Blues caught out by Trawlerboys

Grays Athletic took on early season league leaders, Lowestoft Town at Tilbury on Saturday and again came up short, in what was all-round a game of no great spectacle - rather than the five goal thriller that the scoreline might suggest. Blues boss, Mark Stimson, introduced several of his new signings, but at the moment the end result remains the same.

Lowestoft came out of the traps quickly and could, and probably should, have been in the lead inside the first thirty seconds, when Jake Reed blazed over from inside the box. Adam Hipperson then tried a mazy run and a free kick from Louis McIntosh brought a save from Danny Sambridge in the Grays goal. It took ten minutes for Blues to gain any meaningful possession, when Jesse Olukolu went on a long run into the opposition area, but ran out of steam.

Just before the quarter hour, Blues felt hard done by when a very soft penalty was awarded for a challenge by Troy Osei-Bobie - Harvey Sayer converting the spot kick. But just a couple of minutes later, referee Mr Wright, levelled things up with a penalty for Grays for a foul against Sam Bantick, which would have aggrieved Lowestoft equally. Bantick got up and calmly struck home to make it 1-1.

The rest of the half was mostly a forgettable affair, although the visitors were generally quicker to the breakdown and had the greater share of possession. That said, clear chances were few and far between at both ends and Olukolu should have done better when volleying over after being set up by Aron Gordon. But too often, Blues were guilty of conceding the ball unnecessarily and failing to move the ball quickly enough into dangerous areas.

And just before the break, Mr Wright again did Blues no favours, when Usman Adeniji was felled in agony in the tacklel, but despite having awarded countless free kicks for very minor infringements, the referee saw no need to blow his whistle. With Adeniji still lying prone, Lowestoft attacked and the ball fell to Jake Reed, who finished smartly to regain the lead.

Half time: Grays Athletic 1 v 2 Lowestoft Town

The second half also served up little of quality. On the hour mark, Lowestoft should have stretched their lead, when Kyle Haylock headed across the goal from close range but somehow managed to put the ball wide of the far post. Rob Clark was doing his best to break up play in midfield but too often the visitors had men in numbers to win the battles. And on 75 minutes, Grays were twice guilty of overplaying the ball, allowing Lowestoft to attack and then leaving marksman Adam Hipperson free at the back post for an easy finish to make it 3-1.

Strangely, that goal seemed to wake Grays and they played their best football in the final ten minutes of the match. With the clock past 90 minutes, Olukolu found sub David Knight inside the visitors’ box, to set up the type of chance he just doesn’t miss - reducing the arrears to 3-2. And there was still time for Olukolu again to get round the back forcing a corner that Blues couldn’t convert.

So another difficult day at the office for Grays. Things need to pick up soon.

Final Score: Grays Athletic 2 v 3 Lowestoft Town

Grays Ath: Sambridge, Adeniji, Milner, Clark, Obi, Shogbeni, Gordon (Bakalandwa, 81), Stimson (Knight, 73), Osei-Bobie (Sery, 74), Bantick, Olukolu

Subs not used: Thackway, Saponara