Lowestoft Town 2 Kings Lynn 0

Att 295

Jones, Williams, Mitchell, Crane, S Ainsley, Gleeson, Henderson, Eagle, Okay, Haynes-Brown, J Ainsley. Subs; Jessup, Viner, Fisk, A Smith, Gaughran, Godbold, Nelson, Fitzgerald

Another brace by the excellent and in-form Jack Ainsley complimented a very good performance in all areas of the pitch , as Lowestoft Town beat Kings Lynn 2-0.

Lowestoft started the game with a 4-1-4-1 formation with Haynes-Brown being tried out on the left of midfield and Stuart Ainsley slotting in at left back.

Mist was rolling in and out for most of the match but it didn't spoil what was a good game to watch.
The first half was easy on the eye with both sides looking solid and focused. However, neither keeper was tested during the half, in a game which saw long spells in the middle of the pitch.
The best opportunity of the half for Kings Lynn was when a pass from midfield nearly saw them get in on goal but the last man at the time, Stuart Ainsley, put in a fantastic tackle to win the ball and deal with the danger.
Lowestoft's best effort came following some lovely build up play and some good passing between Okay and Henderson to open up a chance for Eagle inside the area but his placed effort drifted past the far post.

The first half was a pretty even affair in the whole but the second half saw Lowestoft flourish and put in a performance that not only contained some good passing football but also stopped Kings Lynn from playing.
It only took six minutes of the second half before Lowestoft got themselves in front and it was the man of the moment again, Jack Ainsley. Henderson, who had nearly pulled off a few great defence splitting passes earlier in the game, slipped in Jack Ainsley on the left and with him showing great work to get the best of the defender, he opened himself up and bent an exquisitely placed shot in the far corner for 1-0 (51 mins).
There was a decent tempo in the passing of Lowestoft and even with three quick changes (A Smith, Gaughran and Fisk replacing Haynes-Brown, Crane and Okay) Lowestoft continuing to play some really good football on the deck.
Kings Lynn were certainly being made to look second best by Lowestoft but they did have a great opportunity to test Jones and force an equaliser, only to see their number 5 send a free header over from just a few yards out.
Lowestoft had the upper hand though in all areas of the pitch and with the exception of the free header, Kings Lynn were not being allowed to cause any threat.
Prior to today's game Jack Ainsley had already got a couple of braces in pre-season and following a fantastic long pass, resulting in a weak Fisk shot not being held by the keeper, Jack Ainsley was right on the spot to slot home for another brace for him and a worthy 2-0 lead for Lowestoft (70 mins).
With five minutes of the game remaining Lowestoft gave some minutes to the younger players on the bench with Nelson, Fitzgerald and Godbold replacing Stuart Ainsley, Henderson and Jack Ainsley. It was great to see some of the younger players on the bench and showed that the talent is certainly there to be nurtured. For example, Nelson impressed when called upon last season in defence and is a great young player with an old head on his shoulders, who reads the game so well.
Lowestoft were cruising through the last few minutes but did nearly give away their clean sheet at the death with Gaughran miss kicking and letting Kings Lynn in on goal but the chance was saved by Jones who got down really well.

It was without doubt the best performance of pre-season so far, against a decent Kings Lynn side. Every player put in a solid showing and as a result the team excelled throughout, playing some lovely football and nullifying Kings Lynn.

To pick out just a few of the shining performances; Stuart Ainsley put in some very good tackles, of which two were crucial when kings Lynn looked like getting in. Scott Mitchell looks to have shaken off the injury he came into pre-season with and played really well at the back, showing great awareness and solid distribution. Then we had the man of the moment, Jack Ainsley, who's loving it up top and has all the markings of being a super signing for Lowestoft.

I managed to grab a few words after the game with Lowestoft's midfield star of last season, Erkan Okay:-
So what did you make of today's games, as particularly in the second half I thought we were really on it? "First half we just had to keep our shape and stay disciplined as we've had a lot of games of late but second half we were different class I thought. They weren't great but that was down to us and we're pleased with that".
I know we keep talking about him at the moment but Jack Ainsley seems to look some player? "Yeah, he's on fire at the moment. His pace is out of this world and he gives us another dimension to our play at the moment. If he can keep it up and take it into the league then so be it".
So the games have been building with a few slightly easier games on paper and now teams at our level and above. Braintree on Saturday should be some game? "Yeah, it should be a really good test and today was a good test also. They're (Kings Lynn) going to be a good side and I think they'll do well in their league but it shows how far we're coming along and we've got a decent squad which maybe with one or two more additions, I think we will push on again. Braintree will be tough but it's a good test for us".

Lowestoft will visit Thetford Town on Tuesday evening and will then end their pre-season next Saturday with a mouth-watering match against Braintree.

Terry Bullen