Gorleston kept up the pressure on the top two with a good three points at struggling Clacton on Saturday.

The Greens couldn’t have got off to a better start, taking the lead after 47 seconds.

Burrage pumped the ball forward behind and Clacton keeper Paddi Hawkins was forced to race from his box and head clear. Kyle Baker picked up the clearance and dribbled around the keeper before picking out Yusuff. Yusuff pulled back to Keegan Middleton who fired the ball past defenders into the goal.

Yusuff almost doubled the lead when he pounced on a miscued clearance but the defender got back to block before the Greens scored their second in the 14th minute. Jacob Short won the ball in midfield and found Baker on the left. He cut inside and hit a 20-yard drive which crashed into the net off the underside of the bar.

Gorleston were slow out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Clacton looked a lot sharper. Three minutes in Clacton pulled a goal back following a free kick 25 yards out.

Aaron Taylor had been struggling with a knock and was replaced by Garrod, with Yusuff returning to the back four. The substitution took an inordinate amount of time whilst the referee sorted out other issues but this did allow Gorleston to regroup.

The Greens regained their two-goal advantage in the 65th minute. Baker was involved again, closing down the keeper who had left his box to clear and forcing him to miskick a clearance. Garrod picked it up and ran into the box, hitting a drive which the keeper saved. Kyle Ingram gathered the clearance and played inside to Peter Oldham whose diagonal ball picked out Kyle Ingram who slid the ball across the bo where Baker arrived to sidefoot home.

The remaining goals both came in time added on. Connor Ingram had replaced Baker and in the first minute of stoppage time, raced onto a through ball before rounding the goalkeeper and shooting past a covering defender.

Three minutes later Clacton got their second in similar circumstances.

Gorleston: Molloy, Clements, K Ingram, Short, Burrage, Taylor (Garrod), Goreham, Oldham (Hagan), Yusuff, Baker (C Ingram), Middleton.