat on the final day of the season with an away win - their first of the season - at Lincoln Roses, courtesy of a last gasp goal from Bunch. However, with a new season, new division and new teams to play, Bunch was confident that a mid table finish, rather than a relegation battle, was a realistic target for the ladies.

And yet, after their first game had finished on Saturday, they had started the season with a defeat - hopefully not starting as they mean to go on. But is it such a bad result? Bunch had said they had upped their game in pre season by playing in games against higher division sides, even though these were heavy defeats. Norwich City are newcomers to the division themselves after falling through the trapdoor the season before, and so will be among the promotion favourites - not the teams Haverhill must aim to take points from.

Home form will be crucial for the ladies this season, as will the beginning of the campaign with so many home fixtures - indeed Bunch said she aims to have 'lots of points on the board by Christmas', which will be a more realistic time to assess if they will be fighting at the foot or the middle of the table. They next host Yarmouth on Saturday with Bunch aiming to 'start afresh', and the ladies need to start picking up points if they are to have an enjoyable season.

One local team that is certainly struggling to adapt to life in a different division is the rugby club. Following their promotion to Eastern Counties Division One with a second placed finish last season, they have kicked off the new campaign with two comprehensive defeats. First they lost 74-0 on their opening day trip to Southwold - cue expectancy and optimism ahead of their first home game - before they then lost that as well, this time 60-3 to Cantabrigians.

In fairness to coach Andy Price, he has kept the club grounded with realistic ambitions and expectations. He has told me he aims to 'consolidate our position' in the division, not challenge for promotion - a feat looking increasingly improbable. The club have been hit with different problems that cannot be accounted for, such as player abcenses due to weddings, retirements from the game or unavailability which, at an amatuer sporting level, is understandable.

Another problem has been getting the team to train together in order to form a settled side that can confidently go into matches assured of each other talents and shortcomings. The club next travel to West Norfolk on Saturday and will need to start picking up points soon or risk becoming the whipping boys of the division. Price said the jump in quality between the divisions is significant, whcih is clear, but Harwich and Dovercourt - who narrolwy beat Haverhill to last season's title - have not had as many problems, with one win and a narrow defeat, and so Haverhill must improve fast.

Fortunately one sports club without too much room for improvement is Haverhill Rovers, who find themselves on a very good run of form. They advanced in the FA Vase after a comfortable victory over Debenham LC despite having Sam Holmes harshly sent off. Manager Peter Betts even said he was 'disappinted' with Debenham's performance as they failed to break down a resolute Rovers who were clinical from their set pieces - their three goals came from a Marc Abbott free kick, a Jack Higgs corner and a cooly taken Stuart Wardley penalty. Their next Vase game is against Leiston on October 2, who will no doubt provide a sterner test of their credentials, but as Betts said, when 'nothing is expected' of the team, they have 'nothing to lose'.

Before that they face a trip to Histon Reserves tonight, and after the first XI lost 2-0 at Rushden and Diamonds yesterday, Betts' men should be facing the weaker XI that he hopes for. Last season Rovers won 1-0 at the Glass World Stadium before a thumping 4-0 win at Hamlet Croft. Another trickey tie at the weekend sees them host league leaders Kirkley and Pakefield, though with Rovers in the form they are in now there is now reason why they should not be aiming for victory.

Another pleasing sign with Rovers is how well all of the new players are doing - Dalton O'Brien in particualr is continuing on from his fine start, albeit in not quite as spectacular a fashion. The striker looks able in the lone role and always forces the opposition goalkeeper to work. Jack Higgs is fast becoming a first XI regular and pacy winger, while Greg Strong compliments him well at left back and has made the divisional step up with ease. Joe Boreham looks good in his substitute appearances and perhaps deserving a first XI role. Even Craig Cutts is looking good as a back up striker and capable of filling the shoes of the departed Shaun Banham.

Betts himself is pleasantly surprised with how quickly and efficiently all the new faces are fitting into the team. He said: "It’s pleasing because I thought it would take time for them to gel at the start but looking back to be in the top ten in the first month having only lost one league game, I couldn’t have asked for more. I think the squad could do with a little more depth as we’re fine defensively and will score goals too."

