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Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb reacts to 2-1 win over Dulwich Hamlet

Ebbsfleet’s win over Dulwich on Good Friday provided double delight for manager Dennis Kutrieb.

Not only did it amend his side’s 5-2 humbling in the reverse fixture in December, it was also another ‘statement’ win ahead of the play-offs.

Jack Paxman on the ball for Ebbsfleet against Dulwich. Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC (56107126)
Jack Paxman on the ball for Ebbsfleet against Dulwich. Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC (56107126)

The Fleet have beaten the likes of Dartford and Oxford City on home turf, and it’s those victories that Kutrieb hopes will give his side plenty of belief heading into the National League South play-offs.

“You need to respect Dulwich, they have outstanding players in their starting XI and on the bench,” stated Kutrieb.

“These are the games when you need to be on top, especially when you talk about potential play-offs.

“You need to deliver performances and get wins. This game was very important for me personally.

“We needed to show we can’t beat just Welling or whoever it is, you need to beat really strong opponents as well, like we have done against Dartford here or Oxford or St Albans.

“They are crucial games and that’s why I’m pleased we’ve won.”

Fleet fell behind when Ronnie Vint deflected in an early free-kick for Dulwich but goals in either half by Shaquile Coulthirst and Rakish Bingham ensured the home side’s dominance was rewarded with three points.

It means they need just one more point to mathematically confirm their play-off place.

“It was a great team performance, a well-deserved win and we dominated them for 75 minutes,” said the Fleet boss.

“It was a tough start for us, we conceded an unlucky goal but from then on we dominated.

“Dulwich are a strong side but they are a little bit off their peak at the moment. They are hard to beat and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in the play-offs.

“The least you can do in football is work hard and that’s what they’ve done all season. We could have scored before and we could have scored after, that’s the only negative that we didn’t put it to bed.

“Apart from the goal, I can’t remember Louie (Moulden) having a great save to make. They are always dangerous, they have some of the best players in the league.

“The good thing for us was we made them a little bit tired in the first half as they (the strikers) needed to work so hard defensively that they missed a bit offensively.”

Ebbsfleet travel to Concord on Easter Monday.

The Fleet boss wants his team to continue their development by picking up maximum points.

“It’s a completely different game (to Dulwich),” said Kutrieb. “What I like from Concord is they like to play as well from the back, they do their own thing and don’t look at the opposition.

“We need to be up for it. We can recover and have a little training session on Sunday to come back fresh on Monday. We need to play the same intensity as we did against Dulwich.

“It was a great result, we had the same when we played Oxford at home and we missed the chance to then get a result at Braintree. This is a similar situation for me so we need to make sure we do it better on Monday.”

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