For the second time in a month, Ebbsfleet have knocked Conference Premier opposition out of the FA Trophy.
Daryl McMahon’s volley sealed the match just four minutes after Forest Green Rovers had been reduced to ten men, with the dismissal of Dale Bennett for what was ruled a reckless challenge on Danny Kedwell.
Although Forest Green threw everything at the Fleet in the last ten minutes, Preston Edwards was rarely troubled on his return to the team, and the home side claimed their first home win for six weeks.
In his programme notes, Jamie Day had said this would be the benchmark to see how far his new-look team could go, and Ebbsfleet more than matched their physically bigger Conference National opponents; looking to press high up the pitch.
Day explained “I thought for about 70 minutes we played really well. We moved the ball quickly, with more of the tempo that I wanted.”
“In the last 15 or so, we looked a little edgy and stopped doing what we’d done so well to let them back into the game. Preston’s had to pull off a couple of good saves, so I was disappointed in that, but overall, for the majority of the game, I thought we looked really good against a near full-strength Conference side.”
Day was philosophical about the red card that changed the game, saying “I think five years ago you wouldn’t have been sent off, but it did look to be a bit of a lunge.”
“I was too far away to see clearly, but it might have looked worse than it was. I can’t say what crossed my mind when I saw Keds (Danny Kedwell) lying there after it, but he got up and was alright.”
After Danny Kedwell, Stuart Lewis and Theo Lewis were added to the side, Ebbsfleet announced today that Matt Fish and Kelvin Langmead were joining from Gillingham and Northampton Town respectively.
Day added “We needed the new signings to make an impact straight away. We’ve hand-picked the players that we wanted, as we don’t have time for them to take three or four weeks to settle in; I thought they all put in a good shift today.”
“We’ve got seventeen league games left, and we need to win as many as we can. We know we’ve got a good side and they need to believe that themselves.”
With a blustery wind at their backs, Forest Green’s attempts to play through the inside channels were unsuccessful, so their experienced forward, Jon Parkin, tried a more direct route in the 11th minute. His audacious attempt to lob Preston Edwards from inside his own half used the elements to his benefit, but the returning Fleet keeper was able to watch the effort drift wide.
Stuart Lewis, who joined in the week from Wycombe Wanderers seemed to have struck up a good understanding with Daryl McMahon in the Fleet engine room.
His break forward saw the ball moved quickly through exchanging a couple of wall passes, and was fed out to Sean Shields on the right wing. Shields’ low cross into the Forest Green area was perfect for Brendan Kiernan, breaking in from the left, but Dale Bennett had tracked Kiernan’s run to block for a corner.
On 19, after a Forest Green corner was cleared, Kiernan clipped a lovely ball from his own half over Aarran Racine, allowing Danny Kedwell to break clear for the first time. Luke Oliver this time got his challenge right on the edge of the area, having been booked earlier for an uncompromising bodycheck on Theo Lewis.
With both sides trying to play with a high tempo, and the blustery wind, the final ball was not of the quality that either team would have expected. But the game changing moment came on 35, as Dale Bennett appeared to slide over the top of the ball into Danny Kedwell with studs raised. Mr Lymer took time to speak to his assistant, waving away protesting players from both sides, and produced a straight red for Bennett.
As Forest Green were reorganising, Theo Lewis put in a dangerous ball from the right wing. Kiernan again broke in from the left, and headed goalwards, forcing Racine to head off the line. The ball dropped to the right side of the 6-yard box, but Russell dropped on Shields’ followup shot.
Ebbsfleet got the breakthrough that their pressure deserved on 39, as Shields’ clipped cross into the middle was headed clear to the edge of the area. Daryl McMahon was given time to chest the ball down, then strike a right foot volley beyond the despairing dive of Russell into the top corner.
Fleet were forced into two changes by the 50th minute, losing Dean Pooley at the interval and then Sean Shields, just after having a volley from Joe Howe’s run and cross well saved by Russell. Shields and fellow winger Kiernan had been tormenting the Forest Green fullbacks whenever Ebbsfleet got the ball down and moved it quickly.
Kiernan then turned stand-in fullback Clovis Kamdjo before pulling a cross back to McMahon, who sweetly struck another volley from the edge of the box, but this time the ball skimmed the bar.
Kedwell, on his debut having signed from Gillingham in the week, and quickly becoming a fan’s favourite, helped set up the next chance by robbing left-back Marcus Kelly. Anthony Cook took the ball into the area, where he set up the third debutant, Theo Lewis, whose shot was blocked by Kamdjo.
Kedwell had a chance to open his account on the hour, meeting Shane Huke’s long diagonal freekick, but the chance went straight at Russell. The keeper was helpless ten minutes later, as Racine blocked Kiernan’s shot for a corner, and Kenny Clark managed to get a header in before the keeper’s punch, but couldn’t direct his header into the empty net.
Although down to ten men, Forest Green were still playing with two wide men, and had the twin aerial threat of Kurtis Guthrie and Jon Parkin. Clark & Huke were dealing manfully with aerial threat, but Fleet were sitting deeper and deeper, allowing Forest Green to push forward. Kelly’s ball in from left was headed clear by Clark to Parkin, whose left foot shot bobbled through to Edwards.
In their next attack, Kelly’s ball over the Ebbsfleet defence saw Guthrie breaking into the box, Edwards was off his line quickly to parry Guthrie’s dinked effort, but the ball carried on running towards the Ebbsfleet net, only for Huke to react quickest to complete the clearance.
Assistant manager, Barry Ashby, could be heard urging the Fleet defence to hold a higher line as the Forest Green threat increased, with long ball after long ball being launched towards the area, but there always seemed to be a red shirt in the way.
On 86, Parkin found Kamdjo in the area, and from a tight angle his driven shot was parried away by Edwards. The ball broke to former England ‘C’ International, James Norwood in the D, from where his shot hit the legs of Shane Huke.
Two minutes later, Ebbsfleet’s defence was unlocked by one straight ball from Chris Stokes. Parkin’s touch seemed to be running safely through to Edwards, but Guthrie had gambled on the ball being allowed to run, and he forced Edwards to smother a toe-poke towards goal. The ball ran away from goal to Norwood, whose cross past Edwards was touched wide by Guthrie.
As the game moved into stoppage time, Stokes headed Kamdjo’s ball in from the right on target, where Edwards handled well, and he set up a quick counter attack. Alex Osborn capitalised on the retreating Stokes’ heavy touch & fired in an early shot that Russell pushed over.
EBBSFLEET UNITED: Preston Edwards, Dean Pooley (Matt Johnson 46), Joe Howe, Stuart Lewis, Shane Huke, Kenny Clark, Sean Shields (Anthony Cook 50), Daryl McMahon, Danny Kedwell, Theo Lewis (Alex Osborn 76), Brendan Kiernan.
Subs not used: Dean Rance, Jamie Turner.
Goal: Daryl McMahon 39
FOREST GREEN ROVERS: Sam Russell, Luke Oliver (Chris Stokes 48), Dale Bennett, James Norwood, Marcus Kelly, Clovis Kamdjo, Aarran Racine, Kurtis Guthrie, Elliott Frear (Sam Wedgbury 69), Rob Sinclair, Jon Parkin.
Subs not used: Steve Arnold, Magno Vieira, Louis McGrory.
Booking: Luke Oliver 13, Rob Sinclair 66
Dismissed: Dale Bennett 36
Attendance: 1,018
Referee: Mr Colin Lymer
Assistants: Mr Mark Lucie and Mr Louis Marks
4th Official: Mr Peter Killip