Hereford 3 Gravesend and Northfleet 0

GRAVESEND & Northfleet were beaten by a Hereford team at the top of their game on Saturday.

Bristol City transfer target Paul Parry did the damage for Hereford, scoring two sweet goals in a three-minute burst early in the second-half.

Fleet had held their own until that point, trading blows with a team they had beaten 3-0 at Stonebridge Road in August. Liam Hatch fired a blistering shot against the crossbar from 10 yards, then later failed to control a Jimmy Jackson cross when just six yards out.

Hereford saved their fireworks for the second period, and took the lead just 36 seconds after the kick-off when Parry shot past Jamie Turner. Two minutes later Parry was on the scoresheet again, intercepting a back pass from half-time substitute Aaron Barnett to slip the ball home.

Another substitute, Che Stadhart, had a good chance to cut the deficit on 78 minutes following good work by Tostao Kwashi, but Fleet could not force a way back into the game.

With the Fleet pushing forward in injury time Parry did the damage again, catching the visitors on the break and running into the box before delivering a pin-point pass to Sawyers, who stroked the ball home to give the score an emphatic look.

Fleet manager Andy Ford said: "We were beaten by a better team who are at the top of the form table. We held our own, but when we conceded two goals early in the second-half a few players' heads began to drop. With the run of form we're on at the moment we can't afford to make silly mistakes and miss chances the way we did."

Gravesend: Turner, Lee, Jackson, Kwashi (Owen, 80 mins), Strouts, Hatch, Wilkins (Barnett, 46 mins), Evans (Stadhart, 75 mins), Bentley, Giles.