Holbeach United’s crunch Carter’s Park date with ChromaSport UCL Premier Division leaders Kempston Rovers is like a cup final for their season.
That’s the verdict of player/boss Tom Roberts, who feels the Tigers simply must beat the unbeaten table-toppers to keep their title bid alive.
Kempston, who beat previous leaders Leicester Nirvana 2-0 on Saturday to reach the summit, have gone 26 league games unbeaten this season – winning 18 of them.
That puts the Walnut Boys 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Holbeach, having played two more – although they did lose 1-0 at Eynesbury Rovers in the KO Cup on Tuesday night.
Should that gap remain the same – or indeed grow – come 5pm on Saturday, Roberts feels his side will have no realistic chance of contesting for the top prize.
And that’s not a situation the ambitious former UCL title winner wants to be in under any circumstances.
“We’ve got to treat this game like a cup tie,” said the Holbeach supremo. “It’s basically a cup final, if we don’t win Kempston will be out of reach.
“They may already be too far ahead, but we’ll give ourselves a chance if we can beat them.
“We simply must win, a draw is really no good to us at this stage of the season.
“We want to be battling for the league title, not trying to finish as high as we can. Losing at the weekend would put us in that position – and nobody at the club wants that.”
Despite calling Saturday’s Carter’s Park clash (3pm KO) a must-win showdown, Roberts is very much aware just how good Kempston are.
He’s likened them to the Spalding United side that steamrollered their way to the UCL title under Pat Rayment in 2014, a squad he was a part of.
With that in mind, Roberts has called for his charges to “roll up their sleeves” and “play like underdogs” in a bid to get the job done.
“I don’t think anybody at our club is surprised by Kempston’s success,” added Roberts. “It’s been coming for a few years.
“They’ve done fantastically well this year and are virtually emulating the great Spalding United side.
“They’ve got a lot of good players and also work very hard, which is the sign of a top side.
“I believe that quality should usually beat hard work, unless the quality side doesn’t work hard.
“We’ve got quality too, but will need to roll up our sleeves and give it everything.
“The players need to concentrate on doing their jobs and leave nothing out on the field.
“We’d also love to see the fans come out in force to support us. This is a potentially season-defining game and we could do with everyone getting behind us.”
Holbeach are still hampered by the suspension of skipper Jamie Stevens, who is scheduled to return at Rothwell Corinthians on Tuesday night (7.45pm).
They do welcome back key defender Stacy Cartwright, though, while striker Sean Coughlan is pushing for a first start after scoring in the 3-2 loss at Northampton Spencer on Saturday.
