After a series of disappointing performances over the past couple of weeks, Grays Athletic turned things around in style on Saturday with an eye-catching win over play-off chasing Gorleston. With key players slowly coming back from the treatment room and the return of those cup-tied midweek, Darren Manning’s squad is starting to take on more of the look that he has been working towards all season - Casey Nolan-Samuels back out wide carrying the ball forward with menace and Joe Paxman influential in a more central role (having filled in admirably in various positions over the past few weeks).

Grays started the afternoon positively, Gorleston perhaps guilty of thinking they were in for an easier ride given Blues recent run of results. The first chance was nearly a comedy moment when Harley Black bulleted a clearing header over his own crossbar from a Macca Joynes corner. And the Blues defender nearly opened his goal-scoring account a few minutes later when he sent a spiraling Garryowen into the penalty area and visiting keeper Antoni Bort had to back pedal and tip the ball over the bar.

At the other end, some careless Grays defending presented Ryan Curtis with the ball but he could only find George Marsh in the Blues goal.

Too often this season, Grays have been guilty of not making possession and pressure pay but they broke the deadlock on the quarter hour when Jack Stone flicked on a header from a long clearance and found Sam Wade running beyond him (something that has been missing from Grays' play) and he scooped a shot past Bort. Fans held their breath as the ball rolled slowly goalwards but breathed a sigh of relief when it nestled in the net.

Blues were handed a real advantage when, at the end of an attack, Joe Madsen kicked out at Oscar Shelvey-Negus giving referee Mr Black little option but to show the Gorleston man the red card. Grays pressed forward against the ten men, having one of their best halves of the season. Joe Paxman’s long-range effort was headed clear by Dion Frary and Kye Jude saw a double effort on goal end up going just wide.

Ryan Curtis did have the ball in the net for Gorleston but his effort was chalked off by an offside flag.

Then late in the half, things took a turn for the worse for Blues when Macca Joynes clashed heads with Harley Black jumping for the ball. Referee, Mr Black (no relative !) saw Macca’s action as having intent and showed the Grays defender a second yellow - to even things up at 10 men each. The decision divided opinion. Some thought the challenge was on the dangerous side, others that it was an inadvertent clash of heads.

Half time : Grays Athletic 1 v 0 Gorleston

Too often in recent weeks, Blues have let games slip dramatically in the second half. But this time it was different. Indeed, within a couple of minutes they had doubled the lead. Michael Bareck danced his way through the visitors defence with some footwork worthy of Strictly Come Dancing and fed Sam Wade who finished smartly to make it two on the afternoon for him and the Blues. It was the least the side’s performance deserved.

However, as the half went on, Gorleston came more into the game and it was easy to see how they have steamrollered teams this season, when playing with a higher level of intensity. George Marsh was called into action several times, although never really threatened and only some great last ditch defending from Kye Jude kept the Grays goal intact.

Blues continued their tactic of running hard at the Gorleston lines. First Jack Stone and then Guy Norton, returning to the frey from a number of weeks off, cut through the midfield before seeing the chances snuffed out.

Gorleston got one back with a quarter of an hour remaining when Marsh misjudged the flight of the ball from a corner leaving sub Cameron Beazer with a simple close-range header to halve the deficit to 2-1.

But Blues heads didn’t drop and they continued to push forward. Tyler Brampton found Jack Stone with a lovely ball over the top but his cross was cleared.

Late on, Mr Black had another decision to make when Stone, advancing on the goal, was brought down just outside the area by Dion Frary. With the crowd calling for a third red card of the afternoon, the referee concluded that a yellow was sufficient punishment.

Whilst one game is never sufficient evidence to draw definitive conclusions, this performance suggests that a corner has been turned. Manager, Darren Manning, was delighted that things are slowly coming back together after some challenging times and praised the efforts of the whole squad. The coming weeks have some tricky fixtures in store for Grays and they will need to continue to show this level of commitment if they are to continue accumulating points in the table.

Final score : Grays Athletic 2 v 1 Gorleston

Grays Ath : Marsh, Brampton, Joynes, Paxman, Jude, Moss, Wade (71, Fitzer), Shelvey-Negus, Stone, Bareck (84, Gjonbala), Nolan-Samuels (Norton)

Subs not used : Turner, Strugurean