Stowmarket 1 Diss Town 4

Diss Town were hoping to get back to winning ways, on Tuesday evening and two early goals followed by another just before half-time put them in a commanding position that was too much for Stowmarket to recover from in the second half.

Stowmarket featured ex-Tangerine Matt Dixon in their starting line-up. Matthew Powley started in goal for the Tangerines, with Jason Armes and Kyle Downes also available again for this fixture.

It was Downes who opened the scoring with a classic centre forward's goal, climbing well to plant a firm and accurate header into the top left corner of the Stowmarket net in the fifth minute.

The home side were looking vulnerable to balls played through the centre of defence and Downes was rewarded for his efforts to contest a 50-50 ball with the home keeper McCarrick, when the ball bounced in his favour and he merely had to follow the ball into the empty net to make it 2-0 to the Tangerines in the 13th minute.

Just before half-time the Tangerines' lead was increased when a Stowmarket defender headed into his own net, when under pressure from a corner.

The Tangerines lost goalkeeper Powley to an injury early in the second half but fortunately goalkeeper Chris Bird was on the bench to take over in goal.

Chris Holmes came on as substitute for Jamie George in the 84th minute, and had an instant impact when he was fouled in the penalty area just as he went close with a cross-shot. Holmes recovered and got to his feet to send McCarrick the wrong way to make it 4-0 to the Tangerines.

With little time remaining, the home side scored a consolation goal when Wayne Proctor hit a well-struck drive from the edge of the area.

Diss Town 2 March Town 3

Diss Town went into this match in a confident mood after a good pre-season and a victory in their opening Thurlow Nunn League Division One fixture of the season.

However, after appearing in control after an early setback, the Tangerines showed some defensive frailties and gifted their opponents two goals and all three points.

Kyle Downes, Jason Armes and Mark Appleton were unavailable but the team sheet still looked strong with Jamie George available again to form a strike force with Sam Page.

The home crowd were stunned into silence when the visitors took the lead in the seventh minute when Dan Woods hammered home a well-struck volley from just outside the penalty area. Diss increased the pressure on the home defence and skipper Danny Self equalised with a 20 yard free-kick in the 20th minute that went over the defensive wall and past March keeper Dave Beeney.

In the 39th minute, it looked like the Tangerines were back in control when Page rose well to meet a measured cross from Ben Lewis with his head to give his side the lead.

As the second half progressed the Tangerines looked to be the more likely team to score, but without really creating any clear-cut chances. Then in the 65th minute they were undone, when the back line thought that keeper Chris Bird would claim the ball. But it was the March No 10 Odain who nipped in to make it 2-2.

Diss still had 25 minutes left to try and get something from the game, but although Dale Barrett tested Beeney with a powerful drive from 18 yards, they did not cause too many problems for the visitors' defence. With time running down the home side's day took a further turn for the worse when they failed to clear the ball after it was deflected onto Bird's right-hand post, and Ash Brand was on hand to poke home from close range.

The Tangerines are at home again on Saturday when they entertain AFC Sudbury Reserves (3pm)..

Diss Town: Chris Bird, Chris Bartram, Luke Appleton, Chris Gibbons, Sam Wenham, Ben Lewis, Danny Self, Chris Holmes, Sam Page, Jamie George, Dale Barrett,

Subs: Callum Olpin (for Holmes 69), Jack Hood (for Bartram 75). Not used: Jack Simpson, Matthew Powley.

Attendance: 82