Ebbsfleet United 1-0 Eastbourne Borough - We've got a good chance of getting promotion, says Brown

EBBSFLEET UNITED  1-0  EASTBOURNE BOROUGH
Skrill South
Good Friday 18^th April 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Stonebridge Road

EBBSFLEET UNITED manager Steve Brown says he was feeling nervous despite his side sealing a comfortable victory over Eastbourne Borough.

 

The Fleet ensured it was a Good Friday following Anthony Cook’s 12^th goal of the season kept the club in the play-off picture, while Eastbourne Borough suffered their fifth league defeat on the bounce which keeps them in tenth-place in the Skrill South table.

Ebbsfleet United remain in fourth with 68 points from 39 games, five points adrift of Bromley - who travel to second-from-bottom Tonbridge Angels tomorrow – but looking over their shoulder on the teams below them trying to grab that all-important final play-off berth.

“It didn’t feel comfortable to be fair.  It felt a little nerve wracking towards the end because one goal is never quite enough to settle down on the side-lines,” said Brown following his side’s nineteenth league win of the season.

“The first half was a bit of a bland affair. We weren’t quite at the races. 

“I think we started the game ok for 10-15 minutes. The last half hour of that first half was a bit flat. We were giving the ball away, we weren’t keeping possession well, our tempo wasn’t as high as I’d like it to be.  We weren’t pressing their back line as we normally do so we made minor adjustments at half-time and we tried to press them higher.

“We got that early goal, which is really important and then it was a case of keeping a clean sheet, which we did.

“We’ve hit the post and we’ve had a goal disallowed so I think all in all comfortable now we’re sat here but not comfortable during the 90 minutes.”

Ebbsfleet United deserved to win by more than the one goal against an Eastbourne Borough side that lacked quality in the final third.

The home side were on the front foot as soon as the first whistle sounded and Daryl McMahon blasted his left-footed free-kick into the wall following referee John O’Brien awarding the home side a free-kick inches from the penalty area.

Cook swung in a right-footed free-kick into the Eastbourne Borough penalty area where Dean Rance glanced his header under pressure past the far post from 12-yards.

Ebbsfleet United went close when right-back Joe Howe spun Simon Johnson down the right to whip in a cross towards the penalty spot but Ben May planted his header over.

The Fleet were to be denied by a goal-line clearance in the thirteenth-minute.

Aiden Palmer threw the ball into the left channel where Cook picked the ball up, cut inside and from a tight angle prodded his shot towards goal, which was spilt by goalkeeper Craig Ross at his near post and May reacted to stoop his header past the keeper but Eastbourne left-back Sam Cole cleared the ball off the line.

But it was Eastbourne Borough that created the best chance to break the stalemate in the 33^rd minute.

Johnson went down on the edge of the penalty area as Anthony Acheampong challenged him, but the Eastbourne Borough winger managed to poke the ball through to put Charlie Gorman through on goal, but his left-footed drive on the angle from 12-yards was blocked by Preston Edwards, who dived to his right and used his right hand to turn the ball behind for a corner.

Brown was full of praise for his 24-year-old stopper.

He said: “Very good save from Preston.  He’s actually been called into action a few times.  Funnily enough at Sutton was probably the least amount he’s been called into action and we lost 3-1 but he got called into action at Concord and made one good save down there.

“Gorman’s through. I thought it was a foul actually in the build-up.  Anthony Acheampong got turned over but nevertheless it wasn’t given and Preston narrowed the angle down very quickly and made a great reflex save.

“That’s what Preston’s there for. He hasn’t had to make an abundance of saves this year but I’m thankful and pleased that he did make that save, it was crucial.”

The referee spoke to both May and Jack Deaman following a clash and a non-contested drop ball saw Gorman thump the ball towards goal from the half-way line, which sailed over Edwards’ head and narrowly over the crossbar.

Rance played the ball into May’s feet, who put Billy Bricknell through on goal but his right-footed drive forced Ross to dive to his right to make the save.

Ebbsfleet United almost changed Brown’s half-time team-talk when they went inches to opening the scoring at the end of the first half.

McMahon swung in a corner from the right and Bricknell’s glancing header sailed agonisingly wide of the far post, leaving the striker holding his head in his hands in despair.

“That’s a free header in the six-yard box and any kind of solid connection and it’s a goal, but it’s a fleeing moment,” said Brown.

“You have to get your forehead on something and it’s just skimmed off his hairline and gone wide but that was a golden opportunity.

