Ebbsfleet boss Daryl McMahon praised two-goal striker Darren McQueen after he made a big impression on Saturday.

McQueen led the Fleet to a 5-0 FA Cup second qualifying round win over AFC Sudbury, scoring the first two goals early in the second half.

The 21-year-old, who was formerly with Tottenham and Ipswich, showed great character to bounce back – netting his first goal just a minute after missing a golden chance to score.

“He has a real belief in himself, he loves scoring goals and just keeps on going,” said McMahon.

“It’s a great habit of strikers when they miss a chance and immediately forget about it.

“I heard a story about Andy Cole once that he missed chances and erased them from his brain straight away so he couldn’t remember the ones he missed, only the ones he scored from.

“It’s a great skill to have as a striker because quite often you miss more than you score.

“I don’t think he is raw. He is technically very good and most things he does are under control. I thought he was very good.

“The second goal was terrific because it was a misplaced pass to him and he fought to get it, and it was a terrific finish over the keeper.”

McMahon was happy enough with Fleet’s first-half display, but thought they got it spot-on after the break when they were more clinical in front of goal.

Had it not been for AFC Sudbury keeper Marcus Garnham, the visitors could have been on the wrong end of an even bigger scoreline.

“First half we were very good without being great in the attacking third,” said McMahon.

“I thought we worked the ball into the attacking third really well and then we could have shot earlier, it was bad decision making really.

“That was the major difference in the second half. We were a lot more clinical and got the goals we deserved.

“When you play teams like Sudbury, they got 105 points in their league last year, they have lost one game this year, they are used to winning.

“It’s always dangerous against these teams that you if you take them lightly you can get turned over. They’ve got some good footballers, they get the ball down and play and it was a very open game at times.”