STANWAY ROVERS had a sense of deja-vu in their latest outing in the Ridgeons premier division.

Having battled back from 3-0 down against Dereham at the Hawthorns to be level at 3-3, Rovers succumbed to a late penalty to lose 4-3.

Stanway’s goals came from Nathan Sharp, with his second in two games and others came from Ben Newson and Sam Newson.

The outcome was reminiscent of Stanway’s previous premier division match when they lost 5-3 to Felixstowe and Walton United in midweek.

Rovers had been 3-0 down and came back to 3-3 in that game but ended up losing.

Joint manager Rob Bate bemoaned his team’s poor defending and said they would be looking to improve their record.

He said: “It was similar to our previous game against Felixstowe.

“We were 2-0 down at half-time then 3-0 down soon after the break but we brought it back to 3-3 with a great work-rate and showed real character.

“However, we gave away a late penalty which was a real blow.

“We are not defending well as a team and communication needs to be better.

“There were a lot of positives though and we always looked dangerous going forward.

“However, it is from the front to the back that we need to be defending.

“There is no finger pointing and it does not just rest on the four people at the back – it goes right the way through the team.”