Margate and Bishop's Stortford swapped places at the foot of the Vanarama National League South table after the Hertfordshire side condemned Nikki Bull's men to an 11th straight defeat.

A rare error by home keeper Valery Pajetat gifted former Gate loanee Greg Cundle with the opening goal on 28 minutes and two minutes after half-time Phil Walsh, another former Blues man, headed the second from a corner.

The Gate's fate was sealed midway through the second half when Stortford's big defender Emmanuel Adebowale stabbed home the third to send them to the bottom for the first time this season.

The Gate starting XI showed two changes from the side beaten 5-1 at Welling on New Year's Day one of which was enforced following Lewis Taylor's move to Kingstonian.

Alfie Foster - who has just signed a contract for the rest of the season - came in along with striker Keanu Williams, with Tommy Cooney dropping the bench.

Gate had not won in the league since beating Hemel Hempstead 2-1 on October 8 - a period spanning 90 days, but Stortford's form was not much better with their last victory coming in December.

Still it was the visitors who showed greater ambition early on. Harry Hickford let fly from 25 yards with a shot that drifted wide, and then striker Shomari Barnwell forced Pajetat to go down well to parry a low cross.

Stortford created another chance soon after when, after a neat move the ball was teed up for midfielder Zach Fagan who carefully measured up his shot only to curl it just wide of the far post.

It was 18 minutes before Gate's first shot in anger but Daniel Akindayini's effort hit a defender and bounced through comfortably for keeper Harry Voss.

As the half wore on Stortford began to get on top and Cundle had already seen one effort deflected out for a corner when he broke the deadlock on 28 minutes.

The goal was a calamity for Pajetat who allowed Johnny Herd's long throw - one of 18 the visitors had in the half- to bounce in the area and then compounded his error, when he collided with his own defender, leaving Cundle to fire home.

Stortford visibly grew in confidence but Gate created a couple of opportunities themselves late in the half with Charles Banya stabbing a shot wide after wriggling his way through and then, in the dying seconds Akindayini's shot on the turn was comfortably saved by keeper Harry Voss.

Margate desperately needed to score the next goal but within 90 seconds of the second half restart they were 2-0 down.

Elliott Ronto drilled a corner to the near post where Walsh timed his run to perfection to beat Pajetat to the ball and power home.

Ira Jackson, making his home debut, looked Margate's most creative player and showed great determination to win the ball on 63 minutes.

His run carried him to the edge of the area where his shot was only parried by Stortford keeper Voss and when the ball then came back to Banya his low drive was also saved by Voss.

However any hopes of a comeback were quashed on 68 minutes when Alfie Foster was harshly penalised for a foul just outside the area on the Gate right.

Ronto drilled in the free-kick and big defender Adebowale stuck out a foot to deflect the ball home at the far post.

The visitors might have inflicted further misery on the Gate with Barnwell seeing a shot deflected just wide, Ronto going equally close with a rising drive and Pajetat saving brilliantly from Cundle at close quarters.

Margate: Pajatat, Sessegnon, Adekalun, Foster, Moore-Azille, Johnson, Richefond, Jackson, Akindayini, Williams (Fanimo 57mins) Banya (Harrison 82mins) Subs: Kallmeier, Odofin, Cooney.

Stortford: Voss, Rodgers, Herd, Hickford (Wiltshire 79mins), Adebowale, Walsh, Ronto (Morgan 77mins), Fagan, Barnwell, Cundle, Greene (Everitt 74mins); Subs: Kovassi, Ngassa.

Attendance: 463