Boss Josh Wright admitted Ebbsfleet took their time to get going in their first National League South home win this season as they saw off Chippenham on Saturday.

Substitute Aaron Cosgrave’s second-half strike proved the difference in the Fleet’s 1-0 victory at Stonebridge Road.

While Wright felt it was a different type of game to the previous weekend’s opening-day 2-0 triumph at title favourites Dagenham & Redbridge, the end result was the same for Ebbsfleet.

The winning margin could have been bigger, too, striker Dominic Samuel having a goal ruled out for offside and Cosgrave denied a penalty moments after he had scored, but that mattered little in the end.

“It was a different type of game,” said Wright, who was forced into an early substitution as left-sided player Ben Coker hobbled off. “But it was everything that I expected from the minute we got into the car after Dagenham.

“I said to my assistant (David Kerslake) that the game was going to be like this. That’s no credit to me, I could just expect how it was going to be.

“Fair play to Chippenham. They came with a game-plan, I thought they were decent in spells and posed us some threats, and we had to tweak something at half-time. But it was a very dogged performance from us.

Report: Ebbsfleet 1-0 Chippenham

“It was slightly different to last week. It had the same endeavour.

“It maybe wasn’t as exciting, especially in the first half but once we slowly but surely got into our groove - if anyone was to watch that game back, which I’ll be doing at least a couple of times in the next 24 hours - from the 35-minute mark, you can just start to see us find our way. Our fitness kicked in.

“Our levels of intensity and our physicality, what we've done, showed. That just started to creep in.

“In the second half, I thought we started sharply. We were where we wanted to be in terms of the areas we were playing in. I just felt, in the first half, we were rushing in areas and staying down one side, and trying to find that pass.

“As I’ve said to them all week, ‘Be patient - we’re going to have to make penetrating runs and we’re going to have to move the ball with a purpose, a tempo and an intensity'. We did that better in the second half.

“Dom’s goal, I’m not sure it’s offside. I haven’t watched it back but I’m told it’s very tight. I think it’s a penalty on Aaron Cosgrave.

“But we got the goal and got what we deserved.”

There was nearly a late twist, though, as Ebbsfleet’s No.1 Mark Cousins proved his worth in front of a 1,275-strong attendance.

He tipped over Luke Haines’ long-range effort before he made an injury-time save to deny substitute Harlee Vozza, who had broken through.

Wright was frustrated the hosts didn’t see out the final minutes better but heaped praise on Cousins for his save to thwart Vozza.

The 35-year-old said: “It’s just slightly frustrating we didn’t finish the game off.

“Like we saw at the end, if you don’t finish a team off, usually for whatever reason, there’s always that one more chance. It’s annoying how it got there for me because we have got to manage the game better.

“From a goal-kick, I’ve spoke to Couso about it, there’s an area that needs to go in.

“After that, we have a territory of football that, with 20 seconds left, we’ve got to just play into an area. Play the game out and play into territory. Before we know it, they’re running down at our goal.

“That is exactly what that man, Mark Cousins, is all about and has been for his whole career, certainly in Ebbsfleet colours. He pulled off a magnificent save.

“He’s always got that one save that wins you points. That’s exactly what he’s done - he’s kept the three points for us, rather than it being just the one point.

“But all in all, I’m really pleased.

“We’re going to have another 25 or 30 of those days that are going to be frustrating, difficult to break the other team down, and it’s going to be tough to break through. Chances are going to be limited.

“But we did what we had to do, we got the three points, and it’s all about winning, which is exactly what we did.”

Ebbsfleet will host much-fancied Chelmsford - who have collected four points from their first two league matches - on Tuesday.