Haverhill Rovers will be looking to kick-start their league campaign when they travel to Heacham this weekend.
Rovers have made a slow start in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division, taking just one point from their opening two games before suffering defeat at home to Halstead Town in the FA Cup.
Last season’s runners-up finally got their first win of the new campaign at the fourth attempt on Saturday, beating lower-league Langford 3-1 away from home in the FA Vase.
Thomas Stoker and Thomas Newman put Rovers two goals ahead inside the opening 15 minutes before Aaron Hamer added a third. Langford scored a consolation in the final minute.
The match was played in difficult conditions on a rock-hard pitch, but manager Ben Cowling was pleased with how his side handled the challenge.
“It’s nice to get a win,” he said. “We rotated the squad. I just think the most important thing was overcoming the conditions.
“It’s probably the worst pitch I’ve ever seen, playing at a Step 5-6 level. They can’t get water onto the pitch, it’s something that a lot of clubs have been struggling with. We’re fortunate to be in the position that we’re in.
“You weren’t allowed to warm up on the pitch. It wasn’t ideal. We were playing someone from a division below at their home ground, so they were game throughout, but we got a couple of early goals, which settled it down and it was pretty comfortable.”
Ben Bradley and Jarid Robson were both absent after becoming fathers over the weekend, having started the previous week.
Cowling was pleased his squad was able to cope with the changes, with summer recruitment aimed at providing greater depth.
“It was a professional performance from us,” said Cowling. “We got out of there without picking up any injuries. So, all round, job done. We move on to the next round and we’ve got a home tie.”
Rovers will face Letchworth Garden City Eagles at home in the next round of the Vase next month.
Cowling said the tie also provided a valuable opportunity to give minutes to players who had not featured as regularly during the opening games.
He said: “It may not show it quite yet, but we focused in the summer on getting together a group of 17, 18 players who we felt were all capable of starting games.
“Last season, our squad probably wasn’t deep enough towards the end. With that in mind, we’ve got nine months of the season to go.
“We got the opportunity to give some players some good game time and take others that have played most of the previous three games out. It was a good opportunity to do that and it worked.”
Now Rovers need to carry that momentum into the league, starting with Saturday’s trip to Heacham.
Their hosts have lost all three of their opening league games and conceded 15 goals, but Cowling knows Rovers cannot afford to take anything for granted.
“We’ve got a very good squad. It hasn’t quite clicked yet,” he added.
“That will come. Hopefully, we can use the momentum from Saturday, and we’ve now got to go and put three or four wins together on the bounce.
“Heacham will obviously have a point to prove. It’s a bit of a difficult place to go.
“It’s probably our longest journey of the season. I’m not sure what condition their pitch is in, but ultimately, we need to go and play.
“Fortunately, we managed to cut out some of the individual errors that have plagued us for the first three games on Saturday. We need to reinforce that and just make sure that we do the basics right, to be honest.
“We need to try and start putting a little run together. Get some points on the board and see where it takes us.”
Rovers are back at home on Tuesday night when they entertain Stowmarket Town.
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