The Martin & Co Arena hasn’t tended to be a happy hunting ground for the Seasiders and their luck wasn’t to change this year with Toby Gould’s strike being enough to separate the sides in Lincolnshire.

Whitby didn’t look themselves and the performance may well have left joint-manager’s Lee Bullock and Nathan Haslam plenty to think about with the games continuing to come thick and fast at the start of the 2021/22 PitchingIn Northern Premier League campaign.

The opening stages of the game were fairly uneventful, but it was to be the 16th and 17th minutes that would define the game’s outcome.

Bradley Fewster looked to have found the back of the net from range with a curling effort but he was denied by a superb save from Gainsborough goalkeeper Matt Yates who tipped his effort behind.

From the resulting corner which Town played short, they lost possession allowing the home side to counter. Gould was on hand to tap the ball into an empty net with the Whitby defence struggling to retreat to their positions. Shane Bland was helpless.

The goal gave Gainsborough the initiative and they would have been two up had Bland not denied Lewis Butroid with his feet on 22 minutes.

The encounter seemed to calm down until half-time, but the second 45 minutes didn’t bring around a change in fortune for the Blues.

As the game went into the final half an hour, Whitby had to take a few more risks and they were almost caught out by Nyle Blake who beat the offside trap but Jameel Ible did well to force the Trinity forward wide and make him drag his shot wide when he was off balance.

Whitby were very much forced to take long shots with Gainsborough happy to sit with a solid line of five defenders when on the back foot. Priestley Griffiths did go close though but his volley from range was just over the crossbar after 77 minutes.

Attacking wing-back Joe Wilson tried to extend the home sides’ lead on 86 minutes but he was to be denied by Bland.

In second half stoppage time, Nathan Dyer had a go from range but his effort was held by Yates who did well to read the flight of the swerving ball.

Whitby didn’t turn up on the day but with more matches just around the corner they will be looking to get another run going.