Viner, J Ainsley, Williams, Haynes-Brown, A Smith, Gleeson, Henderson, L Smith, Eagle, Cunningham, Frew. Subs (roll on, roll off); S Ainsley, Fisk, Gaughran, Crane, Jessup.

Lowestoft put in a solid and great passing display of football, beating Dereham Town 3-1 in their second pre-season match.

Lowestoft were moving the ball around at speed and with good quality right from the off but in the seventh minute Dereham took the lead against the early run of play. A cross field ball cleared Adam Smith and with the number 11 beating the offside trap, he ran onto the pass and finished really well with power, across the goal, past Viner and into the far side of the net for 1-0 (7 mins).
Lowestoft kept their early momentum going though, working the ball around well in midfield and using the width of the pitch.
It was therefore no surprise when a deserved equaliser followed, with another solid move ending with Henderson being picked out from midfield, to finish low from inside the box and to the keepers right for 1-1 (16 mins).
A Gleeson header was cleared off the line by Dereham and at the other end Viner had to get down low to deny Dereham, who's number 11 looked like their danger man.
Lowestoft were looking slick though and with Williams finding himself up the pitch he picked out Frew, who in turn slipped the ball to Eagle and forced a save from the away keeper as the sides went in level at half time.

Frew at times was up against four defenders in a lone striker berth but was working hard, nearly putting Lowestoft in front in the second half by working a chance from distance and forcing another save from the Dereham goalkeeper.
Lowestoft were looking like a team likely to take the lead and this came to fruition in the 58th minute, with a Stuart Ainsley corner being met by the head of Frew at the near post, to send Lowestoft 2-1 in front (58 mins).
Jessup was forced to get behind a shot from the number 12, after he'd spun on the Lowestoft defence but in all it was Lowestoft who were asserting themselves on the game.
Lowestoft had tinkered with various player options throughout the game to give everyone some minutes under their belts but two players in particular were standing out in midfield. These players were Lee Smith, who was playing in the centre of midfield but more advanced in the second half and Eagle, who was looking creative. It was therefore rather apt that a lovely move of interchanging football between these two players, opened up the Dereham defence and was executed perfectly by Eagle, steering the ball past the keeper for 3-1 (78 mins).
Lowestoft continued to play with confidence and quality until the final whistle and will no doubt take a lot of positives from the game.

Jack Ainsley showed good quality and the markings of being a great capture for Lowestoft and it was great to see the calm and powerful Haynes-Brown back in the Lowestoft strip.

After the match I caught up with Lowestoft defender Curtley Williams to get his views on the match:-
That looked like a really solid passing display from the sidelines? "Yeah the boys kept the ball well at times and we looked quite dangerous. It really felt solid at the back and that allowed us to play forward with confidence, as they were a good footballing team, which made it a good test for us".
Is that the first time you've played alongside Curtis Haynes-Brown? "We had a little spell together at Ipswich Wanderers a few seasons ago but I was playing central midfield then. So tonight's the first time I've paired up with him at centre back."
The defence does look very strong and a few strikers in this league are going to have their work cut out? "Last season me and Guffy (Gaughran) had a good partnership and when I first came in we went a number of games without conceding. Obviously with Curtis now coming in he adds even more, as I'm quite a quick defender and he has the pace also, so we complement each other really well. I think it's a something that could work well".

Terry Bullen