Lowestoft Town 1, Aveley 0

Lowestoft Town 1, Aveley 0

A first-half wonder-strike from Jamie Forshaw kept up Lowestoft Town's 100 per cent winning record at home this season against a very defensive Aveley.

Forshaw's left-footed piledriver midway through the first period was the highlight of a tepid encounter which saw Aveley defend doggedly without ever posing a real threat going forward.

Blues first-team coach Craig Fleming paid tribute to Forshaw, who was only in the side due to Lee McGlone falling foul of a rib injury, which saw him substituted against Desborough in the FA Cup last weekend.

“It was a fantastic goal to win the game and it had been coming with Adam Smith hitting the bar with an excellent free kick just before it,” he said.

While Lowestoft struggled to carve out any clear-cut opportunities, Fleming was delighted to secure three more points which saw the Trawlerboys rise up to second in

the table.

“Aveley played very defensively and made it very hard for us. It was difficult, they only played one man up front and tried to frustrate us and it is difficult to break down.

“We had to stay patient and just make sure that everyone did their jobs properly. Not every game is going to be 3-0 or 4-0 and you have to grind out results every now and again.”

It was clear from the early stages which side is riding high in the Ryman Premier and who had lost four games in a row going into Saturday.

It was very clear which side is riding high in the Ryman Premier and which side has struggled so far.

The Millers set out in a 4-5-1 formation looking to leave Crown Meadow with at least a point but this target was almost thrown out of the window as soon as the fifth minute when centre-half Marc Gorbell misjudged a headed backpass that Danny Bloomfield was looking to benefit from.

However, Gorbell was thankful to his goalkeeper Jack Giddens for rushing off the line and clearing the visitors' lines before the in-form Bloomfield could benefit.

With Lee McGlone failing to shake off a rib injury, the aerial route to goal was taken away from the Blues although the industry of both Bloomfield and Forshaw set the tempo for the rest of the side.

Adam Smith came close in the 14th minute when he was invited to shoot from 30 yards and his left-footed effort was tipped over well by Giddens.

Aveley then almost took the lead in a rare foray forward when Orlando Smith wriggled his way past Smith down the right flank before teeing up Luke Colman from eight yards.

The Millers' striker looked set to give his side an undeserved lead but as he cocked to shoot Sam Gaughran produced an outstanding challenge to keep the Blues on level terms.

Smith, who is fast earning himself a reputation as a free-kick specialist, came close to breaking the deadlock just before the half-hour mark when his left-footed effort from all of 30 yards smashed against the crossbar.

The Crown Meadow faithful didn't have to wait long to see their side hit the front however and it was well worth waiting for.

When Forshaw picked the ball up 35 yards from goal there looked to be little on but nobody expected what followed, least of all the Aveley goalkeeper.

The striker looked up and unleashed an exocet that flew past Giddens into the top left-hand corner before he could even move.

The Lowestoft management team would have been eager for their side to stamp their authority on the second half and it looked like they would do exactly that when Stuart Ainsley came close to adding a second with a right-footed shot from the edge of the area that the goalkeeper struggled to hold.

But the Blues looked strangely flat periods of the second half, perhaps due to the lack of threat Aveley posed going forward.

Passes regularly went astray and there wasn't the same urgency of the first half that looked to break down stubborn opposition.

In saying that, Aveley looked devoid of ideas and Lowestoft defensively coped with ease with everything they had to offer.

Ainsley almost put the result beyond any doubt with a driving run through the heart of the midfield but his low shot was pushed around the post by Giddens.

Lowestoft Town (4-4-2): Reynolds, Cave-Brown, Gaughran, Haynes-Brown, Smith, Godbold, Fisk, Ainsley, Bussens (Mitchell 68), Forshaw (Clark 86), Bloomfield. Subs not used: Halliday, Marsden, Crane.

Referee: Will Hardie. Att: 634.