Dream disappears in sinking Sands

They dominated the game for 60 minutes, but in the end Haverhill Rovers' hopes of ending their four year trophy drought were dashed in 60 seconds. That's the difference a top striker makes - Rovers may have lavished possession and felt comfortable enough on a chilly Tuesday night (April 12) at Cambridge United's Abbey Stadium, but all of their dominance was unrewarded, and instead it was their wastefulness that was punished. Rovers were the better team, but they were not the winning team and football teams win by scoring goals, not setting the tempo or controlling possession or anything else, and so when the whistle blew it was Mildenhall Town who lifted the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup while Rovers were left on the pitch as the dejected losers.

It was a difficult and frustrating night for Rovers and it is hard to think what they could have done differently with hindsight given their resources. The whole team did well the set the pace of the game and control things from early on, but a few half chances that the attacking trio of Dalton O'Brien, Owen Paynter and Marc Abbott failed to capitalise on was an ominous sign of things to come. Defensively the team was solid, and their opponents certainly did not look like a team that had thumped Rovers 6-0 three weeks earlier. Joe Boreham did an excellent job deputising for the injured Stuart Kingham, who was not as sorely missed as he has been in recent weeks, although the teenager does have more tendencies to surge forward as well as shielding the back four. It was a relief to see manager Peter Betts resist the urge to put captain Marcus Hunt in that role, preferring instead to retain him in his preferred role alongside Stuart Wardley at centre half, and the two always make an imposing obstacle, their primary weakness a lack of pace that can leave to the team being countered against sometimes.

It was this weakness that saw Rovers fall behind. Mildenhall's super-striker John Sands - who had not been too influential up until the hour mark - got through and was hauled down by Wardley outside the box, who was perhaps fortunate to only see yellow. Another blunder, this time from Matt Morrison between the sticks, saw the goalkeeper wrong footed as Sands' unimpressive free kick glided to the side of the wall and into the centre of the goal. I had barely had a chance to scribble down what had happened when, within a minute, left-back James Paterson - who had been Mildenhall's sharpest player with a piledriver over the bar in the opening half - weaved down the left and crossed into the middle for Sands to head home his second. Haverhill Rovers 0, Mildenhall Town 2. All that good work had been for nothing - it almost appeared that Mildenhall had not had to bother, that they just chose their moment to strike and then won at will.

Rovers continued to push but failed to make any real headway. Paul Abbott surged forward down the right and Greg Strong down the left, but all too often by the time the full backs had got their head up to release the ball the space was closed down and the chance lost. Sitting in the stands it was frustrating to watch, but at this level it would be unrealistic to expect players to be able to play with their heads up and the ball at their feet. Abbott and O'Brien had half chances, but never made any real headway. Joe Harvey was a disappointment, and it was no surprise to see him hauled off to be replaced by the energetic Callum Harrison. Owen Paynter was replaced by Craig Cutts, and for all the struggles of the Hundon striker to establish himself at New Croft, he actually set up the best chance of the night, chipping Josh Pope for Higgs to shoot at open goal, only to see his shot hit the head of a Mildenhall defender on the line. The unlikely save summed up Rovers' frustrations on the night, and as the stoppage time minutes ticked away, so did Betts' hopes of having his good work this season rewarded.

When I spoke to Betts the following morning, it was clear the frustration was not so much with the final loss, but as much as it was losing to a team that was effectively second best. Rovers had been on a poor run of form in the Ridgeons Premier League, winless in nine and being doubled by Stanway Rovers and stuttering to a goalless draw against Wroxham. Their form had picked up in doing the league double over Newmarket Town with a second string XI, but they still seemed to have lost form at a pivotal moment of the season. Rovers' ambitions had risen from surviving to unsuccessfully applying for promotion and saying finishing outside of the top four would be a 'disappointment' to accepting a top six finish would be an achievement.

In the preceding weeks the injuries had piled up for Rovers with Neil Cogger and Kingham still missing, along with other players like cricket captain Adam Dellar, who had seen an increasing amount of first XI opportunities, but nevertheless this was a game Rovers were confident of winning. Ultimately, Mildenhall won on the night not because of a better XI, but because of a better one - Sands. A glance at their form from before he joined in the season speaks volumes - after an opening day win they endured an eight game winless run before winning 19 or 29 since, turning them from relegation candidates into pace setters near the top of the table. He has scored 30 goals in 34 games, narrowly eclipsed by Brantham Athletic's Ollie Mann on a reverse of 34 goals from 30 games, though his strikes have only propelled Brantham up to 16th in the table. Rovers will have the chance to tame him and do the double over Brantham when they head there on Saturday (April 16, 3pm kick off).

How Rovers could use such a striker. A cursory glance down the top scorers of the Ridgeons Premier League chart reveals that Rovers do not even get a mention. Wisbech Town are the only other top six side to not feature a striker on the top 12 leader board, while champions Leiston have two in Michael Brothers (17 goals) and Gareth Heath (16 goals). Second placed Wroxham have benefited from Damian Hilton's 16 strikes, while third placed Dereham Town have had ten more from Danny Beaumont and of course Mildenhall have Sands. That is what it takes to compete at the top of the division, and that is what Rovers are lacking.

O'Brien has done a fine job this season, and with ten strikes from 29 games finally gives Rovers someone that will reach double figures, though the fact that centre halves Hunt and Wardley are joint second top scorers with seven apiece is ominous, as is Cutts and Harrison coming after with four each. Dan Emmanuel pops up next after his brief stint, with three goals in five showing Rovers the class they are missing. Clearly what Rovers are missing is a 20-goals-a-season-man, but as with any level of football, from the Ridgeons Premier League to the Barclays Premier League, they are rare and expensive. While O'Brien and Paynter will no doubt provide numerous goals - and hopefully the latter will remain next season - they will not be cutting the imposing figure that Sands did on Tuesday. Despite having a strong contingent of Haverhill born-and-bred players and a young squad, Betts has already said the town is 'not great at producing 6ft 2in forwards', and he will have to shop elsewhere. Given the club's financial position, it is difficult to see where they can acquire such a player when competing against the league's heavyweights.

Their lack of firepower is evident in the league table, where you have to scroll down to Felixstowe and Walton United in 17th to find any team with as low a goals scored ratio (52). Only the bottom four teams in the division have a worse scoring record than Rovers. It is their defensive record (conceded 44) that has seen them climb up to sixth, even if it took a pounding with the thrashings at Mildenhall and Leiston. However, games are won by outscoring the opposition, not by stopping them from scoring (although obviously this is a merit). It echoes back to the troubles of the 2009-10 season in which Rovers would draw or lose games at Hamlet Croft after dominant spells due to a lack of bite up front, leaving them to finish mid-table with the potential to be much higher.

Now Rovers have just five league games remaining, starting at Brantham on Saturday. The players will no doubt remain motivated despite the cup final heartache, and can hopefully finish on a high. Betts talked to me about 'progressing' the club - something he has no doubt done since reviving them from a basement club to a top six side - but now he needs to take the next step, and the obvious hole in his side is a top, top striker. Mildenhall proved what a difference that can make when they lifted the cup that looked like it was heading back to New Croft for an hour on Tuesday, and now Rovers need to find their own Sands to keep competing at the top of the league and lift their first trophy since the 2007 3-1 triumph over Saffron Walden in the final of the Ridgeons Division One Knock-Out Cup. If Rovers could find someone to provide them with those extra goals, and if they submit their promotion application on time next season, then perhaps Betts' ambition of seeing Rovers departing the Ridgeons League for the Ryman League may be realised sooner than anyone expects.