Met Police 0 Lowestoft Town 0

Att 166

Teams:-
Met Police: Grainger, Johnson-Schusten, Aldred, Sutherland, Joseph, Sintim, Newton (James 67 mins), Smith (McGarry 88 mins), Collins, Hudson-Odoi (Tait 67 mins), Pattison
Subs; James, McGarry, Tait, Pink, Smalley

Lowestoft Town: Jones, Williams, Gaughran, Gleeson (Doddington 74 mins), Haynes-Brown, Jack Ainsley, Jarvis, Fisk, Stuart Ainsley (Henderson 63 mins), Osei, Reed
Subs; Henderson, Doddington, Bailey, Parsons, Jessup

Lowestoft Town do everything but score, as they register another clean sheet but have to settle for an away point in a 0-0 draw at Met Police.

Lowestoft went into the game without the suspended Eagle and were also missing Adam Smith (hamstring) and Okay (soft tissue injury from Tuesday). Manny Osei remained up top with Reed as he returned to the club that he joined Lowestoft from. While Stuart Ainsley was drafted into the left midfield position to replace Eagle.

As Lowestoft took to the pitch all in white, the travelling supporters behind the goal showed fantastic vocal support for them as they lined up for kick-off.

The first ten minutes of the game was a bustling but uneventful affair, until from a poor Lowestoft free-kick Hudson-Odoi was found up field for the Met Police but after working a shot from the edge of the area, he hit it right at Jones.
The early threat from Lowestoft was coming via Haynes-Brown at left back, who was sending some raking and accurate passes across the pitch from deep. One of these passes found Williams coming forward from right back and with him latching onto it the Met Police defence did really well to deal with the danger.
On the fifteen minute mark it was Haynes-Brown who was involved again, this time with one of his long throws finding Reed in the box and with him spinning to shot, it cannoned into a defender and away from danger.
Haynes-Brown was certainly looking to get forward at every opportunity for Lowestoft, while Smith looked to be a key player for the Met Police in the middle of the pitch.
A booming kick by Lowestoft keeper Jones picked out Osei and with a great tussle ensuing between him and Joseph, the Met Police defender battled well to get a solid tackle in.
With the thirty minute mark arriving it was Lowestoft who had forced a few corners but as of yet the quality had been missing in the delivery and the home keeper Grainger hadn't yet been fully tested. The game was also becoming a little aerial but just after the half hour mark a long ball forward was controlled well by Reed, who touched Osei in to his right and into a great position to fire at goal but instead he went for a return to Reed across the box and the defence cut it out.
The Lowestoft faithful then thought the deadlock had been broken, as Jack Ainsley sat one up from midfield into the Met Police area and with Gaughran lurking and the keeper off his line, he sent a header over the keeper and into the goal, only to see the offside flag waving.
Shortly after a Fisk shot was then blocked as Lowestoft started to settle and the Met Police started to look a little shaken.
A Jarvis free-kick from the left was glanced past the far post by Reed as Lowestoft looked for the opening goal. At the other end the newly signed forward Hudson-Odoi was looking a bit of a handful for the Lowestoft defence but Gleeson and Gaughran were both in no mood to come off second best and were winning their battles.
The best and only chance of the half for Met Police came when Pattison showed some great footwork to get passed two players and send a dangerous ball right across the face of the Lowestoft goal. However, with one of his fellow team mates fractionally short of getting on the end of it, the Lowestoft goal remained intact.
The first confrontation of the match saw Pattison booked after catching Osei with his knee but with Osei reacting angrily, he also went into the book. From the resulting free-kick Gaughran got on the end of it but sent his header just wide with the keeper at full stretch.
Shortly after it looked as if Lowestoft were going to snatch the lead before the break but with Reed being found from the left he didn't catch his shot fully and it was cleared off the line.

The second half started with Lowestoft showing better quality from the corner flag but with Stuart Ainsley picking out Gaughran, he got under it and sent it high over the bar.
Lowestoft were certainly pressing in the opening minutes and with Jack Ainsley sending an up and under in from the right it found Stuart Ainsley, who in turn headed across the box to Osei but the keeper saved his shot well with his legs.
The early pressure being shown in the second period was also leading to the Met Police giving away a number of free-kicks.
At the other end Gleeson was commanding at the back and as a result Met Police were being restricted to long range efforts, of which none were troubling Jones.
Lowestoft continued to win a large number of free-kicks around the area but with Eagle and Adam Smith missing, Lowestoft struggled to pose any real questions for the keeper.
The Lowestoft fans behind the goal were in full voice again and with Lowestoft looking for the crucial breakthrough, Henderson was introduced in place of Stuart Ainsley.
In the first half Lowestoft were unlucky to have a few shots closed down and that unfortunate trend continued with Reed doing really well in the box and popping it off to Henderson, only for his stinging shot to be charged down, when it looked like finding the back of the net.
The Met Police were looking like a team who are the second lowest scorers in league and as a result they looked to freshen it up from the bench with Tait and James replacing Hudson-Odoi and Newton.
Not long after being introduced and from a Lowestoft defensive clearance, Tait somehow found himself in on goal and with a glorious chance presenting itself to him and a gaping goal in the offing, he astonishingly put a very poor miss wide of the target.
The subs for Met Police had briefly given them a boost but with the exception of the golden chance for Tait, the Lowestoft defence were finding it comfortable. Gleeson in particular was looking commanding but with fifteen minutes remaining his game came to an abrupt end with him going down in agony, clutching his hamstring and being replaced by Doddington.
The enforced change saw Williams move to centre back, Jack Ainsley to right back and Doddington taking up position on the right of midfield.
Lowestoft had seen several shots blocked during the game by a committed Met Police defence and with Haynes-Brown and Fisk doing well to eventually slide in Henderson, yet another blocked shot was added to the list.
Reed had worked hard up front but with ten minutes remaining it looked like a number of blocked shots and the missing edge and creativity of Eagle was going to leave Lowestoft with just a point to show for their efforts.
After persistent fouling Smith finally went into the book and shortly after was replaced by McGarry for Met Police, who were now just looking to see out a good point for them.
Four extra minutes were indicated and with the ball being tossed forward to Henderson he looked to be in a great position to drive into the area, only to be cleaned out by the already booked keeper. Luckily for Met Police the challenge appeared to be fractionally outside the area but unluckily for the keeper Grainger, it was his second booking and off he went.
In goal went Pattison from outfield and from the resulting free-kick Jack Ainsley had a pop at goal but Pattison was able to get a strong enough hand to the ball to palm it over. Lowestoft continued to pepper the Met Police goal as the injury time minutes fell away but with the staunch Met Police rearguard holding out, the final whistle sounded and Lowestoft had to settle for a point.

It was a game in which Met Police had a glorious second half chance wasted by the newly introduced Tait but had defended staunchly throughout. Lowestoft did seem to miss the width, quality and creativity of Eagle at times, which lead to spells of long balls being sent up to Reed and Osei.
The Trawlerboys did control most of the possession though and certainly had enough shots on target to win the game but had the frustration of seeing most of them charged down or blocked, leaving them wondering how they'd not left with all three points.

It was a difficult game to pick standout performances from, as all players put in a solid enough shift. Osei and Reed worked tirelessly up front and both Gleeson and Gaughran looked comfortable at the back, with Gaughran also looking a threat again in the opposing area from dead ball situations. However, my Man of the Match is Curtis Haynes-Brown, who looked comfortable when coming forward from the back with the ball and showed a high level of quality to his game.

Terry Bullen