Former Bermuda captain Reggie Lambe made a dream start to life in non-League football yesterday with a goal in a man-of-the-match performance on debut for Stowmarket Town in the FA Vase.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who was a surprise inclusion on the teamsheet after only just signing with the Suffolk-based club, scored with a second-half header and was generally impressive in his 68 minutes on the pitch as Stowmarket eased into the third round after a 5-0 rout of Eynesbury Rovers.

Lambe had been without a club since not being offered a new contract by Sky Bet League Two club Cambridge United in the summer at the end of a two-year deal.

His previous football of note came in the international friendly against Jamaica in Montego Bay in March. It is notable that the fixture, a 2-0 win for the home side, came outside the international window — suggesting that his time at Cambridge, who were in a relegation scrap at the time, was near an end.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, he admitted finding a club would be difficult.

“I am staying positive,” Lambe told The Royal Gazette in May. “It will be a tough task this summer to find a club due to many good players being available after being released from their clubs. With that being said, I believe in my ability and work ethic, so I’m pretty confident I could find a club that I’d be suited to and get an opportunity to showcase my talent.”

That club is Stowmarket Town, who play in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division, the ninth tier of the English football pyramid.

They are in the midst of a record run of 39 matches unbeaten in the league over two seasons, but the first lockdown cost them successful manager Rick Andrews, who resigned for personal reasons to be replaced by assistant Paul Musgrove.

Yesterday’s was the new manager’s first game in charge.

Lambe will be familiar to those in the area, having broken into League football in England with Ipswich Town as an 18-year-old.

He has bounced around since, with stints at Carlisle United and Mansfield Town, as well as a spell in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC and a stint in Sweden with lower-division side Nyköpings.

His undisclosed deal with Stowmarket will be welcome news for Bermuda coach Kyle Lightbourne, who is insistent that his players are active with World Cup qualifiers coming up in the new year.