The visitors made the perfect start and were ahead inside two minutes. Fraser Preston stepped up to a free-kick and curled an excellent effort beyond Jack Norton to give Trinity an early advantage.

That goal set the tone for much of the opening half, with Gainsborough enjoying the better of the chances. Preston threatened again shortly afterwards, firing a first-time effort over the crossbar, before George Hornshaw tested Norton with a comfortable save.

Whitby gradually settled into the contest and almost found a route back into the game on 15 minutes when Stuart Rose turned smartly on the edge of the area, only to see his effort drift narrowly wide of the post.

The visitors continued to pose a threat going forward, however, and doubled their lead after 28 minutes when Aaron Simpson found the back of the net with a flicked header. Norton was then called into action again just after the half-hour mark, producing an excellent save to tip Preston’s powerful strike over the crossbar.

Further opportunities came and went for Trinity before the break. Javelle Clarke was denied by Norton, while Jordan Helliwell saw a long-range effort deflect wide. On the stroke of half-time, Gainsborough added a third as Connor Brown scored to leave Whitby with a mountain to climb at the interval.

A change arrived at the break, with Charlie Stirland introduced in place of the injured Ben Turner as the Seasiders looked for a response.

Whitby began the second half with greater intent. Callum Hickman twice went close in the opening stages after the restart, first drilling an effort wide before dragging another attempt just beyond the target from the edge of the penalty area.

Despite the improvement, Gainsborough remained dangerous on the counter-attack. Helliwell’s low strike was comfortably gathered by Norton, while Hornshaw was later denied by another smart stop from the Whitby goalkeeper.

The Seasiders were rewarded for their positive spell on 64 minutes. Excellent work down the right flank from Joey Phuthi created the opportunity, and his inviting delivery across goal was met by Leon Parker, who applied the finishing touch from close range to make it 3-1.

That goal briefly lifted the home crowd, but Trinity quickly regained control of the contest and struck three more times during the closing stages to put the result beyond doubt. To add salt into the wounds, ex-Blue Harrison Beeden scored two of those.

A scruffy goal, credited to Muhamet Gashi, in the closing moments added a second for the hosts.

However, the damage had already been done, and Gainsborough completed a convincing 6-2 victory on the North Yorkshire coast.