Lowestoft Town moved up to 15th in the National League North table after edging an eight-goal thriller at Steel Park.

The Blues travelled to Northamptonshire looking to distance themselves from the relegation zone, off the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over play-off chasing Boston United at Crown Meadow on Boxing Day, and did exactly that as they enjoyed a 5-3 triumph over fellow strugglers Corby Town.

Despite going into the game on a high, the Trawlerboys found themselves behind after just nine minutes and were the masters of their own downfall.

Blues striker Jake Reed found himself in a promising position inside the Corby box, but lost possession cheaply allowing Messiah McDonald to charge forward and square the ball to Greg Mills who slotted past a helpless Ben Killip.

Lowestoft responded well and were level six minutes later. Sam Donkin in the Corby net did well to keep out a testing effort from Andrew Fisk but the ball rebounded to the feet of Reed who made amends for his earlier mistake as he poked the ball into the net.

Ady Gallagher's side were level for just 60 seconds, as poor defending from Harry Barker allowed McDonald to fire past Killip after a well timed through ball from Mills.

Former Norwich City favourite Ryan Jarvis and Shaun Bammant led the Blues' response, but they struggled to turn possession into pressure and Corby looked fairly comfortable defending their lead.

However, six minutes before the break that all changed when Robert Eagle was needlessly bought to ground by McDonald, gifting the Trawlerboys a way back into the game from the penalty spot.

Jack Ainsley stepped up and made no mistake as he pulled his side level and Lowestoft did well in the closing stages of the first half as they finally started to show glimpses of what they are capable of.

Lowestoft picked up where they left off after the break and having been lucky to go in level, things soon started to look brighter for the visitors as two goals in quick succession changed the complexion of the game.

With 49 minutes on the clock Lowestoft got their noses in front after a spirited fightback. Reed cut inside after a burst of pace on the right flank before firing past Donkin from a testing angle, bagging his 13th league goal of the season.

Three minutes later a foul by Callum Thomas saw the Blues awarded a free-kick in an inviting position around 25 yards out from goal and Eagle stepped up and delivered one for the cameras, as he skilfully curled the ball into the top-right corner of the net.

Having turned the tables on Corby, Lowestoft went on to dominate with Bammant and, on-loan Fleetwood midfielder, Harvey Hodd both finding the side netting in quick succession.

With just three minutes to play the Steelmen were awarded a penalty, after a late tackle by Fisk and Mills sent Killip the wrong way, setting up a tense final few minutes for the visitors.

With the stakes high, tempers flared with Edi Appleton and Reed both cautioned for their involvement in a fracas in the aftermath of the penalty.

Despite a late Corby fightback, Lowestoft dug deep and continued to look dangerous themselves.

In the dying stages Ryan Jarvis was fouled just inside the Corby penalty area and Ainsley again got the better of Donkin to make it high fives all round as the Blues secured all three points.

The result leaves the Crown Meadow outfit five points above the National League North drop zone ahead of their Saturday's trip to Boston United, who enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Gainsborough Trinity yesterday.