He also singled out Marc Abbott for praise - the attacking midfielder did not seem effective in the latter stages of last season but has already started this season strongly, chipping in with valuable goals and assists from the middle of the park. He is due to become a father soon, and hopefully this will not lead to a dip in form. I said after Rovers dumped Northampton Spencer out of the Vase with a 4-0 win that this level of performance must become the norm rather than the exception if they are to realise their ambitious hopes for a club of this size - so far this has continued, and hopefully it will for the season. Now we just need the hockey and rugby teams to discover a bit of form of their own.

Does anyone care about Europe right now?

Sorry if this seems to be coming a bit late - espeically after a fresh weekend of Premier League action - but as there's little to say about the top flight, except optimistically repeating that we should wait another five games for Chelsea to slip up and Liverpool to climb the table, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at if teams and supporters are actually bothers about their European travels at this stage of the season. Four of England's six representatives eased to victory in an undefeated opening round, but it was notable the lack of ambition or indeed urgency that was present.

Manchester United and Champions' League newboys Tottenham Hotspur were the first up for their group stage ties, and were also the two to fall shot. United's Carling Cup kids laboured on their way to a 0-0 home draw with Rangers, which says as much about how seriously the club treats the competition at this stage as it does about the state of Soctish football. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly assumed he could focus on the league and their upcoming game with Liverpool to field a weakened side in Europe, and after the recent failings of Celtic and Rangers in Europe this approach is understandable. But Rangers also showed a lack of ambition with their 9-1 formation never likely to have a go and try and score, more likely to have everyone standing on the goal line to keep the hosts out. It was disappointing to see such a performance, but United will still be confident of progressing.

Slightly more ambitious were Tottenham, who surrendered a 2-0 advantage to draw in Werder Bremen. Their fans are obviously optimistic about their European hopes, but at what stage will the club opt for pragmatism over ambition? It would be an achievement for the club to reach the kock out stages as they share a group with holders Inter Milan, and though much has been made of Harry Redknapp's improved squad, is it deep enough and experiences enough to cope with the Champions' League and Premier League? Is European success more important than qualifying for the same competition next year? Teams outside the traditional 'Big Four' have thrown away their UEFA Cup prospects to either surrvive in the league or aim to qualify for Europe again, so what will Spurs' attitude be should they find themselves in a simlair situation?

On team that no doubt harbour realistic hopes of winning the tournament in Chelsea, whose ruthlessness in the league continued as they dispatched MSK Zilina 4-1. Winning the competition takes luck and skill, and Chelsea have certainly been lacking in the former over the last few years. It is clear owner Roman Abramovich yearns this trophy above all others, and manager Carlo Ancolotti knows that it will be key for him to have the opportunity to build a dynasty at Stamford Bridge. They rarely had to break a sweat in the opening game to win - and they eased past West Ham in the preceeding league game at a training ground pace.

Can Chelsea win the Champions' League? I think so - I also think they will have more desire than many of the other teams. In 2005 they lost to champions Liverpool to an admittedly dubious goal - in 2006 they lost to champions Barcelona - in 2007 they lost to runners up Liverpool on penalties - in 2008 they lost the final on penalties - in 2009 they lost to champions Barcelona in a game where they should have been awarded at least one decisive penalty - and in 2010 they lost to an Inter Milan side inspired by previous manager Jose Mourinho who still knew the ins and outs of the side. See a pattern emerging? Chelsea usually lose in dubious or unfair circumstances to the side that wins the tournament, and it is still the big unticked box on their 'to do' list. For all the praise given to Barcelona, they have hardly excelled in the competition recently, scraping past Chelsea and beating United before being outclassed by Inter, who proved that a combative and disciplined style - similar to Chelsea's - is effective in nullifying their passing game. Real Madrid may have the superstars but have struggled to perform in the competition consistently for the last several seasons. Of all the contenders at the top, Chelsea must consider themselves among the forerunners.

Is is optimistic to think the same can be said for Arsenal, despite their clincal opening rout of Portugese side Braga. Arsenal have consistantly beaten teams that open up to play against them, and, though they are getting better at coping with it, still struggle in a combative game. Last season's rout at the Camp Nou showed that even playing their game against better teams won't work, despite a valiant fight back at the Emirtates. They will assume qualification, but may be found out against top quality sides in the latter stages.

