Lowestoft Town 5 Thamesmead Town 0

Att 520

Teams:-
Lowestoft Town: Jones, Gleeson (Okay 70 mins), Crane, Williams (Gaughran 17 mins), Stuart Ainsley, Fisk, Jack Ainsley, Lee Smith, Eagle, Henderson, Frew (Woods-Garness 64 mins). Subs; Gaughran, Okay, Cunningham, Woods-Garness, Adam Smith

Thamesmead Town: Budd, Edwards, Douglas, Hopkins, Scarborough, Donovan, Roberts, Addea, Gordon-Young (Carter 46 mins), Main (Ailey 66 mins), Phillips. Subs; Carter, Ailey, Lover, Kerrigan

Lowestoft firmly put the disappointment of Saturday behind them, beating Thamesmead Town 5-0.
It was a night in which every player stepped up to the plate and Robert Eagle put in a mesmerising midfield display, pulling all the strings for his side.

Due to the injury to Haynes-Brown on Saturday, Stuart Ainsley came in at left back. While Gleeson moved to right back, Fisk played in front of the defence, Jack Ainsley moved into midfield and Frew played the lone role up top in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

A hungry Lowestoft side were quick out of the traps, desperate to make amends for Saturdays performance at Dulwich Hamlet. The Thamesmead keeper Budd was immediately called into action early on, saving a Gleeson header from a Jack Ainsley free-kick from the left.
Lowestoft took little time in forcing Thamesmead onto the back foot and with Henderson dancing through the defence brilliantly, his squared ball across the box was cleared without finding a Lowestoft shirt.
As a result of the early dominance by Lowestoft, Thamesmead were giving away a number of free-kicks and it was an Eagle free-kick from the left which found its way back across the box to Gleeson, who picked out Lee Smith close in to open the scoring, 1-0 (7 mins).
Williams has started the season with a troublesome knee and after going down on it early on, Lowestoft were forced to make an early change with Gaughran replacing the commanding defender at the heart of defence (17 mins). The change seemed to take the game off the boil for a short period but with an Eagle shot bending away from goal on the deck and Jack Ainsley covering lots of the pitch, Lowestoft started to get hold of the game again.
A second goal was in the offing and with Eagle picked out in the area by a sweet ball from Stuart Ainsley, he spun brilliantly from an angle and sent the ball past the keeper for 2-0 (26 mins).
It's not always easy playing the lone role up top but Frew was working hard and after spinning Douglas in the Thamesmead defence, he was pulled down just outside the area for a Lowestoft free-kick. Up stepped Lee Smith and with great aplomb he sent a low bending shot at pace into the goal, to send Lowestoft 3-0 up (30 mins).
Lowestoft were flooding the midfield and not allowing Thamesmead a sight of the ball, with Fisk keeping everything ticking over with simple passes and terrier like closing down. More goals certainly looked like being there for the taking for Lowestoft and with the mercurial Eagle setting Henderson up in the area, he bent a low shot into the bottom right hand post to make it 4-0 with just over half an hour gone (33 mins).
With halftime approaching Lowestoft nearly made it five and it was that man again, Eagle, beating Donovan to get in behind the defence and send a shot whistling past the far post.
The halftime whistle sounded and Thamesmead trudged off the field wondering if they could stop the onslaught by Lowestoft.

The second half started with Thamesmead having nothing to lose, trying to get on the front foot and carving out a couple of efforts on goal but the efforts were weak and did little to test the Lowestoft shot stopper Jones.
Lowestoft nearly extended their lead even further through Gaughran. As following a short corner from Henderson, Eagle sent a low ball into the box and the Lowestoft defender produced a lovely back heel, forcing Budd to make a great save with his legs in the Thamesmead goal.
Thamesmead were seeing more of the ball this half but Lowestoft were the side carrying all the threat and with Jack Ainsley showing great control to bring the ball down on the right, he fed in Gleeson who worked the keeper into making a save but couldn't put the follow up away from a tough angle.
Lowestoft's first unforced change came in the 64th minute with the hard working Frew being replaced by proven goal getter Woods-Garness, as Lowestoft continued to look to add to their tally.
To be fair to Thamesmead though, they were not sitting off and were trying to make inroads into the Lowestoft defence. A flashing header from a Thamesmead corner was sent just wide, as the Lowestoft defence were being asked more questions than they had been in the first half.
There were a number of shining performances by Lowestoft but it was really turning into the Robert Eagle show and with the creative midfielder spinning on the edge of the area, he forced the keeper to make a great full stretch save.
Lowestoft made their third and final change with Okay replacing Gleeson at right back and with Eagle dinking a ball into Woods-Garness his first time shot flashed past the far post, as Lowestoft looked hungry for more goals.
Addae was working hard in midfield for Thamesmead and looked their brightest spark but the Lowestoft defence were not in the mood to be breached and after a difficult weekend, Crane was back to his dominant best at the back.
Lowestoft had continued to make chances but had not added to their first half tally. Well that was until the 84th minute, when Woods-Garness closed down a defender and sent the ball across the box to Henderson, who had the simplest of tasks to score the blues fifth goal and his second of the match, 5-0 (84 mins).
Thamesmead still kept having a go, not shying away and nearly ruined a Lowestoft clean sheet with a ball over the top finding Carter but his shot was off target and wide of the far post. It proved to be the last chance of the match and with the final whistle sounding it had been a very fruitful night for Lowestoft and an uplifting performance by the team.

Every Lowestoft player had put in a shift, really making up for Saturday and casting aside any doubts that were aimed at them after the weekend. Jack Ainsley covered large areas of the pitch and Fisk was effective throughout with his simple passing and great break-up play. Crane was back to his dominant best at the back and Henderson had his never ending stamina and effort rewarded with two goals. Lee Smith also notched twice, as the goals were spread around. However, it was a night that was all about one man. A midfielder who seems to have a real bounce in his step at the moment, unlocking defences with beautiful passes and great vision. It was a night that was all about the Man of the Match, Robert Eagle.

I caught up with the man of the moment and tonight's Man of the Match after the game:-
A great way to put the disappointment of Saturday behind us? "Yeah, I thought we did really well tonight. We passed it well at times and did the simple things really well, which is what got us a 4-0 scoreline at halftime. They had nothing to lose second half, so they were always going to put more men forward and sometimes when you're 4-0 up at halftime you can take your foot of the gas slightly. Sometimes you just have to sit, defend and then break on them, which I think we did well at times in the second half. All round we did really well though".On a personal level, a Man of the Match performance with a goal and setting up several chances with some good balls? "I'm enjoying playing a more central role, as out wide I'm not really an out-and-out winger and I'm never really going to go past a player. Whereas in central midfield I'm more likely to get a yard to have a shot or to slip someone through on goal".You do seem to have a real spring in your step in that role and seem full of confidence, so is it a role you really enjoy? "Yeah, I do like it in there with a more attacking midfield role and I'm really enjoying my football".Next up is Bognor Regis Town, who will visit the Crown Meadow this Saturday. So let's see a packed house and cheer our lads on to another three points.

Terry Bullen