Hornchurch 3 Gravesend & N 2

GRAVESEND & Northfleet manager Andy Ford blamed a lack of leadership for his side's exit from the FA Cup at Hornchurch.

Fleet threw away a 2-1 half-time lead at The Stadium on Saturday to lose 3-2 and Ford said an ankle injury to skipper Steve McKimm was the turning point.

He said: "Steve McKimm had to come off at first half and we suffered for that. When he's not playing we don't seem to have any leaders on the pitch.

"His injury left a real void in the team and we didn't seem to be able to fill it. Hornchurch have a lot of experienced players and they did well in the second half."

The fourth round qualifying tie had started promisingly for Fleet, who were looking to repeat their FA Cup exploits of last year.

But after dominating the early stages they fell behind to a 31st minute goal from Lee Elam, who latched on to a ball from Scott Gooding to score from 12 yards.

Gravesend only took two minutes to get back on level terms, though, with Justin Skinner delivering a perfect cross for Jay Saunders to head home.

And the visitors took a 2-1 lead on the stroke of half time when Skinner fired home from the penalty spot after McKimm was brought down in the box by Damon Searle.

But Fleet were made to pay a heavy price for McKimm's ankle injury as Hornchurch stepped up a gear in the second half.

Jamie Stuart hit the post for the home team 10 minutes after the restart before former Tottenham midfielder Darren Caskey put them level from the penalty spot following a Chris Moore handball.

Caskey then curled home a free kick on 75 minutes to give his side a 3-2 win and put them into the first round proper.

Ford said: "It's disappointing to lose after being 2-1 up at the break. We were never going to win the FA Cup but it's important to stay involved for as long as possible for financial reasons.

"We made £100,00 from the FA Cup last year and that was hugely important for the club. That's not going to happen now, so we'll just have to bounce back in the league."

Gravesend: Wilkerson, Gledhill (Lovell, 71 mins), Skinner (Sidibe, 77 mins), Moore, Porter, Drury, McKimm (Protheroe, 46 mins), Surey, Saunders, Omoyimni, Essandoh