Ely City secured all three points on the road with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Cornard United, thanks to a second-half winner from substitute Jordan Atkin.

The Robins stormed out of the gates, creating a flurry of early chances. Within the first six minutes, Dom Hunt hit the post before Charlie Root rattled the far upright from distance. Sam Townshend and Stephen Pereira continued to torment the host's backline, with Townshend dragging two brilliant opportunities wide and forcing the Cornard keeper into a sharp leg save.

Ely’s persistent pressure finally paid off in the 28th minute. Overlapping right-back Charlie Sutcliffe latched onto a recycled pass in the channel and smashed a strike across the keeper into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Despite dominating, the visitors were dealt a blow just before the break. Against the run of play, Cornard capitalised on a 44th-minute free kick floated into the box, heading past Ben Newton to send the sides into half-time level at 1-1.

HT: Cornard United 1 - 1 Ely City

Cornard came out brighter after the restart, forcing Ely some adjustments ten minutes in as Alex Brown and Jordan Atkin were introduced for Finley Logan and Stephen Pereira.

The double substitution paid immediate dividends. In the 64th minute, Townshend broke free down the left channel and squared a precise ball to Atkin, who calmly drew the keeper and slotted home to restore the Robins' lead.

Townshend thought he added a third shortly after, but his lobbed finish over the keeper was ruled out for offside. Although Townshend missed a late one-on-one chance to put the game to bed, Ely's backline stood firm. Defensive clearances from Jamie Baxter, Josh Collins and Dom Hunt as well as game-management from the midfield saw out five minutes of stoppage time to seal the victory.

Team; Newton, Sutcliffe, Baxter, Collins, Rogers, Hunt, Root, Logan, Tarpey, Pereira, Townshend.
Subs; Cook, Rigby, Atkin, Brown, Butt.

POTM: Charlie Sutcliffe