Over in Europe's B tournament - which I now must unfortunately take an interest in and suffer the humiliation of watching football on Channel Five - both Liverpool and Manchester City eased through their first games. Liverpool, despite not being good enough to qualify for the Champions' League last year, looked much too good for the Europa League as they did last year. The weakened side never seemed too troubled by Steaua Bucharest as they eased to a 4-1 victory that even allowed Luca Levia to score. Without taking the game too seriously it was a comfortable result and a damning indictment of the standard of teams in this competition - remember last season, had it not been for Diego Forlan and the away goals rule, Liverpool would have reached (and probably won) the final against Fulham. Again this year they look a top side when in this B tournament and should go far without breaking too much of a sweat.

Manchester City looked hungry as they beat SV Salzburg 2-0. Roberto Mancini should have no problem motivating his side to excel and end their trophy wait - it seems any will do, not neccessarily the leage at this point. They will face sterner tests but, like Liverpool, will have the quality to go far in this competition without too many problems. This may be a competition where not just the team with the most quality, but also the team with the most desire, is the most successful.

Despite all these successes and struggles, it was noticable the lack of support at this stage of proceedings - indeed there were swathes of empty seats inside Old Trafford. So do fans really care at this point? It seems Chelsea, United and Arsenal can safely assume groups stage qualification, and that is when the real football starts. The seeding system ensures that the top teams do not have to meet any of their rivals until the latter stages, which takes the excitment away somewhat, save for a few unpredictable results. Sound sfamiliar? The World Cup employed the same format to ensure the top seeded nations would not meet until after the group stage.

So why does this seeding have to happen? All it does is ensure smaller teams cann't enjoy the benefits of progressing in the tournament while the more established and richer teams can safely plan their way into the last 16 at least. It effectively enforces a system of inequality that will continue to widen due to the financial benefits. Would a non seeded system be welcomed? Soom yearn for the days of the old knock out tournaments and only league champions entering, but sureluy that would be more unfair - as it stands, four English teams may be able to win the tournament, along with two Spanish and two Italian, so that pool of eight teams would shrink to three under a champions only policy.

Another issue, sadly as with all aspects of football, is how the financial rewards become paramount to the sporting achievements - Tottenham's qualification did not spark congratulations of their sporting accomplishment, but rather awe that they would be netting extra tens of millions. Is that all the Champions' League is? Is Europe's premier club competition just a money making machine? That would certainly explain United's complacent approach and a seeding system designed to benefit the bigger teams.

And if that is true, then what hope is there for the Europa League? As I said, City will be motivated for sporting success due to their financial situation anyway, but Liverpool never really looked concerned, and most fans, myself included, would prefer Champions' League qualification to Europa League success. It would be nice if pride and glory could again replace money as the primary motivator in sport, but those days may be long past.

(Picture: Reuters)

Anticlimactic endings and bitter beginnings

As the nights get darker and colder with the onset of winter, so one sporting season drew to a close as another began. The cricket club celebrated their hard earnt triumph as they were promoted to Marshall Hatchick Division One - albiet in the most anticlimactic manner possible. With the strength of rivals Ipswich breathing down their necks, the title chase was always likely to go down to the last day, and so it proved. Haverhill were stranded as their potentially tricky game against Brightlingsea was cancelled while Ipswich eased to maximum points, scoring 212-6 before dismissing Brockley for 91. In the end though it proved that the team had done enough, edging ahead of Ipswich on average points to become champions.

The only disappointment can be the amount of games called off - six have been cancelled this year, meaning Haverhill have played just 14 games - three more than second placed Ipswich. Has this perhaps skewed the table and made it rather unfair? Would Haverhill have continued their fine form to be kings of Division Two if they had played those extra features? Brightlingsea on the final day certainly would have been a stern test with the team third in the table, and Haverhill never met mid table Braintree.

But this must not detract from the team's achievements - with 13 wins from 14 games, a win record of almost 93 per cent, that would surely have been enough for almost any sports team to win any division. The manner of their victories has also seen them comprehensively defeat teams nearby in the table, notabley doing the double over second placed Ipswich to prove their superiority. So they have been tested against the best sides in this division, and they have come out on top.

