A STOPPAGE-TIME goal by Freddie King helped Witham Town beat Gorleston 3-2 at the Simarco Stadium, writes JIM PURTILL.

It was a lively Pitching In Isthmian League division north contest between two well-matched sides who largely cancelled each other out until King's very late winner sealed Town's victory.

Gorleston's Ismael Fatadjo almost scored in the opening minutes and the visitors only had to wait until the 11th minute to take the lead.

From a corner on the right, Lewis Johnson scored with a free header when he was left unmarked at the near post.

Witham responded well and Shakeel Morris's excellent run on the left resulted in a corner.

In the 21st minute, Morris came close to scoring when his deflected shot went the wrong side of the post but from the subsequent corner, Luke Ige equalised with an athletic shot.

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Four minutes later, some careless defending by Gorleston was punished by King who pounced on a loose ball and put Witham ahead.

Gorleston had most of the possession and Fatadjo was the instigator of most of their attacking moves.

Liam Whipps fired over for Witham at the start of the second half but Gorleston's midfield began to take a stronger grip.

Veteran Craig Parker showed his quality while Witham’s Anton Matthews saved a certain goal when he cleared the ball from the goalmouth.

It was a brief respite for Witham as Gorleston’s pressure culminated in an 63rd-minute equaliser when Johnson scored with another header from a corner.

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Both sides looked for a winner and Witham debutant Khris Oti gave them an attacking outlet but the hosts struggled to find the quality to take the chances that they created.

King and McFadden shot wide and Deese Kasinga-Madia just failed to score, from McFadden's cross.

Gorleston had their share of good attacks but they were no more successful in the final third and Witham’s Ollie Bell came close to scoring but his close-range shot was blocked near the goal line.

King's persistence finally paid dividends when his shot from the edge of the area looked unlikely to beat Jessup but found its way into the net.

Consistency has proved elusive for Witham this season but manager Garry Kimble will be happy with two successive wins.

Forthcoming league matches against Stowmarket Town and Enfield offer the chance to collect more points before facing stronger opposition, in later matches.