Fresh from last week's 18th Norfolk Senior Cup win, Gorleston FC has announced that the management team of Darren Cockrill (manager), Olly Willis (assistant manager), Stevie Bramble (coach) and Ryan Carter (physio) have all agreed to continue for the 2023/24 season as they look to build on the cup win and 13th-place league finish.

The team was assembled during October 2022, with the mission of keeping the club playing at Step 4.

They oversaw a run in the second half of the season which consisted of 15 wins, two draws and six losses to take the Greens from eight points after 19 matches up to 44 points.

Director of football, Gavin Coe, said: "We will now actively look at what we can do to improve the squad so we can look to compete at the top half of the league next season.”

Cockrill said: “It’s been a tough but enjoyable season, credit to the lads for working hard and finishing the season strong.

"Winning the cup is for the fans and the excellent volunteers behind the club who have been excellent all season.”

The final saw Gorleston take the lead on the stroke of half-time when Ross Bilham failed to catch a corner. A host of Dereham bodies blocked the rebound before the ball fell kindly to midfielder Connor Deeks to convert from close range. 

The contrast in the teams' efforts in the final third were graphically illustrated when the experienced Craig Parker beautifully found the bottom corner after impressive work from Ingram on the counter. 

Perhaps the defining moment of the contest came on 73 minutes when Luke Johnson was sent in behind and beat Jake Jessup with his low effort, only for the post to come to Gorleston's rescue. 

Just a minute later, Gorleston launched a counter attack with striker Nathan Stewart dispatching low past Bilham to secure the trophy for Gorleston.