CONNOR Gater’s 45-yard wonder goal capped a profitable afternoon on the road for Worcester City as they ended their seven-match winless streak with a first away victory of the season.

Goals from Lee Hughes and Sam Minihan inside the opening 11 minutes meant City were in control throughout before Gater added the third midway through the second-half in stunning fashion.

The midfielder chested the ball down on the halfway line and, after spotting Corby Town keeper Paul Walker slightly off his line, hit a first-time half-volley with pinpoint accuracy into the net.

The win, only City’s second of the Vanarama National League North campaign, lifts them out of the bottom three and while Gater’s strike took the headlines, Hughes put City on their way as he scored the first before setting up the second.

On six minutes, Ashley Vincent’s long ball was expertly chested down by Hughes inside the area with the veteran striker showing all of his experience to calmly lift the ball over the onrushing keeper.

Five minutes later, Vincent and Hughes linked up again with the former West Brom forward lifting the ball over a defender before squaring to right-back Minihan, who popped up in the middle of the area to fire into the bottom corner.

Corby were operating a shoot-on-sight policy with a number of long-range efforts but couldn’t trouble City’s debutant keeper James Severn, Ashley Sammons coming closest with a shot hitting the back stanchion.

Minihan’s cross found Shaun Harrard inside the box but the striker couldn’t get his shot away before Spencer Weir-Daly saw a shot blocked for the hosts with Cedric Kipre heading the resulting corner tamely at Severn.

The Steelmen pressed forward early in the second-half, Weir-Daly shooting wide, but on the counter Harrard got in behind the defence only to see his shot smothered by Walker.

Worcester restricted the hosts to only a couple more long-range attempts before Gater sealed the win with a strike that may have goal of the season wrapped up already, even at this early stage of the campaign.

Walker was only slightly off his line but that was all the encouragement Gater needed, making perfect contact on the half-volley, which, although the back-pedalling keeper got a hand to, he couldn’t keep it out.

Substitute Deon Burton almost added a fourth three minutes later after a headed through-ball but from a narrow angle Walker was able to divert his low shot wide of the post.

Severn was finally called into serious action in the 87th minute with a diving stop to push Sammons’ free-kick round the post, but that was as close as Corby came on a comfortable afternoon for City.