Lowestoft Town assistant manager Andy Reynolds insists his side will be going into Satruday's game at Banbury in good heart despite letting two precious points slip through their grasp at the weekend.

The Blues looked set to make it back-to-back home wins in the Evostik League Central Division when they led Rushden and Diamonds 1-0 going into the final few minutes.

But a late penalty meant they had to settle for a draw, which left them just one point above the relegation zone when it really should have been three.

Reynolds was looking at the bigger picture however ahead of a trip to 11th placed Banbury, insisting the team were playing well going into a tough spell that continues with a trip to leaders Kettering the following Saturday and a home clash with fourth placed Alvechurch the weekend after that.

'Obviously conceding so late against Rushden was a real disappointment but it was another good performance from the lads after the win against Royston in midweek,' he said.

'We have played two teams who are near the top of the league and have come away with four points and I think we would have been happy with that beforehand. We have shown we can be competitive in this league.

'If you take the two recent cup games into account we have lost just one of our last five games and now we need to maintain that sort of level.'

Saturday's game attracted a crowd of 457 to the Amber Dew Events Stadium after just 216 had turned up in midweek and Reynolds added: 'We were all really pleased with the crowd and I would like to thank everyone who came along. Hopefully they would have been impressed by what they saw and will be coming back again. That's what it's all about, getting that connection back with the town by giving people a team they can be proud of.'

On Saturday the Blues will be looking for their first points on the road since they drew 1-1 at Bedworth back in early September. Reynolds is hoping Shaun Bammant will be fit after aggravating a hamstring injury against Rushden. Fellow frontman Ben Fowkes is expected to return after sitting out the game with a bout of flu while Adam Tann also comes back into contention for the trip to Oxfordshire.