Bury Town 4 Lowestoft Town 0

Att 315

Teams:-
Bury Town: Garnham, Short, Dunbar, Kennedy, Whight, Bullard, Semple, Bridges, Tolley, Clark, Patrick. Subs; Lampshire, Kawaguchi, Roulston

Lowestoft Town: Viner, Williams, Gleeson, Haynes-Brown (Frew 8 mins), Adam Smith (Eagle 76 mins), Jack Ainsley, Stuart Ainsley (Fisk 60 mins), Jarvis, Henderson, Lee Smith, Reed. Subs; Eagle, Fisk, Frew, Jones

Following some very poor defending and goalkeeping by Lowestoft in the first half, not even plenty of huff and puff in the second half could stop Bury Town from registering a deserved 4-0 win in the Suffolk Premier Cup.

Okay was missing through suspension but even with a handful of changes, Lowestoft fielded a strong side with Reed starting and midfielder Rossi Jarvis also starting after signing Ryman forms to play.
Bury Town were missing influential striker John Sands, who picked up an injury over the weekend.

It was a clash between past winners with Bury Town the current holders of the cup.
On a night to forget for Lowestoft the bad news started as early as the eighth minute, with Haynes-Brown making a great tackle but injuring himself in the process and having to be replaced by Frew. This forced Lowestoft into reorganising with Jack Ainsley shifting to right back and Williams moving into the centre of defence.
A further two minutes past before things were compounded even further, as from almost nowhere the ball found its way out of the Lowestoft defence to Kennedy and with the whole Lowestoft defence and keeper seemingly standing still, he bent the ball with ease into the net for 1-0 (10 mins).
Gleeson had to close a shot down by Bridges, while at the other end Lowestoft had a goal ruled out for offside. However, it wasn't long before Bury doubled their lead with Semple crossing from the right and Bridges heading in off the bar to send Bury 2-0 ahead (18 mins).
Lowestoft had looked okay coming forward but had yet again concede two quick fire goals at the back. As a result of the forward play by Lowestoft, Bury were committing a number of fouls with some going unpunished but giving Lowestoft opportunities from free-kicks but all to no avail.
Lowestoft were looking downbeat at the back though and with them losing the ball in midfield, Semple was released down the right and his dangerous cross had to be scooped clear by Viner.
Following some good passes by Bury, Williams fouled and went into the book and shortly after Bullard forced Viner to turn his free-kick away, as Bury looked dangerous.
As if things couldn't then get any worse, some quite frankly shocking defending and goalkeeping was highlighted again, as Whight delivered a free-kick from the right wing and with every Lowestoft player allowing the ball to go right through the defence without a touch, it was 3-0 (38 mins).
Bury were cruising now and Lowestoft had effectively shot themselves in both feet, which is why it was amazing to see a very strong tackle go in on Jack Ainsley just a minute after the third goal, resulting in Tolley being shown a straight red card and Bury being reduced to ten.
The only real positive of the half for Lowestoft was the alert and hungry looking Reed up front and with him latching onto a deft touch from Lee Smith, he burst into the box and forced Garnham to make a solid save to deny him.
Reed was really showing great determination to try and make something happen and with him looking like being second to the ball, he showed great pace and strength to win the ball and get in round the back to win a free-kick and a booking for the opposition.
This proved to be the last moment of note in the half, as Lowestoft trudged off at the break.

The second half started with Adam Smith seeing his name go in the book for a foul but Lowestoft were looking to take advantage of the extra man, as Jack Ainsley sent a number of crosses and long throws into the box.
Frew teed up Jarvis but his shot didn't carry enough sting in it to trouble Garnham, as Lowestoft kept plucking away to try and register on the scoreboard.
Fisk was introduced for Stuart Ainsley with thirty minutes of the game remaining but time was starting to run out for Lowestoft to pull back such a big deficit.
It looked like Lowestoft had pulled one back with Jack Ainsley ghosting into the box to latch onto a ball from midfield but with him flicking the ball past the keeper with his boot, the ball came back off the post and the Bury goal stayed intact.
Reed deserved a goal for his sharpness and work rate up to this point but with an Adam Smith cross coming in from deep, the header of Reed was turned onto the bar by Garnham.
Lowestoft were now turning the pressure up on the ten men of Bury and with Fisk lifting one over the top, Frew worked a shot from a sharp angle but Bullard threw himself at the ball to deflect it over from on the line.
Time really was running out for Lowestoft now and the final roll of the dice was made with the creativity of Eagle being introduced in place of Adam Smith.
The shining light for Lowestoft was Reed and with him showing great sharpness yet again, he stole in on a ball but with Garnham closing the angle he could only smash his shot into the side netting.
A really stupid booking by Frew for blatantly handling a cross just about summed the night up for Lowestoft but that wasn't the end of the misery for Lowestoft, as Bury made it four.
A splitting pass from the right picked out Patrick and with him showing great footwork and composure to open the goal up, he smashed an excellent finish home for 4-0 (80 mins).
Eagle collected another Lowestoft booking after getting involved with Short and just before the final whistle Reed was frustrated by Garnham again, with Eagle sitting one up to him in the box and his great header being met by an equally great save.

It was without doubt a night to well and truly forget for Lowestoft but there were some positives to come from the game. Jack Ainsley put in a great shift and tried to get forward from right back whenever possible, to deliver crosses and throws into the box. However, the two real shining lights of the night for Lowestoft were the two new faces. Midfielder Rossi Jarvis looks to have and excellent footballing head on his shoulders and the Man of the Match for Lowestoft, Jake Reed, showed superb sharpness and determination throughout the whole match and is an exciting prospect.

Bury were up against it much more in the second half but with some great saves by Garnham and some resolute defending by the excellent Bullard, Bury deserved the victory and progress in their quest to retain the cup.

Lowestoft now turn their attentions back to the important matter of the league on Saturday, when they entertain Carshalton Athletic at the Crown Meadow.

Terry Bullen