Tamworth 2 Gravesend 1

GRAVESEND, who rode into the season on the crest of a wave, now find themselves in freefall and combating a slump.

Saturday’s setback was their sixth defeat in the last seven league and cup games.

All of which is a far cry from those heady early season days when the club’s part-timers were breathing down the necks of the Conference elite and early pace-setters.

Defeat leaves the Fleet in 11th place while Tamworth celebrated a fourth consecutive victory which has hoisted them away from relegation worries.

Tamworth won with a 45th minute disputed penalty by former Everton, Chesterfield and Peterborough midfielder Marcus Ebdon, and an 82nd minute strike from veteran Bob Taylor.

Fleet manager Andy Ford said: "I would like to see the video of their goals and the two we had disallowed. I felt the second should have been allowed to stand and the decision to rule it out was harsh."

But he admitted: "Though we had a lot of the ball we never got behind Tamworth to hurt them. We can’t buy a win at the moment, so we must get back to what we were doing so successfully a few weeks ago."

Ford gave a debut to Serbian centre-back Zeiko Popovic, signed in midweek from Hornchurch, but it was hardly memorable as he conceded the penalty from which Ebdon gave Tamworth the lead.

Tamworth survived several near misses in the second half when substitute Moussa Sidibe and Jay Saunders had efforts ruled out.

Even when Taylor made it 2-0, the Fleet looked capable of getting something from the game and home defenders Matt Redmile and Dave Robinson were repeatedly at full stretch.

Saunders finally made the breakthrough in the last minute when he rammed home the rebound after his first attempt had struck the underside of the bar.

Gravesend: Wilkerson; Protheroe, Moore, Popovic, Skinner; Drury, McKimm, Saunders, Lovell; Essandoh, Pinnock. Substitutions: Sidibe for Essandoh 46 mins. Subs Not Used: Pullen, Gledhill, Surey, Davis.

Attendance: 1,984