Adam Dellar has inspired a number of fine performances from his side, and as numerous people affiliated with the club testify in Thursday's Echo, the number of young players that have ensured their dominance is surely positive for the club's future. They have triumphed without superstar players, only having Chris Silverwood as their celebrity player. They were humbled by the Lashings XI and needlessly dropped points in their early season defeat by Hadleigh, but apart from that have been focussed and driven in winning their division. When chasing a score they have proved to be unstoppable, with a good mix of strong bowling to dismiss the opposition before some fine batting to ease past the set score.

The average points scoring method may not seem a fair way to judge teams - why should Ipswich lose after playing three more games? - but it is surely the fairest method available. Next season they will be in Division One, hopefully with better weather throughout the summer to provide a fairer refelction in that division. The team will hope they can cope well with the jump in quality, and judging by how fair ahead of the pack Haverhill and Ipswich were this season they should have no problems being competitive.

However, as the cricket team celebrated their end of season success, the rugby club was left to commiserate a truly humbling start to life in Greene King IPA Eastern Counties Division One. Coach Any Price had been optimistic before the game - after all, last year they had only lost to opponants Southwold by a point in the Suffolk Cup at Castle Playing Fields, and that with a worse team to the current XV.

Southwold clearly had other ideas to welcoming Haverhill as they subjected the visitors to a thumping 74-0 defeat. Any per-season optimism or expectations will have been brought under check by that result - now Price must hope morale is not battered for the team to pick themselves up.

Before the game last week he told me the jump in quality was sizeable - nevertheless, I still expected Haverhill to do well. Last season they eased to promotion from Division Two, along with champions Harwich and Dovercourt finishing ahead of Ipswich YM by some margin. They lost just twice - at home to Harwich and away to Ipswich - and so were clearly among the two best teams. However, they maybe one of those yo-yo teams that is too good for one division and not good enough for another.

Though it is early days and much too soon to judge the team. They have already identified some problems - namely giving away too many cheap penalties. In Division Two, with sides frequently kicking wide, this was not a problem, but in Division One, with more pleayers on target, it is. To let the opposition take 13 penalties is inviting a hammering.

Price was witheld and cautious when I spoke to him about his expectations, stressing that consolidating their position in that division rather than aiming for promotion was the realistic aim. On Saturday theu face their first home game of the season against Canterbrigian, and will be hoping for an improved performance to begin the season afresh with a home win, no doubt bouyed by the same strong home support they benefitted from last season.

And lets not forget that the hockey gets underway on Saturday as Haverhill host Norwich City I. Captain Tina Bunch's side certainly stuggled last season - avoiding relegation on the last day with an away win at Lincoln Roses, and need a poor Bourne and Spalding sides to fold and take their place in the drop. A league resuffle now sees them move over to Division 2NE, with Bunch hoping last year to end up in a different division. Hopefully they can capitilise on this and enjoy a more successful season than the last.

So congratulations to the cricket club for a fantastic achievement - hope things improve for the rugby club as they look to cement their place in Division One and not just fall straight back through the trapdoor - and good luck to the hockey team when they start on Saturday.

Capello blunts critics' axe

In the aftermath of the 'disasterous' South Africa campaign, the inquest and nfinger pointing was qucik to begin. Of course, it was all manager Fabio Capello's fault. It had little to do with the players that neither Steve McClaren nor Sven-Goran Eriksson could inspire to the glory we have come to expect of them. Too much time spent along in hotel rooms. Deprived of their families - despite the complaints of their presence in Baden Baden in 2006. The FA shouldered some of the blame for rushing into ensuring Capello remained in his post after June by remlving the break clause that could have seen him flying dirctly back to Milan. Now it would cost in excess of £6 million to boot out the cold foreigner the proud Brits didn't want in charge - money the FA could ill afford given that they are penning as many dates in the Wembley calendar as possibe to repay the construction debts and seemingly relaying the farm field of a pitch every week.

