Gorleston 4, Cornard United 0GORLESTON welcomed lowly Cornard United to Emerald Park knowing that three points were essential if they were to stay in touch with the leading group in Ridgeons One.

Gorleston 4, Cornard United 0

GORLESTON welcomed lowly Cornard United to Emerald Park knowing that three points were essential if they were to stay in touch with the leading group in Ridgeons One. They came in the second half when all the goals were scored.

The Greens were also looking to arrest a run of form which had seen them concede three goals on each of their last four games, winning only once during that run.

By they end of the afternoon they had kept their first clean sheet in two months.

The scoreline might have been a touch flattering, but was testament to the benefits of playing for the full 90 minutes.

Gorleston were into their stride straight from the kick-off and a 15-pass move ended with Gary Ingram finding

Nathan Thompson, who shot straight at Cornard keeper Kevin Holland.

Ingram headed over in the Greens' next attack before Cornard saw their first effort, a free-kick from distance from Luke Whybrow, go narrowly wide. The strong wind was already having an impact and was in danger of ruining the game as a spectacle.

On the quarter-hour mark, John Bell and Peter Lambert combined well to create an opening for Nathan Thompson to force Holland into a good save. From the resultant corner, Eddie Thompson headed just over. Bell then crossed from the right but neither Nathan Thompson or Regan Thompson could force the ball home and eventually Luke Goreham shot over.

Goreham found Thompson with a long crossfield ball and he crossed for Bell whose effort was narrowly wide. Cornard, with the strong wind behind them, were seeing plenty of the ball but finding good chances hard to create.

Ten minutes from half-time Lambert headed just over from a corner for Gorleston. Four minutes later Whybrow and Jordan Hutchings interlinked well for Cornard but again the final ball in failed to test Greens' keeper Tom Marsden.

The last action of the half saw the Greens earn two corners in quick succession, but the interval arrived with the scoreline still blank.

The second half saw the visitors having to contend with the problem of the strong wind in their faces and the first chance fell to Gorleston five minutes in when Ingram shot straight Holland.

Gorleston picked up the first yellow card of the afternoon when the referee failed to give what looked an obvious Gorleston corner and Ingram was booked for disputing the decision.

On the hour mark Lambert headed over from a Kyle Howell free-kick as Gorleston continued to press, and three minutes later the Greens passed up the best chance yet to break the deadlock. Lambert was pulled back in the area but the normally reliable Ingram saw keeper Holland make a comfortable save from his penalty kick.

The miss was to prove merely an irritation as the Greens took the contest by the scruff of the neck and put things beyond doubt with a three goals in nine minutes burst.

First Ingram turned provider when Lambert glance in his free-kick to give them the lead two minutes from the mid point of the half.

Six minutes later and the roles were reversed, Lambert playing the ball in for Ingram to make it 2-0. Within three further minutes the game was effectively over as a contest. A short corner involving Ingram and Goreham was worked out to the edge of the area where Thompson crashed an effort past Holland for the third goal.

Cornard stuck gamely to their task, but the Greens sealed a good afternoon's work with 90 minutes on the clock when Lambert headed home Nathan Thompson's corner to make it 4-0.

Gorleston: T Marsden, K Howell, L Goreham, J Marsden, A Thurtle, E Thompson, J Bell, P Lambert, G Ingram, N Thompson, R Harman. Subs: R Fruin (for Howell 74 minutes), G Todd (for Ingram 84 minutes), D Western (for Harman 74 minutes).