You would hope not to see such shocking application of the laws of the game on a Sunday morning park, never mind in such a high profile fixture as this.
Never mind - back to the game which saw an opening few minutes when both side showed nerves but then blossomed into a real cracker.
Rocks’ top scorer Sam Higgins was to have the first real strike of the match after three minutes but in keeping with what was to follow he was so well shackled by the home defence that his shot was charged down.
Lowestoft then seized the initiative and forced their visitors onto the back-foot - only to find goalkeeper Richard Wray in stunning form. He did show slight hesitancy in not coming for a ball which Joe Francis knocked to the edge of the box but he showed presence to back-pedal and tip Gary McGee’s looping header over the bar.
He did even better minutes later when the bull-like Matt Nolan crashed through the defence and fired in a shot that Wray dived to parry .
Mr Murin then gave a bizarre free kick against Sam Berry which led to another save from Wray and the sequence was repeated minutes later when another controversial free kick was superbly swung in by Francis and Wray produced a magnificent stop to keep out another McGee effort on goal.
Rocks were surviving by the thickness of Wray’s gloves but they still promised plenty when they went forward and Higgins proved his potential when Matty Potter had to clip his legs as he bore down on goal. Fair play to Mr Marin, there was no need to make a meal of it and he kept his card in his pocket issuing a warning. No-one likes to see too many yellow cards and if that’s Mr Marin’s way fair enough - at least that’s what we thought until the second half.
And when the same thing happened a couple of minutes later Potter again got away without a card, it seemed the ref was definitely out to err on the side of tolerance - though it was of little consolation to an increasingly irate Higgins who felt he was getting some unfair treatment.
Lowestoft were quickly back on the attack and keeping Wray busy.
You sensed it was going to be a mistake or a fluke that would beat the keeper, such was his form, and the moment arrived on 37 minutes when a quick counter from Lowestoft caught them out of position.
The ball was worked wide to expose the flank but Wray would probably have dealt with Craig Bussens’ angled shot but it took a deflection off a stretched East Thurrock boot and slid inside the keeper’s near post.
If Rocks were fazed, they didn’t show it and with six minutes they were level with a superb goal. Higgins slipped his marker for once and laid the ball into the path of overlapping Kris Newby and his short range cross was gleefully poked home by Berry who had timed his run to perfection. (Editor's note: My original report said Kye Ruel had crossed for Sam Berry to score, but I must share Mr Marin's need for a new pair of glasses as it was Kris Newby. My apologies Kris).
Town were almost back on top within in two minutes when Nolan pounced on a half cleared cross and smashed a shot against the bar.
It was unfortunate for the centre forward who is a real handful and a player most teams at this level would love in their side, even if he frequently agitates opposition players and fans by falling over rather easily. For a man built like a brick outhouse he does have a habit of acting like Bambi on ice he’s challenged.
Having been under the cosh for much of the half, East Thurrock would probably have been happy to go in on level terms but when the ball was worked wide to Ruel in added time he came up with a great finish. In recent games he’s had lots of chances that he’s snatched at or dithered over. This time he showed real composure to juggle the ball into just the right position to lob over Reynolds onto the corner of the net.
You would be hard-pressed to say it was lead that Rocks merited, but they were glad to take it - even if it did set them up against a side with a huge reputation for coming back to win games from behind.
And you gathered that the Trawlerboys were in the mood for another comeback in the opening minutes of the second half when Gary Holt burst through the middle of Rocks’ defence but the ball just ran out of his control and Wray was able to smother it with some gratitude, given the size and menace of the man steaming in at him!
Rocks boss John Coventry then made a change, introducing debutant from Leyton, Louis Collins in place of the increasingly ineffectual Kris Newby. However, far more influentially, Lowestoft also switched things, Jamie Forshaw replacing Bussens and crowd favourite Scott Mitchell coming on for McGee.
Within minutes the home side were level, though the origins of the goal came in Rocks’ own failure to keep the ball, Ruel giving it away cheaply in Lowestoft territory before it was quickly transferred up field to Francis - Rocks’ nemesis when the sides met at Rookery Hill earlier in the season.
Perhaps the defence gave him too much respect because of his goals that day and they backed off, which gave him enough room to clip an angled ball over Wray who had ventured just a fraction off his line.
It was opportunistic finishing of a high order and he was to show the same class with a finish on 67 minutes, this time from a wide angle - though Rocks were adamant that Nolan had played his part in the build-up by blocking Steve Sheehan’s attempt to get a tackle in.
He probably did, but that’s the difference between the two sides, there’s a ruthless winning streak that runs through the Suffolk side. Some might call it cheating, others gamesmanship but it’s a trait that few in the impressive home crowd are unhappy with - and who could blame them with their side flying so high?
But Rocks deserve credit not just for their clean cut nature, but also their footballing ability and they clawed their way back into the game with a superb equaliser just two minutes later. Nolan had just forsaken the chance to put his side two ahead with a low shot across the face of goal when Rocks broke quickly down the middle and Ruel and Cornhill combined exquisitely before Cornhill stroked a low shot pat Reynolds.
Perhaps 3-3 would have been a fair result on the day - but the football gods don’t necessarily take courage and fortitude against a better team into account.
They also don’t like to give us proper refs. We then had to suffer the stupidity of Mr Marin and his multiple Lowestoft booking spree. He was clearly gradually losing the plot though the half, perhaps kicked off by his decision to book Higgins when he got one back on his shadow Potter - his first foul in the game.
They also have their favourites too and Francis is currently in their good books as the ball fortuitously fell to him wide in the six yard box with ten minutes to go, though there was nothing lucky about the way he seized the moment and rammed the ball inside Wray’s near post for his hat-trick and the points.
To they credit Rocks didn’t go down without a fight and right at the death, deep in added time, they might have got level again when a speedy move saw them outnumber the home defence but with the goal facing him, Cornhill chose to step over Ruel’s low cross rather than strike it. He clearly thought a team-mate was behind him but the ball ran away and with it Rocks’ hopes of salvation.
You can’t deny Lowestoft deserved the win on the basis of chances and possession, but it was gut-wrenching for the visitors to go so close with no reward.
Lowestoft were fulsome in their praise of the ‘best footballing side here this year’ but that would have been little comfort for the visitors on the way home having dropped out of the promotion play-off zone for the first time in months.
They have to raise themselves for a vitally important league derby at home to Concord on Tuesday. Lowestoft , seemingly on an unstoppable course for the Ryman Premier, take a break from the league with a long trip to Croydon on Monday.
Both sides will continue to thrill and entertain us for the reminder of the season, whatever measure of success it holds. Hopefully, none of us will have to put up with Mr Marin again.
Just up the road at Great Yarmouth they have the Hippodrome Circus. A clown of his magnitude could do big business there!