STANWAY Rovers boss Danny Slatter admits his team need to start taking their chances and putting the ball in the back of the net, after his side drew 1-1 on Tuesday night at The Hawthorns in the local derby with Long Melford, writes MARK TUXFORD.

The away side took the lead midway through the first half when Melford striker Jake Griffiths cooly finished past Luke Skinner in the home goal, before Rovers got back on level terms shortly after when Craig Hughes poked home from a few yards out after a dangerous corner from Tyler Kemp.

Both sides had golden chances to win it with great passages of play producing a largely end-to-end contest, but the finishing was lacklustre and a draw was a fair reflection.

“It’s unfortunate to come away with a draw especially having done enough to put the game to bed,” Slatter said.

“I think we had around 14 corners tonight, Tyler Kemp’s delivery into the box was second to none and half of those should have been in the goal, they were that good.”

At times the home side took the game to Melford, creating a plethora of chances with neat passages of play in the midfield, coupled with a solid defensive unit lead by the captain and goalscorer on the night, Hughes.

But the opening two games have seen Stanway become frustrated with their inability to put the ball in the back of the net, something that Slatter is working hard to rectify.

“Everyone wants a striker to bag 30 goals, but it’s finding them and developing them,” Slatter added.

“I want to strengthen certain areas and there may be some players that become available that we can take a look at that might be able to help us.

“I also have players here that can become good strikers at this level, but it's all about confidence and getting on that run, if one goes in then that can be the start of many more chances finding their way in the net.

“We have goals in this team and as the weeks go on I’m confident we will see that, it was just unfortunate we didn’t see them tonight.”

Stanway are at home for the third successive game on Saturday, this time they welcome Kirkley and Pakefield to The Hawthorns and Slatter is under no illusion how tough a test it will be for his young side.

He added: “Kirkley & Pakefield is always a tough game, they are always well organised and have players that have been at the club for a long time that know the league inside and out.

“I hope we start getting the rub of the green with some of the chances that should have gone in tonight, going our way at the weekend.”