Ebbsfleet made it three home wins in a row against struggling Guiseley on Saturday.

Jack Powell opened the scoring with a free-kick and Danny Kedwell netted his 10th goal of the season from the penalty spot as Daryl McMahon's side took a step closer to the National League play-offs.

Guiseley weren't great to watch and they were punished further by second-half goals from Chris Bush and Myles Weston.

Powell replaced the injured Dean Rance in midfield although the most significant team news came on the Ebbsfleet bench as club captain Dave Winfield returned to the squad after four months out with a knee injury.

Guiseley arrived just a point off the bottom of the table and boss Paul Cox made six changes from their FA Cup defeat at Mansfield. Jean-Yves Niate started in central defence, having made one appearance for Fleet in the Kent Senior Cup earlier this season.

The visitors, as expected, were pretty direct and slowed play down at every set-piece right from the start.

Fleet found it difficult to build momentum early on but they tried to get the ball to wingers Weston and Sean Shields as quickly as they could.

Luke Coulson latched onto a Kedwell flick and ran 50 yards before shooting straight at keeper Jonathan Maxted from a narrow angle. Maxted saved again when Weston cut in from the right and hit a shot with his left foot.

Weston then whipped in a dangerous cross which Maxted managed to push out just as Coulson had looked set to score with a close-range header.

Midway through the first half, Fleet took the lead. Andy Drury was fouled just outside the penalty area and Powell curled the free-kick inside the right-hand post.

Niate was booked for body-checking Coulson as he raced down the left flank although Guiseley came within inches of an equaliser when Rowan Liburd rattled the angle of crossbar and post with a header.

The Lions enjoyed a good spell around the half-hour but Fleet held their defensive shape well and were soon back on the attack.

Left-back Jack Connors got forward well and fed Shields, whose stabbed effort was beaten out by Maxted before Guiseley survived a scramble in the box.

But after captain Daniel Lowe had been booked for tripping the flying Weston, the visitors conceded a penalty which owed much to the brilliance of Shields down the left. The winger tricked his way past two defenders and then went down under Ashley Palmer's desperate lunge, with Kedwell smashing the spot-kick straight down the middle.

The Lions looked to respond, with Lee Molyneux forcing a smart save from Ashmore although Ebbsfleet finished the half on top, Coulson surging through midfield and firing a low shot just wide.

A scrappy start to the second half saw Kenny Clark booked after Connor Brown threw himself to the floor as the Lions were preparing to defend a corner. The home fans booed Brown every time he touched the ball after that.

Powell tried his luck with another free-kick, this time aiming low, but Maxted got across well to save at the base of his left-hand post.

At the other end, Brown shot well wide and was roundly jeered.

Weston left Lowe for dead and skimmed a low cross through the six-yard box before Coulson's shot from the left deflected behind for a corner.

It really was game over when Fleet scored two more goals in the space of three minutes late on.

Chris Bush glanced home a header from Powell's left-wing corner and Weston slid the ball low across Maxted to make it 4-0 after running onto a pass from Kedwell.

In between, the home fans rose to salute the return of Winfield, who came on for Connors and was immediately handed the armband by Kewell.

Guiseley hacked a couple of late shots wide but they got exactly what they deserved from this game - nothing.

Ebbsfleet: Ashmore, Magri, Clark, Bush, Connors (Winfield 78mins), Weston, Drury, Powell, Shields, Coulson (McLean 86mins), Kedwell. Subs not used: McCoy, Cook, Miles.

Guiseley: Maxted, Brown, Palmer, Niate, Lowe, Howarth (McFadzean 80mins), Lenighan, Harvey, Molyneux (Fondop-Talom 73mins), Rooney, Liburd (Odejayi 73mins). Subs not used: Correia, Purver.

Attendance: 1,127.