“Games are built on moments. There’s fine lines in every game and we just needed to get in front and that would have been a great moment for us to get the lead but thankfully we got it in the second half with a decent goal from Anthony Cook, which you’ll find was assisted by Bill.”

When asked what he told his troops inside the dressing room at the break, Brown replied: “About upping our tempo, keeping possession of the ball better and pressing them high up the pitch.

“When you try to press a team high up the pitch, you can’t afford to have gaps between your centre forwards and your back line because good teams will expose those gaps between the units and it was just about our backline being a bit braver, being a bit clever with its movement when to keep a high line and when to drop off and when to press and press together. 

“Now we work on that quite a lot and we do it quite well but today I didn’t think we did get it quite right in the first 45 minutes so a big chunk of the half-time team talk was addressing that and just about defining moments in your season.

“I felt relatively comfortable defensively but when you’re 0-0 it’s always an opportunity for your opponents to craft something and I knew we needed that goal and I thought the response from the players for the first 15 minutes of the second half was obviously getting the goal and we kept up the good work rate and put Eastbourne on the back foot so it was ok in terms of the response I got after half-time.”

Eastbourne Borough ventured forward inside the first minute of the first half, but failed to take that opportunity.

Left-back Sam Cole played the ball to Johnson down the left and his hanging cross towards the far post was headed towards goal by Deaman but Edwards easily gathered.

However, Ebbsfleet United scored the winning goal with two minutes and 37 seconds on the second half clock.

Left-back Aiden Palmer found himself over on the right hand side some 35-yards from goal to play the ball forward to Bricknell, who laid the ball off to Cook, 24, who drilled a right-footed angled shot from sixteen-yards, which nestled into the bottom far corner of the net.

Brown praised Bricknell for playing his part in the vital goal.

“I think the vital bit in that scenario is that Bill, who’s been without a goal now for three or four games had the foresight to lay that ball off into the path of Anthony Cook when another striker on another day might have decided it’s not a bad position to take a pop shot.

“It’s not he needs a goal, he wants to score goals Billy Bricknell so the best bit of that goal was the fact that he had the foresight to see Anthony Cook in a better position, laid it into his path and the rest was clinical and that’s a word that I’ve used a couple of times in the last few weeks.”

Brown is delighted that four attacking players are getting on the scoresheet.

“We’ve got 20 from Bill (Bricknell), we’ve got 11 from Ben (May), we’ve got 12 from Cookie and ten from Michael Thalassitis so I’ve got four players in double figures.

“But I’ve said all along Anthony Cook brings assists. He relieves pressure very well when he picks the ball up deep and he runs 50-60 yards with it. That’s a great way to relieve pressure and he also brings goals, so when you look at the package as a whole there’s far more pros than there are cons.

“We have a great relationship and there are times when you have to take a little bit of back-chat from him because he’s very excitable but I’ll work with Cookie all day long, every day, all day long because he is worth working with. What he brings to the side is very beneficial.”

Ebbsfleet United squandered an excellent chance to double their lead in the 53^rd minute.

McMahon did well to twist and turn Eastbourne’s right-back Tallack to feed Palmer on the overlap and he whipped in a cross towards the far post where the unmarked May planted his header back across goal and agonisingly wide of the far post from six-yards out.

“That was a really good move,” said Brown.  “McMahon flipped Palmer on a overlap.  I will say this, the movement from Ben, he took the centre half into the near post, spun off him back into the centre of the six-yard box and the delivery, which was decent, was just a fraction behind him and if it been in front of him, it’s 2-0!

“He had to adjust his run and he couldn’t quite get the direction because he had to adjust his run backwards and that’s a difficult header.”

Ebbsfleet United showed their dominance by winning the corner count 14-2 against an Eastbourne side that failed to trouble the Fleet back four, which was well marshalled by former Welling United and Barnet defender Anthony Acheampong, who was awarded the sponsors’ man-of-the-match award.

Deaman was penalised for bringing Cook down and the winger got off the deck to curl his right-footed free-kick around the four man wall and around the far post from 22-yards.

Despite Ebbsfleet United being on top for most of the game, Eastbourne weren’t killed off and the Sussex side created a couple of half chances in the final fifteen minutes.

Tallack released Tom Derry through on goal, who cut into the right-hand side of the penalty area and attempted to cut the ball back to striker Elvis Hammond, but Acheampong read the danger, got back and calmly cleared the ball away.

Brown was frustrated when his side struck the left-hand post just 56 seconds later.

Bricknell played the ball inside to Rance, who stroked a right-footed shot past Ross, but the ball agonisingly hit the left-hand post and the impressive Gorman was on hand to clear the ball away to safety.

