Improved K’s Still No Match For Trawlerboys
Football, like life, isn’t a meritocracy. Fans can traipse to the most easterly part of the country, with no excitement at the other end. Players can huff and puff for 90 minutes without ever looking like scoring. A defence can hold solid for almost all of a game, but come undone via a couple of deflections. And so it transpired on the North Sea coast as Kingstonian’s poor run continued with a 1-0 defeat at mid-table Lowestoft.
It took just nine minutes for Lowestoft to take the lead. Rob Tolfrey managed to block Rory Mcauley goalbound effort but the rebound popped up invitingly for Jake Reed to nod the hosts in front. The remainder of the game’s best chances both came before half time. Shaun McAuley’s corners were a constant menace, especially as Jake Jessup in the Lowestoft goal refused to catch a thing, throwing punches with less control than latter-day David Haye. From one such corner, Ryan Moss looked to have poked home an equaliser, but it was deflected onto the crossbar and Moss’ spectacular overhead kick on the rebound went over. At the other end, Nico Cotton found heaps of space in the Ks’ penalty area, but could only blaze over with Tolfrey stranded.
Despite these chances, both teams looked fairly comfortable in defence, content to let the opposition knock the ball around 40 yards from goal without ever really threatening. An early interchange of passing in the second half saw Pico Gomez find himself one-on-one with Jessup at a tight angle, but the keeper made his only save of the game to ensure his side’s lead stayed intact. By the time Youssef Bamba was introduced, presumably to fire some aerial bombardment towards to the reticent Jessup, Lowestoft were wise to Ks game and never gave the lively winger the space to really test the keeper. A lack of cutting edge saw all of Kingstonian’s possession amount to naught; by the time the final whistle went, the result hadn’t really been in doubt for the best part of half an hour.
As results around the league conspired against Tommy Williams’ side, a run in with more than one eye over our shoulders continued. And perhaps that’s the thing, Ks might not have got what they deserved at Lowestoft, but a relegation scrap is probably fitting for their post-Christmas form.
Match report by Jamie Cutteridge.
