Lowestoft made full use of a 25-man squad as they went down to a 1-0 defeat at Ridgeons League neighbours Great Yarmouth in their first pre-season friendly of the summer.

Despite seeing a lot of the ball in the first half, the Blues failed to test keeper Jake Jessop and were stunned when the Bloaters took the lead on 24 minutes. A quick counter-attack saw Ollie McCarthy release Lee Roscoe to shoot past Steve Norris.

Andrew Cave-Brown saw his header tipped over the bar as the visitors hit back. They applied plenty of pressure after the break as well but were unable to find an equaliser. Russell Stock's header which rebounded off the crossbar and Greg Crane's effort which went just over were the closest the visitors came to getting back on level terms.

Lowestoft continue their preparations for the new campaign on Saturday when they play host to Chelmsford while Yarmouth visit North Walsham of the Anglian Combination (both 3pm).