Lowestoft Town 0 Needham Market 2
Needham Market went some way towards banishing the memory of their FA Cup defeat at Crown Meadow with a deserved victory in this league encounter.
A first-half curling shot from Joe Marsden and a second-half strike by Luke Ingram sealed the points against a spirited Lowestoft side.
Honours were shared in the early exchanges. Louis McIntosh's shot tested Needham keeper Marcus Garnham, who made a good save. Likewise, home keeper Luis Tibbles had to gather a Craig Parker strike after Marsden's initial shot was blocked.
With the first half entering its final five minutes Needham, in the shape of Samuel Squire, broke and the ball was played out to Marsden on the left.
Marsden took it forward and cut inside allowing him space for the shot, which he gladly took on to fire a curling effort into the far top corner from 20 yards out.
Marsden nearly provided a repeat performance just before the break when he struck another long-range effort goalwards. This time Tibbles managed to get fingertips on the ball as it crashed off the top of the bar for a corner.
The second half saw Needham start brightly, Joe Neal setting up Parker, whose shot was blocked. Neal also made keeper Tibbles work with the rebound.
The hosts could have drawn level in the 57th minute. Jake Reed picked up a loose ball 30 yards out and went through on goal, only to be denied by an excellent Dan Morphew block.
Two minutes later it was Needham on the attack with Neal surging down the right wing and getting to the byline. He calmly pulled it back into the path of Ingram, who slotted home inside the far corner to double the Marketmen's' lead.
Midway through the second half, Needham were reduced to 10 men after Russell Short was shown a straight red for catching McIntosh as they tussled for the ball in midfield.
Lowestoft made changes and kept plugging away, looking to reduce the deficit. However, their two best chances came in the final couple of minutes.
Firstly, Malachi Linton came close when he latched onto a rebound, but his fierce effort cannoned off the post.
Then in injury-time, a half-cleared Connor Deeks free kick fell to Joshua Curry. His effort beat Garnham, only for the ballto be cleared off the line.
Needham Market: Garnham, Dye, Sturgess, Short, Morphew (K), Morphew (D), Ingram (84' Page), Squire, Neal (Godward 89), Parker, Marsden (Collard(N) 90+3)
Lowestoft Town: Tibbles, Curry, Richardson (Wilkinson 76), Deeks, Cole, Tann, Williams (Lopez 72), Fisk, Reed, Linton, McIntosh (Zielonka 72)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here