Lowestoft Town 2 Bognor Regis Town 0

Att 532

Teams:-
Lowestoft Town: Jones, Gleeson (Okay 46 mins), Crane, Gaughran, S Ainsley, J Ainsley, L Smith, Fisk, Eagle, Henderson (Cunningham 90+ mins), Frew (Woods-Garness 61 mins). Subs; Okay, Cunningham, Woods-Garness, A Smith, Viner

Bognor Regis Town: Zawadski, Marzetti (Pearce 58 mins), Sackman (Wollers 75 mins), Crane, Axten, Robson, Tuck, Wills, Dodd, Whyte, Hopkinson. Subs; Pearce, Kempson, Wollers, Howell

Lowestoft Town put in a superb performance to deservedly beat Bognor Regis Town 2-0 on a windswept day at the Crown Meadow.

Lowestoft played really well with the ball and worked extremely hard without the ball to contain a good footballing Bognor side. Goals from Jack Ainsley and Cunningham were enough to secure the points and see Lowestoft return seven goals and two clean sheet in their last two games.

Williams was missing with a knee injury and was replaced at the back by Gaughran. While Fisk continued his role in front of the defence and Frew was asked to work hard in a lone role up top.

Past fixtures between the two sides have always seen good football being played but with a very strong wind present at kick-off, it was no doubt going to have an effect on proceedings.

The game was just four minutes old before Lowestoft got off to the most perfect of starts. The buoyant Eagle sent a ball across the box from the left side of the area and with the keeper Zawadski only able to push it into the path of Jack Ainsley, he had the simplest of tasks to finish for 1-0 (4 mins).
Lowestoft were looking good on the ball but were also closing Bognor down really well, working very hard when not in possession. Frew was again given the unenviable task of being the lone man up against a big defence but he had certainly taken a couple of tins of spinach before the game by showing great strength and movement, doing exactly what had no doubt been asked of him.
Lee Smith had burst the Thamesmead net on Tuesday night with a great free-kick and following a foul on the edge of the area by Bognor he set his sights on repeating that. This time however the keeper was equal to, as Zawadksi made a superb full stretch save as the ball looked like heading for the top corner.
Bognor are a good side and play some nice football but the Lowestoft defence were watchful and alert to any of their advances. The solid start was however nearly undone, with Stuart Ainsley undercutting a pass back to Jones and with the wind also taking hold of it, Dodd was in on goal for Bognor but Jones read the situation brilliantly and was straight out and on to the striker, standing tall and snuffling out the chance.
When being included in the side Stuart Ainsley has been a consistently good player for Lowestoft and he came very close to immediately rectifying the back pass error by making a surging run down the left and sending in a super ball across the area, just inches short of Frew getting on the end of it.
Bognor were trying their hardest to put a spell of football together but Lowestoft were really on their game and making things very difficult for the Rocks. Bognor did however get a chance to draw things level with a free-kick from the left finding Robson at the back post but his free header was sent across goal and wide of the far post, much to the relief of Lowestoft.
At the other end Zawadski was called into action again, as a Lee Smith ball across the box was dummied by Eagle and Frew forced a great save out of the Bognor keeper.
The wind surprisingly hadn't played a huge part so far in the game and it was a game which was enjoyable to watch, as both sides looked to play solid passing football.
There were a plethora of Lowestoft players who had brought their 'A game' with them and one of those was Lee Smith, who nearly instigated a second Lowestoft goal. After picking out Eagle, a ball was lifted to the far post but Zawadski saved yet again to deny Jack Ainsley with the follow up from Frew being fired just over the crossbar.
As halftime approached Lowestoft kept their impressive level of play up and with Eagle and Henderson combining well, Henderson sent in a shot but it was right down the throat of Zawadski. On the sound of the halftime whistle the Lowestoft players received a fully deserved round of applause from the supporters and if not for the heroics of Zawadski, Bognor could have been more than just one goal behind.

