A RARE piece of football history has today gone under the hammer.A single sheet programme from 1898 showcasing a friendly match between a combined Lowestoft and Kirkley X1 against the reigning double winners Aston Villa has sold for �320 at auction - �30 less than the estimated price.

A RARE piece of football history has today gone under the hammer.

A single sheet programme from 1898 showcasing a friendly match between a combined Lowestoft and Kirkley X1 against the reigning double winners Aston Villa has sold for �320 at auction - �30 less than the estimated price.

The below-estimate sum was sold to an unnamed bidder, who was not in the room at the Keys Auctioneers saleroom in Aylsham on Friday.

Dubbed as a 'valuable bit' of Lowestoft's history, prior to the auction club secretary Terry Lyned told The Journal that Lowestoft programmes 'were not regularly issued until the mid 1920s' making this a prize catch for one lucky new owner.