Gravesend 0 Stalybridge Celtic 2

GRAVESEND & Northfleet's run in the FA Umbro Trophy came to an end at the fifth round stage after they went down at home to Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday.

The Ryman League Premier Division high flyers came into the game with confidence sky high after a long unbeaten league sequence stretching back to October. But against a team struggling near the wrong end of the Nationwide Conference table, the Fleet rarely got out of second gear and deservedly went out of the competition.

The opening goal came after 16 minutes when Richard Peacock struck a free-kick past the unsighted Jamie Turner following a handball on the edge of the 18-yard box by Robert Owen. Stalybridge extended their lead nine minutes after the break when Steve Wood tapped the ball in from close range after Turner had only half-saved a shot from a visiting player.

With time running out, Gravesend improved in the closing stages but Craig Wilkins saw a looping header hit the cross bar and another shot deflect onto a post.

Gravesend: Turner, Coyle (Stackman 66), Skinner, McKinn, Burton, Duku, D Smith, Owen, Jackson, Wilkins, Booth.