Lowestoft were forced into making a change during the break with Gleeson having received a knock and Okay coming in for him at right back (46 mins).
The second half proved to be a totally different game to the first half but Lowestoft were yet again impressive but this time in a defensive sense. After starting the half by sitting a little too deep, Bognor started to see spells of possession and the newly introduced Okay was called into action, making a great tackle on the edge of the box after Dodd had nearly picked out Hopkinson in a dangerous area.
With half an hour remaining both sides made changes, with Lowestoft replacing Frew and continuing to ease Woods-Garness into the side.
The wind had somewhat dropped after a short spell of rain and Bognor continued to see a lot more of the ball, dragging a shot wide of the Lowestoft upright but still not causing any significant breaches of the Lowestoft rear guard.
Woods-Garness has looked sharper with every short spell he's been given so far and after finding himself in on goal, it looked like he was going to open his account but not for the first time the Bognor shot stopper saved well to deny Lowestoft and Woods-Garness.
It really was a gripping game and gave the impression that the next goal would be really crucial in a tight half of football. The minutes started to slowly tick away though and even with Jones picking up a booking for time wasting in the Lowestoft goal, Bognor were finding it hard to break the Lowestoft defence down. Gaughran and Crane were in fine form and with him taking the captains armband for the second half, Crane was commanding the backline superbly with Bognor being caught offside on a number of occasions.
Bognor kept battling away though as the game entered its final moments and Lowestoft replaced Henderson with Cunningham out on the left (90+ mins). It was a change of super-sub proportions though, as Lee Smith broke down the right and spotted Cunningham ghosting in at the far post, sending a peach of a ball to pick him out perfectly to tuck home from close range for 2-0 (90+ mins).
It was a goal which had secured the points and ended any chance of Bognor stealing something from the game. It was also a goal which was celebrated with great passion and relief by Cunningham, who with various knocks and setbacks has seen his time limited since joining Lowestoft.
Shortly following the goal the final whistle was blown and Lowestoft had put in a fantastic performance against a tough side, who will no doubt start climbing up the table.

There were a large number of players who performed brilliantly for Lowestoft, in what was a superb team performance. I could easily list them all but aside from a great hark working shift by Frew and a lively and rejuvenated performance from Lee Smith, there were three players who were neck and neck for the Man of the Match honours.
There was Fisk who's game has a simplicity to it with numerous little passes keeping things ticking over and also a real bite to his game, as he snarls in the face of the opposition and shies away from nothing. Then we had Eagle who really is riding on the crest of a wave at the moment and who's talent is proving invaluable in creating numerous chances for himself and his team mates.
The Man of the Match though was just shaded by Greg Crane in my opinion. He marshalled his defence superbly and really led the way as captain, especially during the second half in which Bognor had more possession.

After the game I caught up with Joint Manager Micky Chapman to get his views on the performance:-
A really big performance from the team today, you must be chuffed to bits with that? "Yeah, another clean sheet, two goals and three hard earned points against a good footballing side. We knew it would be tough and they made it difficult for us, as they went to Wealdstone on Tuesday and came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. So to win the game and get the three points with a solid display in what was a different type of game from Tuesday was good".
First half we looked really good on the ball but then second half our work rate off the ball and our defending was superb? "We did defend really well and the boys discipline and organisation was fantastic. They kept their shape and made it difficult for them, reducing them into having to play square balls across the back, as they couldn't get forward and hurt us. They had a lot of the ball but they didn't create the chances. It was a great performance by us and you can't always play free flowing football or play in the same way game after game but every game we play we set out to win. In four days we've kept two clean sheets, scored seven goals and it's been absolutely fantastic from the boys. We couldn't have asked for any more, it's been a fantastic response following our opening game at Dulwich and the lads were different gravy today. The fans have also been excellent and we've had two good crowds both today and midweek".
Can you give us an update on the injuries to Curtley Williams and Curtis Haynes-Brown? "They're both probably going to be another week and then we will reassess it. They're both making steady progress and with Curtis Haynes-Brown it's his achilles and is an ongoing problem but he's getting there. Curtley Williams knee injury isn't overly serious but we need to make sure that before they come back they're right, as they're ongoing injuries and both have come back too early. So that's been the problem and we need to make sure that this time we don't rush them back. Our Physio Colin has been working with them and they have a rehab program to ensure they come back right".

Lowestoft Town will now travel to Canvey Island on Tuesday night, hoping to continue in a fine vein of form.

Please note that the player statistics on the website this season are now being fully kept up to date after each game.

Terry Bullen