Neil Jenkins is hoping his last- gasp equaliser can be the turning point in Crawley's relegation battle.

Jenkins came off the bench to score in the second minute of injury time at Gravesend and Northfleet to give Reds a precious point.

The former Southend midfielder, who was making his first appearance for three weeks after falling out of favour, said: "This could be the turning point, you never know.

"We only needed a bit of luck to turn things round and get us away from the mess we are in at the moment and maybe this is it.

"We hear what supporters say about us but all we are going to do is keep our heads down and we will turn it around eventually."

Manager John Hollins had given his players a rollicking and questioned their motivation after a 1-0 defeat at Canvey Island on Saturday.

But he had nothing but praise for his side after seeing them recover from Mark Rawle's 59th-minute strike.

"When you are fighting down the bottom, points are very hard to come by but everyone came up trumps.

"I thought their goal was offside but that sums up our luck at the moment. Not a lot of things went for us but we were determined, kept going and showed the spirit that the club wants."

Hollins rung the changes following the defeat at Canvey and there were a couple of high profile casualties.

Captain Ian Simpemba and experienced defender Dave Woozley were dropped from the squad, while Sacha Opinel and Steve Burton were dumped on the bench.

Danny Brown, who wore the skipper's arm-band, Chris Giles and Gavin Gordon were all recalled, while Danny Clay made his first start since joining on-loan from Exeter.

Brown, playing as a leftback, set the tone after just five minutes with a bone-crunching tackle that almost snapped Danny Slatter in half.

From then on Reds flew into every challenge, won most second balls and played at a pace that Gravesend struggled to keep up with.

But while Crawley had the competitive edge and the superiority, they failed to create clear scoring chances.

A Daryl Clare scuffed effort straight at the keeper, a Tony Scully shot that was deflected for a corner and a Lee Blackburn long-range strike which flashed wide was the closest they came.

Gravesend, without top scorer and former Reds striker Charlie MacDonald, were also toothless going forward, although they raised their game in the second half and made the breakthrough just before the hour mark.

Phil Smith denied Luke Moore with a point blank save with his legs, only to see the ball spin up kindly for Rawle to nod in from two yards.

The goal was harsh on the hardworking Reds and they almost cancelled it out immediately. Jenkins, who had replaced Ben Judge at the break, prodded through a crowd of defenders and Scully blasted high over with his weaker left foot.

However, Jenkins struck two minutes into added time when he side-footed under Craig Holloway after being found unmarked by Clare.

Gravesend: Holloway, Gooding, McCarthy, Graham-Smith, Slatter (sub Rawle 43), Watkins, McKimm, Johnson, Jackson, L.Moore, Drury (sub Fuller 83). Subs not used: Sodje, Kerr, Smith.

Crawley Town: Smith, Judge (Jenkins 46), Mendy, Giles, Scully, Armstrong, Clay, Brown, Blackburn (sub Burton 83), Clare, Gordon (sub Ekoku 77). Subs not used: Opinel, Banks.