Lowestoft Town 3 East Thurrock United 0

Att 288

Teams:-
Lowestoft Town: Jones, Williams, Gleeson, Gaughran, Smith (Stuart Ainsley 48 mins), Jack Ainsley, Fisk, Okay, Eagle, Osei (Frew 75 mins), Reed (Bailey 83 mins)
Subs; Frew, Stuart Ainsley, Bailey, Doddington, Jessup

East Thurrock: Hughes, Sammons, Stephen, Peddie, Hopkins, Easterford, Bourne (Sheehan 64 mins), Parmenter (Thurgood 83 mins), Bryant, Symons (McKenzie 64 mins), Pinnock
Subs; McKenzie, Thurgood, Sheehan, Anderson, Paxman

Lowestoft Town respond after their derby disappointment with a clean sheet and a solid performance to dig out a 3-0 win over East Thurrock United.

Going into the match Lowestoft were forced into two changes with Jarvis suffering from a tight hamstring from Saturday's game and Henderson missing with sickness. Fisk and Osei were their replacements in the starting eleven, while Reserve team players Luke Bailey and Connor Doddington were named on the bench.

The game kicked off with East Thurrock sporting a Newcastle esq black and white striped kit and the Lowestoft stand sending out the chants of 'Come on your Blues'.
East Thurrock were playing high up the pitch right from the start and getting numbers forward but with just two minutes gone it was Lowestoft who fired the first effort in on goal, as Eagle sent in a swerving shot but it was right at the keeper. Lowestoft were now pushing the East Thurrock numbers back into their half with Eagle starting to look busy, popping up on the left and right of midfield and trying to open things up. As the fifteen minute mark arrived Lowestoft were starting to edge the possession but as a whole the game had not yet taken off.
A long goal kick just before the half hour mark caused the Lowestoft defence an issue and with Smith pulling back Parmenter with not much else behind him, the referee deliberated for a short while before showing the Lowestoft left back a yellow card.
The game was taking a similar shape to that of Saturday's game with not much football on offer and neither side finding much in an attacking sense. A slight spark came from Lowestoft with Osei winning the ball well on the right and with him and Reed combining the move ended with Jack Ainsley being picked out in the middle but his downward header went the wrong side of the post as the score remained goalless.
On Saturday Lowestoft scored an unexpected goal from nowhere, just before the break and with five minutes of the half remaining it was groundhog day for the blues. Eagle picked the ball up in the left channel and sent in a sensational and difficult to defend ball, that swerved in and over the defence and with Reed coming in like the great goal scorer he is, his timing was perfect to stick the ball away and send Lowestoft 1-0 up (40 mins).
It was a good time for Lowestoft to score and with the exception of a few handbags between the sides just before the break, Lowestoft left the field and headed to the dressing room in front.

After receiving a knock in the first half, Smith picked up another knock early in the second half and with just three second half minutes on the board he was replaced by Stuart Ainsley.
On Saturday Lowestoft let their lead slip early on in the second half but with a more determined look about every player in a blue shirt, they quickly doubled their lead and took a firm grip on the game. Jack Ainsley and Williams interchanged beautifully down the right and with Williams whipping the ball in, Osei got the ball under control in the area and steered it past the keeper and inside the post for 2-0 (50 mins).
Two nearly became three for Lowestoft, as Gleeson drilled an effort in from distance and with Gaughran in a forward position, he stuck out a foot to leave the keeper flat footed and divert it past him and into the net, only to look across at the linesman to see the offside flag being waved.
The game was now two-thirds of the way through and East Thurrock were struggling to come up with any ideas, as Okay sat in front of and supported the defensive backline, breaking the play up.
East Thurrock made a double substitution with the introduction of McKenzie and Sheehan for Symons and Bourne. Moments later they enjoyed a rare sight of the ball in a dangerous area, as the ball pinballed around in the Lowestoft box but it came to nothing and the Lowestoft goal remained fully intact.
East Thurrock as always are a side that never give up on a game but they were really struggling to find any holes in the Lowestoft defence and with Jones also claiming anything that came into the area, it was looking like East Thurrock had a mountain to climb in order to get back into the game.
Stuart Ainsley picked up a booking for dissent as the final fifteen minutes approached and Lowestoft started to sit a bit deeper but were still looking comfortable. Frew was introduced for Osei who had been lifted by his goal and had kept the East Thurrock defence on their toes in the second half.
East Thurrock to their credit didn't give up though and with a nice little touch from a long goal kick, McKenzie found himself with a sight at goal but his effort was weak and caused little trouble for Jones in the Lowestoft goal.
As the minutes started to tick away East Thurrock made their third and final change of the match, while Lowestoft introduced Luke Bailey in place of the goal scoring Reed.
After letting a few goals in of late, Lowestoft were keen to not only wrap up the three points but to also claim a welcomed clean sheet. East Thurrock didn't appear to have much in the way of penetration but in saying that Lowestoft had put in a well drilled defensive display and never looked like being exposed at any point during the match.
Six minutes of stoppage time were indicated and Lowestoft had to survive a momentary scare, as Bryant sent a cross in from the right for East Thurrock and with Jones stranded on the deck, Lowestoft had to clear the ball off the line twice in quick succession. As the final stoppage time minutes dropped away Lowestoft looked home and dry but they added a cherry on top of the result by getting a third. Okay slid a perfectly weighted ball in for Frew to latch onto and with him sending the ball past the keeper with great composure, it was 3-0 and three points for Lowestoft (90+ mins).

It was a match that didn't contain too much in the way of flowing football and was always going to be a game in which Lowestoft would have to dig out a result against an East Thurrock side who always give it their all and battle from start to finish.

It was the sort of response that the supporters and players were looking for and every player put in a shift to respond in the best way possible after Saturday. Reed grabbed his tenth goal of the season and put in a superb amount of work rate yet again. Osei kept the East Thurrock defence on their toes and Eagle again was the creative player who was always looking to unlock the opposing defence.
The Lowestoft defence looked impenetrable with Gleeson and Gaughran putting in their best performance as a pairing and Williams yet again was a brut in defence and a danger when bursting forward from deep. However, in a game that required the sleeves to be rolled up and for everyone to dig in, my Man of the Match was Erkan Okay. He protected the defence well, broke up the play with some no nonsense tackles and also sent in a lovely weighted pass at the end for the third Lowestoft goal.

Lowestoft Town are next in action on Saturday when they make the trip to play Hendon, who now play at the same ground as Harrow Borough.

Terry Bullen