Great Wakering Rovers 0 Lowestoft Town 3

Isthmian League One North, Saturday 13th August

I was over at Burroughs Park on a sweltering Saturday afternoon as the Isthmian Leagues got underway, and late goals from Jake Reed, Chris Henderson & Travis Cole handed Lowestoft Town all three points against Great Wakering Rovers.

The hosts ended up surviving the drop last season from the North division quite comfortably in the end after finishing seven points above third bottom Witham Town and a further point above the automatic relegation spot occupied by Barking, whereas there opponents from the most easterly point in the UK had come down from Step Three lasts season after finishing bottom of the Southern South Central Division.

Of course you cannot read to much into this at the start of a completely new campaign, both teams had changed several personal over the summer too, but which side would get their 2022/23 campaign off to a positive start?

Both sides made positive starts, in fact if it had not been for both keepers, Wakering's Harry Fairs, and Town's Warren Burwood, the game could easily had been 3-3 after half an hour, or maybe even earlier than that, as the first period saw many openings for both sides, but amazingly the half ended goalless, somehow, but it had been a terrific watch despite the blank score line.

The second period was initially much of the same, both sides having openings, not to the extent of the opening half, but still the game was fairly even and could have gone either way, but then in the 63rd minute the visitors introduced Henderson into the fray, and he was to have a huge impact on proceedings as the hosts looked to be tiring as the game entered it's latter stages.

Henderson's first major piece of action came with ten minutes to go and saw him slip a lovely pass through to Reed who charged into the box and fired an effort across Fairs and into the far corner, and then he turned goal scorer four minutes later when he charged into the box and sent a low bobbling effort across Fairs and into the far corner, and pretty much settle this one.

Town still had enough time to net a third and definitely clinch this contest when they made it three goals in eight minutes as skipper Cole headed home a corner at the back post and put some gloss on a score line which probably didn't reflect how the game had gone as the hosts had been well in it for most of the contest, but a late surge from the visitors ultimately settled this match and saw the points go to the Suffolk side.

Full time Great Wakering Rovers 0 Lowestoft Town 3