Lowestoft Town 0 Enfield Town 0

Att 623

Teams:-
Lowestoft Town: Reynolds, Mitchell, Gaughran, Crane, Adam Smith, Lee Smith (Francis 79 mins), Okay, Fisk, Henderson, Frew (Dawkin 63 mins), Defty. Subs; Eagle, Dawkin, Francis, Ainsley, Cunningham.

Enfield Town: Imber, Kendell, Siva, White, Kirby, Henry, Campbell (Bardle 71 mins), O'Brien, McGleish (Hope 72 mins), Hammatt (Hunt 80 mins), Wallace. Subs; Allen, Bardle, Hunt, Hope, Laird

Lowestoft draw 0-0 with Enfield in a pretty uneventful game of football, with both sides cancelling each other out. The positive to come from the result was that it was another clean sheet and with the league leaders Whitehawk losing 3-1, it was another point gained on them. However it will somewhat feel like an opportunity lost today.

It was an early start for the Lowestoft ground staff, putting in their usual unseen hard work in clearing an overnight dusting of snow from the pitch and preparing it for today's game.

Enfield came into the game in a bit of form but Lowestoft were riding high on a wave of confidence. Following his sending off, Williams started the first of his three match suspension and was replaced by Mitchell. While Frew came into the side in place of Eagle; a move which saw Henderson moved out onto the left and Frew played up top alongside Defty.

The teams took to the field in bitterly cold conditions, with the weather trying its hardest to snow.

The game got off to a pretty quiet start, with neither side making any inroads and a low tempo to the match.
The first 20 minutes went by with only a couple of sniffs on goal, with McGleish clearing Reynolds and sitting a ball up to the far post for Enfield, only to see Mitchell on the line to head it behind. For Lowestoft, Crane found himself out on the right and crossed into the area for Lee Smith but the ball was stolen off his foot by Kendall, just as he looked like he was going to get a shot in on goal.
When Enfield had the ball, Lowestoft were getting into them and giving them no time but the game as a whole was really struggling to get going.
Enfield's main outlet was down the right, using the muscly Wallace, who was already proving a bit of a handful for Adam Smith and the player most likely to cause Lowestoft problems.
With a ball floated into the Lowestoft box from the left, it was Wallace who very nearly opened the scoring, sending a good unmarked header over a stretching Reynolds but also over the bar.
Henderson was looking lively for Lowestoft and cutting in off the left to try and create something but the central midfield of Lowestoft was being missed out and Lowestoft were struggling to get their game going.
Lowestoft did however create a couple of good opportunities to take the lead; with Adam Smith sending in a free kick from the right and Crane getting on the end to send a header down and just past the post. This was shortly followed by some great work on the edge of the box by Lee Smith, working an opening for a shot but agonisingly seeing it come crashing back into play off the post.
Wallace was still looking like the main threat to the Lowestoft defence though and with him bursting forward and easing past Crane, it needed Gaughran to get across and tackle to stop the danger.
Gaughran was again fulfilling his captains role, by setting an example with his sound defending and also his vocal instructions and geeing up of his teammates.
The first half in the whole though had been a pretty uneventful game of football but in the dying moments of the half, Mc Gleish found himself in behind the Lowestoft defence but with Reynolds making himself big, the chance went begging for McGleish and Enfield as the half time whistle sounded.

The second half started with Enfield in the ascendancy and looking like they were going to have a go at Lowestoft early on, in order to try and get a breakthrough. Lowestoft however, rode out the spritely start by Enfield and started to settle into the game.
The game had been lacking any real tempo so far and with Lowestoft now upping the tempo they started to press Enfield back, finding more space and stretching the game more than they had in the first half.
Adam Smith was still having his hands full though and certainly having to earn his corn up against the physical Wallace on the right side for Enfield.
The tempo in the Lowestoft play didn't last though and with just under 30 minutes of the match remaining, Dawkin replaced Frew; with Dawkin moving out to the left, Henderson switching to the right and Lee Smith moving up alongside Defty, who had so far had a pretty quiet game.
With the Lowestoft tempo now dropping off again and some passes going astray, Enfield started to come back into the game themselves and went on the offensive.
Neither team was looking like scoring though and it was looking like a game that would be won by a mistake or something special. That something special very nearly came for Enfield, with the ball coming down nicely for Hammett on the edge of the Lowestoft area and him spanking a powerful volley, forcing a rising Reynolds to use both hands to stop it.
The chance lifted Enfield, who were now increasing the tempo to their play, with things just not happening for Lowestoft but again no threats were bore out on the goal.
Mitchell had come back into the side after illness and was replacing the suspended Williams at right back and to be far he was pushing forward at every opportunity to try and get things going for Lowestoft. A surging run down the right by him ended with him lifting a nice ball to the far post but it just went wide, with nobody coming onto it.
Enfield made a couple of changes from the bench but were looking a bit tired now and with a ball going right across the Enfield goalmouth it looked certain that Defty would send Lowestoft ahead but even at full stretch he just couldn't get there to prod it home.
With just over ten minutes remaining, Lowestoft changed things around again with Francis coming on for Lee Smith and going to the left and Dawkin now moving right, with Henderson resuming his preferred role up top.
Enfield made another change themselves but with a mixture of some wayward passing by Lowestoft and some resolute defending by Enfield, the game looked like it was heading for a stalemate.
Defty had been in a rich vein of goalscoring form of late and with the minutes ticking down, Adam Smith sent a free kick in from the left and with Defty getting his head on it close in, it went straight at the keeper but wouldn't have counted anyway, as a foul had been committed in the defence.
This proved to be the last chance for Lowestoft and the last chance of the game, as a fairly poor game of football was brought to a close by the referees whistle.

With the exception of a couple of small spells, when both teams raised the tempo, this game was a pretty uneventful and forgettable match for both sides. From Lowestoft's point of view it was another clean sheet, a continuation of the unbeaten run and another point gained on Whitehawk. Enfield however will no doubt be the team much happier with the point though.

It's a tricky decision to pick a Man of the Match today, as it was a game in which it just didn't happen for Lowestoft and they never really got going. Henderson, as always was searching out the gaps and running at the defence. While Gaughran put in a strong captains performance at the back, to ensure yet another clean sheet for his side. My Man of the Match though is Scott Mitchell; after being laid low with illness for just over a week, he came back into the side and tried his hardest to get things going by regularly getting forward from right back. He was also instructing players and trying to work the space and opportunities for his side but unfortunately to no avail, not for the want of trying.

It's disappointing to not take full advantage of Whitehawk losing but we can't and won't win every game; and since the spell of postponements the team have played very well and got some great results. We're still unbeaten, we're still in the ascendancy and we did gain ground on the leaders again today.

Let's keep positive and keep this unbeaten momentum going, as we head into a testing game on Tuesday night, away to Concord Rangers.

Believe!!

Terry Bullen