Shane Temple... one who got away!

When AFC Sudbury take on Colchester United in their televised FA Cup First Round encounter tonight, there'll be a former Doncaster Rovers trialist (maybe starting) in the underdogs' line-up.

Sudbury, the lowest ranked team left in the competition, probably couldn't believe their luck when Colchester (their nearest Football League club) were pulled out of the bag as their opponents and it's little surprise the BBC Sport cameras are flocking to the King's Marsh Stadium to televise the game!

For Shane Temple, this is another big chance to impress new audiences!

Shane Temple in action at Sudbury (Photo: Mecha Morton).

Essex born and bred, the 18-year-old striker (who turns 19 in January) has been on the radar of many Football League clubs over the past year including DRFC - where he had an extended trial around the same time Darren Moore departed for Sheffield Wednesday.

Quick and athletic in equal measure with a knack of getting into good areas and ruthless infront of goal, his trial was 'successful' in the respect that he bagged two goals in a 4-2 victory over Rotherham United and earned himself another week at the club in the process - showing all the attributes that Rovers' youngsters had been missing in attacking areas all season.

Here's what I wrote about him after witnessing his performance against Rotherham: "Though I never like to form an opinion of players on just one showing, A.Trialist (whose name I know and have checked out online) certainly has something about him and it's no surprise that he's already created headlines by scoring a bagful in a game for his parent club, who compete in non-league, earlier this season. He's aged 18 already so would be ineligible for the youth team next year anyway but, irrespective of that or whether he actually appears again, he's certainly got something about him. Whether it be leading the line, to scoring his goals, to his touch, movement and technique, he was excellent, and absolutely fair play to him because you can only appreciate and admire the sort of performance which he produced."

His talent was obvious and a breath of fresh air but for some reason he wasn't signed (usually when there is a cost involved, even if it's just for a packet of crisps, it becomes a problem for DRFC) and Temple instead moved on to try and earn himself a contract elsewhere.

Trials then followed at Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Sunderland (for whom he bagged a couple of goals at U18s level), Glasgow Rangers and a few others but he wasn't signed. A similar trial, this time much closer to home at Southend United, occurred at the end of last season but again it ended in the same old story - no deal!

Nevertheless, not to be disheartened by having received so many knock-backs, Temple returned to Sudbury - immediately firing in a hat-trick in a Youth Cup Final, and has appeared frequently for them ever since. He bagged the second goal in the 3-1 win over Dartford in the Fourth Qualifying Round which helped fire Sudbury into the limelight and tonight's game.

His pedigree and form on a football pitch can be traced back a few years to Braintree Town where his fledgling career began by becoming one of the youngest ever players (if not actually the youngest ever) to play in the National League when he made his senior debut against Bromley in March 2019, aged just 16 years and two months.

Another appearance at Braintree followed before he moved to Sudbury where his impressive goalscoring exploits, initialy at U18s and then at first team level - for whom he bagged four times against Harborough Town in September 2020, caught the attention of many outsiders.

So if you happen to be watching the game tonight and you're impressed by Shane Temple then he very nearly could have been the next Alfie May or Max Watters - plucked from non-league obscurity and thrust into the red and white hoops of Doncaster Rovers... but it wasn't to be!

Good luck, Shane!