Gravesend & N 2 Yeovil 4

ANDY FORD hailed Gravesend's second half performance as a turning point in their Nationwide Conference season, even though Saturday's defeat left the club with one win in 11 games.

Andy Lindegaard's hat-trick for title favourites Yeovil pushed the Fleet ever closer to the relegation zone but manager Ford was upbeat afterwards.

He said: "I was very pleased with our second half performance which was exactly what I wanted. I hope this is a turning point. The fans were certainly happy today and so was I with that second half performance.

"I went into the dressing-room and congratulated the players on the way they played. If we all stick together then I'm sure we'll be okay. We could have folded after the way things went in the first half but we didn't."

The Fleet were not helped by an injury to Nick Burton which he sustained in the warm-up. "We could have made a substitution at the beginning but I didn't want to alert Yeovil that we had a problem," Ford explained.

"We decided to start Nick then take him off almost immediately. Jamie Coyle was an ideal replacement but to throw him in against the league leaders was not ideal."

Despite the loss of the experienced Burton, the Fleet made the best possible start when Jimmy Jackson opened the scoring in the first minute with a volley, only for Kurt Jackson to head the Glovers level in the 13th.

Lindegaard's 20 yard curling shot gave Yeovil a 35th minute lead which he increased in the 57th from Jimmy Aggrey's pass.

Substitute Kevin Budge gave the Fleet hope when he pulled back a goal in the 82nd minute but Lindegaard had the final word when he completed his hat-trick deep into stoppage time.

Gravesend: Wilkerson; Lee (Kwashi 59 mins), Burton (Coyle 2 mins), Wilkins, Skinner, Barnett, Strouts, Lye, (Budge 46 mins), Jackson, Hatch, Evans. Not used: Turner, Owen.

Attendance: 1,404.