And so, with the calls mounting for Capello to 'show some dignity' and quit - after two competitive defeats - he had the perfect opportunity to silence his critics in the best way possible - with football. The display against Hungary last month has hardly been a cause for optimism - the only positive not was that stand in captain Steven Gerrard had performed his Liverpool role of dragging a lifeless team to victory with a virtuose individual few minutes. And there were mixed feelings with so many of the old guard - captain Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard - absent through injury. Perhaps it really was time for the new dawn of English football?

Whatever mistakes Capello made during his time in South Africa, he got almost every decision spot in for these two games. What better way to respond to criticism than with a resounding win over Bulgaria? Only 12 months ago sucha result would have been taken for granted but now, after the summer and a crushing defeat to Germany, who finished third in the tournament, we were back to the doom and gloom of expecting insipid displays that earned nothing against these teams.

Instead we were treated to another fine display and soon forgot about the absence of the old guard. There were refreshing changes, both in terms of who was playing and the new roles for the old timers. Gerrard looked anew in his preferred central role, picking out the pinpoint passes that were largely absent in a World Cup campaign that saw the strikers left isolated or falling back deep to get involved in the play. Jermain Defoe was clinical in putting his chances away to bag England's first competitive hat-trick since Theo Walcott's memorable night in Zagreb. Defoe has always been one of England's best finisher - he does fall shot in other departments, rarely making chances himself or getting involved in play to the same extent as Wayne Rooney, but given chances he will score goals.

Walcott himself was welcomed back and seemed to prove evidence that he should have flown out to Bloemfontein as one of the 25. Joe Hart also showed why he should have been in goal for that campaign, instead of the error-prone Rob Green or the past-it David James. Hart's development over the last several seasons has been phenomenal, turning from a reserve keeper loaned out to lower Premier League or Championship sides to the first choice for his country and the highest spending team in the league. Phil Jagielka is another strong candidate to be regularly making the starting XI after two near flawless displays, the Everton defender showing the form that made his side pay £6 million to sign him from Sheffield United after the Blades' relegation.

Adam Johnson was restricted to a substitute's appearance, but wasted no time in showing his class. The winger is one of these players that seems to have been born to play for England and effortlessly made the step up in class. His goal was speculative, but it was good to see a player with confidence to take that sort of shot on. His rise has been meteoric and similar to Hart's, signing from Championship contenders Middlesbrough in January for what now looks like a bargain, believed to be around £7 million. With both him and Hart aged 23, both are exciting prospects with great potential. If they can stay injury free and keep improving then, along with the likes of Walcott and others, perhaps we can have a whole new 'Golden Generation'? How ironic that of all the hundreds of millions spent at middle Eastlands, it it the two players from the lower English divisons - Hart just £700,000 from League Two - that have established themselves as two of the team's stars in amongst all the 'galacticos'.

After trouncing Bulgaria, the sheepish critics were now saying this was expected against a team ranked a lowly 43rd in the World Rankings. Switzerland would provide a sterner test - they were the only side to have beaten World Champions Spain in Durban, and surely could give England the run around. The 17th placed team were seen as England's main competitors in a group we were again expected to top.

To make matter more difficult before kick off in Basel news broke of Rooney's happy times spent with different ladies of the night. Would he be able to play effectively? Had this ruined his World Cup? The two thoughts seemed contradictory given his hand in all four goals against Bulgaria at Wembley. Gerrard gave an assured press conference about how Rooney would be ready to play and how others were not in a position to judge him. After all, if England chose players based on the accuracy of their moral compass, would we even be able to field a starting XI? Defoe has been caught up to no good in a car, Gerrard was cleared of his pub punch up, Ferdinand was too busy buying jumpers to attend a drugs test, Ashley Cole relaxes by sending naked pictures of himself to other women and John Terry committed the henious crime of having an affair with the ex-girlfriend fo a team mate, who obviously still thought he should have a say in what his ex-partner got up to. Even St Beckham had the whole Rebecca Loos incident.

This time it was Rooney who promptly answered his critics, firing home the opening goal in just ten minutes. The incident was somewhat ruined by Walcott's tumble, though it is welcome news to hear that he is only likely to be out for two weeks. Another concern is why so many of Arsenal's players seem to be made of glass? Each season they seem to have at least ten of their starting XI missing half of the campaign, and each season at least one player has a leg snapped like a toothpick by one of the rough'n'tumble teams. While the latter is not the club's fault for others taking an agressive approach, why they have a disproportionate number of players absent through niggles and minor injuries is surely concerning to fans.

