We've got an opportunity to do something special, says Ebbsfleet United boss Steve Brown

EBBSFLEET UNITED manager Steve Brown has called on his players to do something special as he bids to guide the club back into the top flight of non-league football at the first attempt.

The Fleet have spent ten of the last 12 seasons in the Conference but were relegated at the end of last season in what turned out to be Liam Daish’s last season in charge.

Brown took over in the summer and guided the club to a fourth-place finish in Skrill (Conference) South with 74 points from their 42 league games.

“Well I think if you look at the year as a whole, at the start of the season our objective was to try to put a squad together that challenged for a play-off place,” said Brown, 41, who was driving back to his Haywards Heath home after tonight’s training session.

“We’ve been in that play-off place since November.  I think in terms of the goals that we’ve set ourselves we’ve achieved certainly the main one, which was to finish in a play-off spot and that opens up the opportunity of promotion if we get through the semi-finals and the final.

“If you’re asking me how the season has gone as a whole, I’ve been very pleased with the home form. We were unlucky with the way the season ended with nine away games out of the last eleven!

“As a whole it’s been an extremely productive season, one that could get substantially better if we were to get promoted.”

Standing in their way of achieving that objective is a two-legged play-off semi-final against Bromley.

Mark Goldberg guided Bromley to their highest ever finish in seven seasons in Conference South football, finishing in third-place in the table with 80 points.

Goldberg’s side fought tough and nail with full-time Eastleigh for the title, but the Spitfires had the strength-in-depth to go and finish six points clear of the Ravens.

Ebbsfleet United hold home advantage for the first leg on Wednesday night, before travelling to Hayes Lane on Saturday.

The winners will face league runners-up Sutton United or fifth-placed Dover Athletic in the Final.

Dover have home advantage on Wednesday night, before Chris Kinnear’s side travel to Gander Green Lane on Saturday.

The venue for the final on Saturday 10 May will be at the club that finished the highest in the league.

Brown said: “Yes, it’s a strange one, isn’t it, having home advantage first because you want to get some sort of lead but I think the old adage you can’t win a semi-final in the first leg, but you could certainly lose it.

“We’re not going to try and get some crazy lead to take it back to Bromley, but we’re going to make it a competitive game as we can and hopefully the tie will be finely balanced when we go across to Bromley.

“Bromley have been very, very good and have held the top spot in the league for a long period of time this season. They certainly looked like the team to beat earlier in the season and the back end of the season they’ve had a little stumble up and finished in third-place.”

Predicting what kind of game the two legs will produce will be difficult, but there’s certainly goals in both sides.

Bromley finished the league campaign as leading goalscorers, banging in 82 goals.

Striker Bradley Goldberg, 19, wins the golden boot for his 23 goals in Conference South this season and winger Pierre Joseph-Dubois has found the net 20 times in all competitions.

The Fleet scored 67 goals in the league, but Brown points to the fact that his side have conceded 40 goals, ten less than their Kent rivals.

Ebbsfleet United were clinically brilliant in their 4-1 win over Bromley at Stonebridge Road in The FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round in November.

The two clubs met a Hayes Lane in the league on Boxing Day and played out a disappointing goal-less draw, but Bromley came away from Stonebridge Road with a 3-1 victory on the first day of 2014.

Brown said: “We beat them in the Trophy and we drew with them in the league and they’ve beaten us in the league so it’s certainly two teams that know each other and I think it’s two very, very good sides that are relatively equal in terms of what they have on the pitch available to them.

“It’s just going to be one of those semi-finals where one side that will take the initiative and hang on to it and hopefully that will be us.”

When asked whether the goals will be flying in at both ends in two thrilling epics, Brown replied: “It’s an interesting question because I think they scored more goals than us but we’ve got a much better defensive record.  It’s a bit chicken and egg, the answer to that.

“If we get out defensive set-up right, we’re very hard to break down, but they’d argue if they’ve got their attacking formation working, they’re a free-flowing scoring side.  It’s honestly going to be an on-edge type of performance from both sides.

“Both sides will think they can win it. Both sides don’t want to throw it away, certainly in the first leg.

“To answer the question, both sides, I think will be relatively patient and understanding that they’ve got two games to do it over.”

Bromley, Dover Athletic and Ebbsfleet United all trained tonight, ahead of Wednesday’s games.

When asked the mood in the camp, the Fleet boss revealed: “It’s very, very relaxed, actually very composed. I’ve got several players that have won leagues and players that have played in play-off semi-finals and finals and the mood in the camp is very relaxed.

“We had a very comfortable win (4-0 at home to bottom side Dorchester Town) on Saturday that followed an extremely competitive game at Concord (a 2-1 win) last Thursday night.

“Training was certainly geared towards the Bromley match on Wednesday. We made sure the players weren’t over worked tonight and it was more about the game on Wednesday.

“The players are extremely buoyant and can’t wait for the game.”

Out of the four clubs in the play-offs only Bromley have never played Conference football, but the Ravens have a 100% record in play-off games, having defeated Metropolitan Police, Horsham, AFC Wimbledon and Billericay Town, albeit in the Ryman League.

The prize at the end of the final on May 10^th is massive and Brown wants his side to celebrate their return to the big-time.

“No one wants to lose in a semi-final, but it’s one of those in hindsight. If you win the semi and lose the final it doesn’t matter what stage you lose, if you lose it’s absolutely devastating.

“We all know the prize at the end of it, which is a place in the Skrill Premier.  Every single team that’s in the play-off spot at the moment want to achieve that and we all know only one will do it. Hopefully it’s us.

“We’ll be doing everything in our power to make sure that we give it the best opportunity to make sure that it’s us.”

Play-offs tend to be nerve-jangling, tense affairs, but winning them can be the greatest feeling.

Brown said: “Listen, there’s 22 teams in our league. One’s gone up automatically which leaves four others to fight it out in the play-offs and there’s seventeen that haven’t not nothing on the season from now on in.

“In terms of excitement we’ve put ourselves in a position where we’ve got an opportunity to do something special and there’s seventeen other managers that would like that opportunity who haven’t got it this year.

“It’s exciting, we’re looking forward to it and we hope by the end of the two legs that we’re going on to a final, but we know there’s a very tough Bromley side that’s in the way of us doing that.”

Brown has challenged the Fleet faithful to pack Stonebridge Road to the rafters to generate a special atmosphere.

“I ask the Fleet fans to turn up in as many numbers as they can and create an atmosphere the same as they did for the FA Cup game against Dartford, which was the highlight of my time at the club,” said Brown. 

“Seeing (nearly) 3,000 people packed into Stonebridge to create the atmosphere on that day and almost upsetting the applecart of turning over a Conference Premier side was probably the highlight of the season.  It was a pleasure being involved in that day.

“The players would love a huge crowd to be very positive in their support of the clubs for us on the night.”

Visit Ebbsfleet United’s website: www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk

Ebbsfleet United  v  Bromley
Skrill South Play-Off Semi-Final First Leg
Wednesday 30^th April 2014
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, Kent DA11 9GN