The officials decided against awarding Neil Cogger a free kick in the CRC half and then gave the Cambridge-based side a controversial kick just outside the Rovers box which allowed Adam Marriott to smash home the winner.

Cogger, who had scored twice to bring Rovers level after being 4-2 down, was booked for dissent in the aftermath, as Haverhill were left deflated by that late strike.

Betts said: “I was in the dressing room with the referee for about ten minutes after the game.

“I was furious with the officials.

“They were awful but it doesn’t hide the fact that defensively we made errors.

“But the positive was our attacking play was unbelievable at some points of the game and we’ve cut open one of the best teams in the league four times and could have had another four.

“If we had played anyone from mid-table down it would have been an embarrassing scoreline because we would have destroyed them.”

Haverhill have scored 14 goals in their last six games – the same number they scored in their previous 17 matches.

However, better attacking play has come at a price, with the defence leaking 16 goals in that same six-match period.

“It’s not a worry,” said Betts of his side’s recent defensive record. “At the moment we are scoring goals for fun but we know we need to tighten up.

“I’d be more worried if we weren’t scoring.

“A lot of it is just individual errors, silly fouls in silly areas that we can eradicate.”

Rovers travel to Stanway on Saturday looking for their first away success of the season and Betts is full of confidence – despite Saturday’s loss.

He said: “If we play like we did going forward, we have got to win it. It’s as simple as that.”

Neil Hammond, Joe Harvey and Gareth Thomas all picked up knocks on Saturday and were due to see the physio last night to assess if those injuries would keep them out of this weekend’s trip to Essex to play Stanway Rovers.

n New signing Kesley Dedman is set for talks with Betts this week over his future at Hamlet Croft.

The former Norwich City youngster has had a change in circumstances that may prevent him playing for Rovers.

Betts said: “We’ve signed Marcus (Hunt) so we’ve got more than enough cover in that area.”