“There’s nothing you can do about that,” said Brown.

“The timing off the lay-off, the timing of the run, the timing of the shot, is all very, very good. 

“It was a good move that probably deserved the finish and deserved a goal but it wasn’t to be, but that’s what I’m saying sitting on the sideline and getting nervous. Its nervous moments when you know you should have gone 2-0 up.  You deserve a second and it hasn’t come.”

But Eastbourne Borough almost grabbed an equaliser in the final eight minutes.

Gorman played the ball from the middle of the park which split open the Fleet defence but Derry slid his right-footed shot straight at Edwards when well placed inside the penalty area.

Brown added: “They did have a couple of moments didn’t they late on? A couple of balls down the side of Sanko and inside Aiden Palmer and there was a challenge and the ball fell to Derry and he didn’t quite get his shot off did he and it just bobbled through to Preston.

“But the way they went in that last 10-15 minutes they had nothing to lose.  (Ian) Simpemba goes up front from centre half and they bring on two subs.  Elliott Levy is very, very quick and lively and I just thought to myself don’t give them an opportunity and to be fair at least when the opportunity came he was under pressure and we had two lads pressurising him and he couldn’t get his shot away.”

Ebbsfleet United should secure a play-off place, with three league games left to play.

They travel to third-from-bottom Maidenhead United on Easter Monday, before playing in two games that are free for supporters to watch, away to Concord Rangers next Thursday before welcoming already relegated Dorchester Town to Stonebridge Road on 26 April.

Brown said: “I think I want to see off the mathematically solidification of a play-off place Monday if I can.  I don’t know if other results will have to go our way but all we can do is win our games and I want to go over to Maidenhead and win that game and then look at the table Monday night and hopefully we have secured our play-off spot, but then that takes the pressure off the Concord game and the Dorchester game but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Dover Athletic can claim a place in the play-offs if they win at eighth-placed Concord Rangers on Saturday after Havant & Waterlooville were held to a 1-1 draw at Weston-super-Mare on Friday night.

As things stand tonight, Ebbsfleet United could face a two-legged play-off semi-final against their Kent rivals Bromley, with the first leg taking place at Stonebridge Road, but there could still be some more twists and turns in the final week of the season.

“At the moment I think it’s irrelevant who we end up playing if I’m honest and people can talk about home advantage and this and that but that’s three good sides in the play-offs at the moment,” said Brown.

“If you took the three in there at the moment, Sutton, Bromley and Havant, that’s three good sides so you have to be on top form whoever you play so I don’t really care if it’s Sutton, Bromley or Havant.  You’re going to have to be on top form to get promoted.

“Every team on your piece of paper there will think they can get promoted.  We have to secure a play-off place and I’m always a bit wary talking about play-offs before we’ve got the security of mathematically being there.

“What I can say is whatever team is in there has to pull off three decent performances.  You have to draw away or win away somewhere and then you have to back that up with a home performance and then you have to go into a final that’s going to be very nerve wracking.

“If you spoke to Paul Doswell at Sutton, if you spoke to Mark Goldberg at Bromley and at the moment it’s Lee Bradbury at Havant, they’ll all say they can win it and I’m no different.

“I honestly believe if we make the play-offs we’ve got an extremely good chance of getting promotion.”

Meanwhile, Eastleigh were crowned Skrill South champions today following their 2-1 home win over Basingstoke Town, in front of a crowd of 1,505.

Ebbsfleet United:  Preston Edwards, Joe Howe (Chris Sessegnon 79), Aiden Palmer, Daryl McMahon (Alex Osborn 90), Anthony Acheampong, Osei Sankofa, Michael Corcoran, Dean Rance, Ben May, Billy Bricknell (Michael Thalassitis 77), Anthony Cook.
Subs: Paul Lorraine, Brandon Hall

Goal: Anthony Cook 48

Booked:  Joe Howe 19, Daryl McMahon 57, Anthony Cook 90

Eastbourne Borough: Craig Ross, Lewis Tallack (Richie Welch 81), Sam Cole, Matt Aldred, Ian Simpemba, Ollie Rowe, Jack Deaman (Elliott Levy 72), Charlie Gorman, Elvis Hammond, Simon Johnson, Tom Derry.
Subs: James Stinson, Ryan Woorall, Max Taylor

Attendance: 933 (52 away supporters)
Referee: Mr John O’Brien (London SW18)
Assistants: Mr Ollie Davies (London SW4) & Mr Paul Lister (Exeter, Devon)