Awful K’s Blown Away by Trawlerboys
This was the most chastening defeat Kingstonian have suffered in quite some time. Four goals conceded in the opening 23 minutes tells its own story, but things had started to go wrong long before kick-off.
Regulars Sean Bonnett-Johnson and Youssef Bamba turned up to Kingsmeadow late, so as per club rules Tommy Williams dropped them to the bench. Tom Derry and Toyosi Olusanya were elevated to the starting XI.
This change in personnel, along with others enforced, didn’t go well. Williams was already without the injured Alan Inns and suspended Bruce Hogg. Aaron Goode moved across to centre-back and Joe Turner dropped back to fill in on the right side of defence, as he had to good effect after K’s were reduced to 10 men in the previous home game, against Canvey.
Further forward, Bonnett-Johnson’s absence left a hole in central midfield. That was filled by Aaron Lamont. Pico Gomez came in at no.10, flanked by Derry on one side and Olusanya the other.
Poor Ryan Moss barely saw the ball in the first half.
Deep breath. Lowestoft’s goals, a quartet in 19 life-sucking minutes in front of a Kingsmeadow crowd in desperate need of some Christmas cheer.
A completely unmarked Jake Reed bounced a shot over Rob Tolfrey in the fourth minute. 0-1. Tolfrey then allowed a wide Frazer Blake-Tracy free-kick to sail over his head and in. It was made more farcical by the fact the infringement had been given when George Wells picked the ball up thinking it had gone out of play. It hadn’t.
That was on 12 minutes and four minutes later it was three when Reed slid in at the back post unnoticed to divert a low cross into the net. Reed was then brought down by Tolfrey and though the keeper made amends by saving Ryan Jarvis’s spot-kick, he tucked the rebound in. 0-4.
That was how it stayed until half-time when Bamba and Bonnett-Johnson were brought on for the ineffective Olusanya and Derry. Lowestoft had had no trouble exploiting the space behind them and in front of our beleaguered full-backs.
K’s improved. A bit. Ryan Moss scored a penalty given for some penalty-box pushing. He curled not far wide soon after and Pico also had a low shot saved.
In the midst of this, the referee suddenly seemed to lose control of the game flashing unnecessary yellow cards out left, right and centre. There were 11 by the close of play, plus a red for Reed who lunged in late on Tolfrey.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, it was Lowestoft who got the game’s sixth goal, Shaun Bammant rising above Tolfrey to head a free-kick in. Turner replied with a header of his own in the third minute of stoppage time ensuring K’s ‘won’ the second half, but by then it was far too little, too late. No wonder Williams called it “absolutely abysmal” afterwards. Rarely in his two-and-a-half season of management has he looked so angry.
Match report by Rupert Cane.