After struggling to make the Swiss crumble (pun intended) with the second half wearing on, Adam Johnson again showed his class and cool composure to round and slot past Diego Benaglio to double England's lead. It was another sublime pass from Gerrard that created the opportunity as England were gelling well. Hart made a few blunders that could have cost England but was helpless to stop Xherdan Shaqiri's spectacular goal reducing the deficit. Glen Johnson looked strong going forward and was unlucky not to score, though like many others I have reservations about his defensive capabilities - would he not be better as a right winger? Gareth Bale has turned from mediocre to world class by moving a few yards further up the field.

Joleon Lescott looked able but still short of the £24 million City paid for his signiture. Milner is another who looks able of holding his own at City, who have made a mockery of the suggestion theya re ruining English football by frequently fielding seven England internationals in their starting XI. Ashely Cole is another class performer who has been consistantly brilliant for England. Even Gareth Barry looked like he may have ability he forgot to bring to South Africa, and if he can remain the anchorman with Gerrard pushing forward we could have a dangerous midfield (minus Lampard, of course).

England were somewhat fortnate with the referee, not giving red cards to the Three Lions players or giving penalties while assisting them by dismissing Stephan Lichtsteiner. I was glad to see Darren Bent again show good composure and finishing to wrap up the win for England. He has been a top player for Sunderland but always failed when given the rare opportunity to shine on the international stage. This time he seized it, taking an important goal well, and can hopefully grow from that to become a compeitive striker for England.

However, after these two wins lets not get carried away with a wave of euphoria and optimism. Yes, England should have won these games and did. Did the World Cup humbles us that much? Unlucky against the USA, admittedly dire aganst Algeria, should have scored more against Slovenia and then hammered by a vibrant and strong German side that finished third, and even in that the team were unlucky with a few decisions. England are ranked seventh in the world - so to often reach quarter finals is a fair reflection.

England are like Andy Murray, usually doing the job and sweeping aside lower rank sides but falling short against the better sides. Murray, with the odd exception, will beat the players below him to steadily progress to the semi finals, but will invariable fall short agianst the Rafael Nadals and the Roger Federers of tennis. Especially on the big stage of the Grand Slam - even if he beats one, he falls short against another. Just as England beat the lower ranked sides in qualifying, they fall short on the big stage against the Germanys and the Portugals of world football.

It is difficult to assess Capello's success at international level - he is not the failure the tabloids deem, and I feel was both unlucky and unfortunate at a world cup where expectations were unrealistically high. One supporter said his record compared to club football would see England with a win ratio to win the league, but that's unfair as clubs regularly face teams of similar ability while international teams only play other top sides at the latter stages of biannual tournaments due to the seeding system, so arguably we will not be able to assess England again until Poland and Ukraine 2012. Hopefully we can see the side progress and be strong for that competition - the critics will at least have some relief knowing that Capello will step aside regardless of how we perform in the tournament. Hopefully now the country can be united in support and measured in cautious optimism, if not expectation.

(Picture: Reuters)

Is O'Brien the cutting edge Rovers need?

Haverhill Rovers enjoyed a thumping FA Vase victory on Saturday in a game that could not have been much different that their miserable FA Cup exit only four days before. Last Tuesday they folded to a 3-1 home defeat by Wellingborough Town 2004 at New Croft after drawing 1-1 away to force a replay. It was a hugly disappointing result for the side, espcially after manager Peter Betts' comments about the FA Cup being the most important competition for the side from a financial viewpoint. He stressed the team felt they needed better facilities and support to advance in the cup, and as they capitulated at New Croft in front of an impressive home gathering they were truly out of excuses.

Rovers looked out of ideas as they fell short against Wellingborough. They had fallen behind to an unfortunate first goal, then saw the deficit doubled from the penalty spot with nobody watching quite sure why a spot kick had been awarded. Marc Abbott continued his fine form to fire home just before the break in what looked like a potential rallying cry for the side, but in the end it was some sloppy defending that cost them. In the second half the hosts had come out flying with everything they had at the visitors as they pressed for an equaliser - they played some good passing and a high tempo game, kept possession, and really got at the UCL Premier Division side.

