Graham Gano's late field goal has helped the Carolina Panthers come from nine points down to claim a late victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, with the visitors scoring the only touchdown in a 10-9 success at Candlestick Park.

San Francisco had started the match brightly and consistently drove into field-goal range thanks to the rushing efforts of Frank Gore.

Phil Dawson's trusty boot helped the 49ers use those positions to build a 9-0 lead, scoring three early field goals as the Panthers struggled to get things going on offense.

Just before half time Carolina made up for a sloppy start to score a touchdown in some style through Deangelo Hall, who broke through three tackles to complete a 27-yard burst into the end zone.

After the interval both sides took turns to spurn positive openings on offense, with Cam Newton and Colin Kapernick both unable to find consistency in a tight match.

Early in the fourth quarter Carlolina took the lead for the first time as Gano kicked a long 53-yard field goal between the posts, giving the Panthers a slender lead to defend late on.

With less than a minute to play, Newton managed to fumble, giving San Francisco one last chance to produce a game-winning play.

49ers quarterback Kapernick was unable to respond, though, sacked for the sixth time in the match before throwing an interception as the Panthers improved to 6-3 in the NFC South.