A second-half revival by visitors Weston-super-Mare left Fleet empty-handed despite Charlie Seaman’s opener proving the difference at the break.

The Seagulls shifted up a gear, however, and found three goals in reply to give their own play-off hopes a huge shot in the arm.

There were two changes for the Fleet as Finlay Barnes and Kwesi Appiah started, with Dom Samuel and Gene Kennedy on the bench. And like the Fleet, Weston also chose to keep their top scorer – Louis Britton – up their sleeve.

Weston’s physicality was in evidence from the off and they saw most of the ball in the early stages, though as a spectacle, the game never really got going.

Despite the visitors’ ball retention, Fleet had the first opportunity on 11 minutes when Ben Chapman’s chip in from the left flank dropped for Josh Coley but he stumbled as the ball bounced awkwardly and Weston cleared.

The first corner arrived for the hosts on 21 minutes and a minute later, they scored from the second one. From the left, and with the sun in the Weston goalkeeper’s eyes, Seaman launched his kick and it flew straight in to the top corner to put the Fleet in the driving seat.

George Robesten’s deft turn of Mustapha Olagunju a few minutes later might have opened up the goal for him but Tom Dallison was covering well to mop that one up.

Fleet broke quickly and Barnes sprayed an excellent ball wide for Chapman but he was stopped in his tracks as he tried to centre. From the resulting corner, Kwesi Appiah climbed well at the back stick but the ball narrowly evaded his connection.

Weston offered little for the rest of the half and Fleet had a couple of more opportunities. First, Seaman’s great footwork created an opening for Coley who showed equal skill on the ball as he tried to manoeuvre into a shooting position but the visitors got a foot in. Seaman then launched a free-kick six minutes before the break that found Dallison rising at the far post but his header was off target.

The visitors changed shape and came out with much more purpose from the moment the second-half began and almost forced an equaliser straight away. Ollie Dewsbury went close to converting before the second ball dropped for Robesten who blasted it wide.

The lively Dewsbury was giving the Fleet defence a headache and two minutes later he fired a low effort right across Matt Hall’s goal that ran clear before Will Dawes could arrive to apply the finish. And then the Weston No.10 pulled off a mazy run into the box that ended with a shot over the bar.

Fleet made a double substitution as Weston forced another couple of opportunities when Tommy Backwell and Robesten forced Matt Hall into a pair of saves. But with nothing to show for their impetus, it seemed Fleet had snuffed out Weston’s revival. At the other end, Seaman drove a free-kick down the middle of the goal that Max Harris tipped over and from the corner, the ball bounced dangerously in the Weston box before Coley fired over.

However, the visitors got their goal on 66 minutes. As Toby Edser tried to counter, the ball got away from him and his foul invited Luke Spokes to curl a free-kick over the wall and into the corner for the equaliser.

And Weston turned the game on its head just six minutes later when another free-kick, this time from wide on the right, floated into the Fleet box and dropped for Dewsbury to find the target.

With 11 minutes left, Fleet’s best chance for an equaliser arrived when substitute Samuel found space to get on the end of a Ben Coker cross but with almost too much time, he planted his header wide.

Weston made the most of the miss by clinching the game with a third goal on 82 minutes. Dewsbury was denied a chance as Fleet cleared his threat but the ball spun out for Backwell and he took it in his stride to fire a shot back across goal and in.

There was little Fleet could summon in answer at that late stage and Weston made off with the points in this increasingly tight race for the top seven.

EUFC: Hall, Passley, Olagunju, Dallison (Wyllie 75), Hessenthaler, Edser, Seaman, Chapman (Coker 53), Coley (Samuel 60), Barnes (Kennedy 53), Appiah (Cosgrave 75). Subs not used: Peake, Sandford
WSMAFC: Harris, Bernard, Wood, Lewis, Avery, Dawes (Pecover 81), Bennett, Spokes, Backwell, Robesten (Britton 89), Dewsbury (Ellison 90). Subs not used: Cane, Thompson, Johnson.
Attendance: 1,215
Image courtesy of Ebbsfleet United/Tom Harris