However, when a team does up their game to this level there is always a danger they will fall short after exerting themselves, and this is exactly what happened. Marc Abbott had come close, brother Paul showed intent by darting in and sending a piledriver just over - even Craig Cutts saw his shot well saved. But after 20 minutes or so of domination the team were jaded and tired with nothing to show for it. As per usual, they had been strong in defence, had good passing through the midfield, but nobody up front with the precision to put the ball in the net from the chances they were given. Sam Holmes' sloppy back pass that resulted in the visitors taking an undeserved two goal lead and ensuring their progression was complacent at best.

But what a difference a few days can make. This time they lined up for another important game as they began their FA Vase campaign against Northampton Spencer. There was little differnece between the two sides on paper, with Betts saying he knew little about the visitors but expected them to be strong. They also play in the UCL Premier Division, and sit seventh, 11 places above Wellingborough Town. So it would be reasonable to expect Rovers to struggle against the opposition - certainly not to demolish them in the fashion on Saturday's win.

Betts had spoken to me with excitement and expectation about new striker Dalton O'Brien when I spoke to him for last week's Echo. He had a centre forward who had turned down 'three Ryman North clubs and one Ridgeons Premier club' - although I had my doubts as to whether this was because he was devoted to Rovers or because he saw an easier opportunity to play regular football than at other clubs. Betts said the Cambridge City triallist had been impressed with the New Croft facilities and that had been one of his primary reason for chosing the club.

Luck is often welcome when a team is struggling, and Rovers were fortunate to start in the way they did. Greg Strong's speculative goal from half way between the half way line and the D should have been easily collected by Pete Smith, but instead the goalkeeper did his own impression of Rob Green's howler against the USA in Rustenburg. If luck saw them take the lead though it was skill that turned the game into a thrashing.

O'Brien certainly looked every bit the classy player Betts had hoped for. Shortly after Strong's opening goal, Rovers showed the attacking intent they will need if they are to press their ambitions of a top ten finish in the Ridgeons Premier League this season. Strong was combining well with Jack Higgs down the left while O'Brien was working well with Marc Abbott to form chances - in fact both had missed before Abbott doubled the lead with a well worked goal.

O'Brien had already ensured a memorable debut before the interval as he had given Rovers a comprehensive lead - any fears about a struggle were vanquished as they went in 3-0 up at the break, the sizable crowd enjoying the game and forgetting the frustrations of the kick off being delayed by 30 minutes after the visiting side failed to account for traffic casued by the Duxford Air Show.

The team picked up where they had left off before the interval as they continued to press for more goal. Louis Harper was much improved after the break and worked a number of good chances, setting up O'Brien for his second just five minutes after the restart. Numerous other efforts were sent just wide or over the bar, and Joe Boreham was unlucky not to score as his open goal shot was headed clear.

Northampton Spencer offered very little going forward - a testament to how solid Stuart Wardley and Marcus Hunt were in defence, with Stuart Kingham again frustrating them with good break up play. Matt Morrision though looked very assured in goal when called upon, which forunately was not often.

What was equally refreshing as a dream debutant was to see several new faces gelling so well and adding so much to the team. Higgs provided much going forward and got into good positions, while Boreham looked strong in the middle and offered much going forward. With both still teenagers, there is also room for development and improvement still. Strong looked, well, strong at left back, defending confidently while pushing up the pitch when in possession. There is also depth at least on the bench with the journeying Cutts brothers returning.

It may be a concern that Rovers did miss more than they scored - though this always goes unnoticed when you thrash any team 4-0, even if you miss another ten shots. However, in other games Rovers will not get ten shots, and may have to score to one or two they get to take a point or three. O'Brien was not on target all the time, and though he did not take the match ball home, two goals and an assist on a debut is hardly a bad start.

Now the team will hope to maintain this high level of performance - this was not just O'Brien having a great start, it was everyone looking strong in their positions. If they can play at this level consistantly their ambitions will be realised - so fans will hope it is a sign of things to come rather than a one-off spectacular performance. And if O'Brien can keep scoring, then perhaps they will have finally solved their long standing problem of lacking a clinical striker who can fire them forward.