It has been over two months since I last blogged - and how things have changed. In that piece I spoke about how well Haverhill Rovers had started the campaign and, despite an indifferent pre-season, were playing some good football and enjoying some comprehensive victory - this written after the 5-1 drubbing of Ely City. Since then, however, things deteriorated quickly, and Rovers have picked up just one league win - 3-2 at CRC two games later - and suffered five league defeats, including the 3-0 home drubbing by Brantham Athletic on October 15 (pictured here), a team they 'cut to shreds' with a 3-2 FA Cup win little over a month before, and three draws. There has been some cup consolation - reaching the quarter finals of the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup and the Suffolk Cup (where they will play Mildenhall Town in January) and the last 16 of the Ridgeons League Cup - but they have still exited the FA Cup following their 1-0 loss at King's Lynn Town, and more recently crashed out of the FA Vase to the same scoreline at Felixstowe and Walton United on Saturday (October 22).I have not been able to attend the New Croft much lately - I was at the 5-1 FA Vase thumping of Norwich United, but since have only been to the 3-1 Ridgeons League Cup win against CUP on Tuesday from which to draw my latest conclusions about the team. Firstly, and what was noticeable on the team sheet and the pitch, is that this was a squad ravaged by injuries, suspensions and availability. Nowhere was this more evident than at the back of the park, as Rovers have been struggling to find any centre-halves lately. Marcus Hunt was available, and composed as usual at the back, although Adam Dellar, Sam Holmes and Ryan Geoghegan were all absent through injury, while Stuart Wardley began the first of a four-match ban for a
ludicrous sending off in the 4-3 loss at Ely. Also missing was captain Paul Abbott, leaving Hunt to be partnered at the back by midfield bruiser Stuart Kingham and flanked by the newly promoted Cobi Guyon and the ever-reliable Greg Strong.
This uncertainty in defence was evident - Rovers started much the better team, but soon fell behind against the run of play and were then on the back foot. Kingham looked unfamiliar as a centre half and provided some tantalising opportunities for Jordan McDermott and Anthony Blandford in the CUP attack, with Hunt having to come to the rescue. Strong and Guyon looked good at the back and surging forward, but the unfamiliarity throughout the back four was clear. CUP hit the post when a goal ahead and squandered a number of good chances, and the Ridgeons Division One outfit could perhaps count themselves unfortunate to not at least force extra time.The midfield was a little more composed and usual, despite the absence of several key players. Joe Boreham and Jamie Challis both looked comfortable in the middle, but both are the same fit - a holding midfielder. Neither has the creativity or the inclination to surge forward or pick out a pass, and they provided little penetration to the team, something illustrated when Louis Harper's introduction for Boreham at the interval provided a fresh impetus. That central creativity has often this season come from Joe Harvey, who is absent through a broken toe but expected to return for Rovers' next game at Diss Town on November 5. I never understood why manager Peter Betts rated the midfielder so highly when he returned last season, but with his pre-season goal haul this year and a fine run of form, that faith was beginning to be justified. Another key and noticeable absentee is Marc Abbott, who looks likely to be out until the New Year after breaking his leg. He set the bar high last season and failed to perform at that level consistently, but on his day is one of the finest midfielders in the division. In terms of creativity, Wardley's raking accurate passes to set up attacks were missed on Tuesday, though fortunately his absence is not long term.
Down
the flanks though Rovers are still looking strong. Greg Strong and Paul Abbott are offering thrust from the back, and both interchange nicely with respective wingers Jack Wilkinson and Harry Halls. Wilkinson's return is a big plus for the club, as at one stage it looked like he may remain at parent club Needham Market after returning there to help ease their own injury crisis recently. He has looked increasingly accomplished since his arrival, another shrewd loan signing by Betts, and has grown in stature. He put in a man-of-the-match performance against CUP, created a number of good goal scoring chances, was confident in taking shots from range and composed to convert the penalty. On the opposite side, Harry Halls had been one of the season's revelations with his fine start, but had been absent lately through injury. He showed signs of returning to that form - which Marc Abbott proved last season is not easy - but if he can excel, then he will be another fine home-grown product.There is also a fine selection of youth coming through - Cobi Guyon has done well since his promotion to the first XI, while Luke Youngs, Haverhill Cricket Club wicketkeeper and son of captain Simon, had a fine, albeit brief debut, combining with Wilkinson to set up Scott Lodge for Rovers' third. There has been much shuffling between the sticks - Alex Archer, who looked good but somewhat uncomfortable when dealing with corners and free kicks, returns to parent club Peterborugh United, Joe Harrington's brief stay ended when he was offered a trial at Ipswich Town and second-choice stopper Jamie Greygoose departed for Great Yarmouth Town. Luke Howard has looked an able goalkeeper since his introduction, although perhaps he could have done more than palm Tony Beck's deflected shot into the path of McDermott for CUP's goal, and hopefully he will remain throughout the campaign and become more settled and assured.
Things are still looking promising in the final third though, especially with Shaun Banham's return. I never held the centre forward in much high regard from what little I saw of him at Hamlet Croft before he left at the end of the 2009-10 campaign, where it seemed he got into the side more on merit of being better than Martin Westcott than being outstanding himself. I saw him squander a number of opportunities and thought Rovers would be scoring many more goals with a more clinical presence upfront. However, since returning he has scored and won penalties in both games, so is clearly an able - and improved - striker that is a welcome addition to what becomes a worryingly thin squad when hit by a number of injuries. Increased precision up front has been provided by Lodge and Dan Cornwell, who have both had fantastic starts to their Rovers careers and can hopefully maintain that path - however, the worry is that Rovers could be left short by injury to either two, or either could be snatched away if they prove to be a success.
So, it has been a difficult few
weeks for Rovers, but there are signs that they may be beginning to turn around. Sam Holmes, Paul Abbott, Cornwell, Harvey, Adam Dellar and Geoghegan should all return for their next game at Diss Town, leaving only Marc Abbott and Wardley missing the next few games. At full strength they are a force to be reckoned with, and it seems unfortunate that they have recently been hampered by not only injuries to key personnel, but also some poor refereeing decisions against them. Confidence comes and goes in football with results, and going into this respite on the back of a win, albeit against lower-league opposition in a cup, could prove just the catalyst to igniting a good run. This time least year they enjoyed a seven-game winning run and an 11-game unbeaten run, and a string of victories could come just as quickly as this recent run of defeats. Hopefully they will, and Rovers can begin to ascend the table and book their place in another cup final.
