The Rocks fell to a home defeat, but they won’t be too disheartened after coming up against a stronger team fighting for promotion.
Darin Killpartrick was again amongst the substitutes as Rocks lined up for their final home Ryman premier fixture of the season. Dan Thompson was out through injury, leaving the returning Simon Woods and Terry Dodd in attack.
Robert Eagle won a corner on the right for Lowestoft after just two minutes but it came to nothing. Soon, Eagle sped through on goal but was called offside.
Woods was spoken to after a late challenge on Adam Smith while Sam Pearce was shown a yellow card after a challenge in the air in the middle of the park.
The Blues looked a threat from set-pieces and went close twice - first a deflection went wide then a scramble after a corner led to a clearance.
Craig Stoner had to come out and block a shot from Joshua Dawkin and Pearce got another talking-to from the referee.
Michael Frew put the Suffolk visitors ahead on 22 minutes. Almost out of the blue he struck a shot with his right boot which somehow beat the outstretched arms of Stoner and dipped into the net.
Terry Dodd was tripped on the right flank on 29 minutes. The free-kick was poor and eventually Andrew Plummer gathered.
Frew’s left-footed shot was flicked on by the heal of Hakeem Araba but Stoner saved comfortably.
Another ball was knocked through to Frew, who shot wide. Frew was shown a yellow card after a hard tackle on Dan Kempson on 44 minutes.
HT 0-1
Early in the second half, Daryl Wollers had a shot deflected wide from inside the box. Pearce tried to follow it up but couldn’t convert.
Eagle went through on goal with plenty of space to hit a low shot but Stoner stuck his leg out to deflect the ball over the bar on 54 minutes.
On 58 minutes Lewis Stockford was brought down in the penalty box. Up stepped Dodd, who struck it low, but it was well saved by Plummer. An attempt on the rebound by Ollie Pearce was also tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper.
Araba was shown a yellow card on 67 minutes for persistent fouling after tackling Wollers.
On 69 minutes Wollers was outmuscled and outpaced by Araba but with only the goalkeeper to beat, the tall striker slid his right-footed shot wide.
On 73 minutes Lee Smith curled the ball just beyond the top corner when he had players waiting in the area.
Connor Cody replaced Wollers, then a chipped ball in from midfield found Ollie Pearce in the box - but his header forward failed to trouble Plummer.
The visitors extended their lead on 80 minutes when Erkan Okay was set through on goal when he managed to find space and slot neatly below Stoner. Araba had a header tipped over the bar by Stoner after a neat curling cross from the right.
Kempson was also shown a yellow card for a bust-up near the end after a tackle.
So the Rocks ended their home league campaign with a defeat, but with two away fixtures still to come and the Sussex Senior Cup final on the horizon, they will hope for a positive end to the campaign.
ROCKS: Stoner, Warren, Tuck, Stockford, S Pearce, Wollers, Kempson, Wills, Woods, Dodd, O Pearce. Subs: Cody, Killpartrick, Crane, Boyle.
LIAM GOODLEY