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Ebbsfleet produced a blistering first-half display to bring their promotion push back to life on Tuesday night.
Three defeats in four league games had the alarm bells ringing among the Fleet faithful but their team were ruthless as they brushed aside play-off hopefuls St Albans with four goals in 32 minutes.
Fleet handed a debut to new signing Shaquile Coulthirst, who joined the club from Billericay with Rakish Bingham still sidelined by injury.
Also featuring for the first time was on-loan Wolves keeper Louie Moulden, with Chris Haigh dropping to the bench.
Fleet boss Dennis Kutrieb made six changes from the side beaten at neighbours Dartford a week ago, also bringing in Adam Mekki, Will Wood, Kieran Monlouis and Dominic Poleon.
Much has been said among Fleet fans in recent weeks about their side’s insistence of overplaying with the ball.
But they mixed their game up well against St Albans and took a seventh-minute lead after Craig Tanner chased a ball over the top. Defender Tom Bender appeared in control for the visitors but he was caught napping by Tanner, who advanced and crossed into the box where Bayley Brown turned the ball past his own keeper.
It was a shaky start for the visitors, keeper Michael Johnson rescued as early as the second minute by a goalline clearance after he failed to punch clear Chris Solly’s corner.
The second goal was trademark Fleet, however. Started at the back by Ben Chapman, Tanner’s flick added the class and Poleon ran at the visiting defence before setting up Mekki to lift a delicate finish across keeper Michael Johnson into the far corner after 12 minutes.
Fleet looked a different animal to their recent away trips, if they were wasteful at Dartford a week earlier then they were clinical this time out.
Tanner’s slide-rule pass split open the St Albans defence and Mekki produced another fine finish into the far corner from an angle to make it 3-0 on 27 minutes.
Everything Ebbsfleet did turned to gold, another incisive move resulting in their fourth goal seven minutes later. Chapman drove forward out of defence and exchanged passes with Coulthirst before feeding Wood out wide and he fired low inside Johnson’s near post from 20 yards.
St Albans made a double change at the break but Fleet remained on top. More Mekki magic nearly conjured up a first Fleet goal for Coulthirst but his goalbound shot was deflected wide for a corner.
Coulthirst’s first outing in an Ebbsfleet shirt lasted an hour before he was replaced as the Fleet kept their squad fresh with one eye on Saturday’s home clash with Slough.
Thereafter it became a game of keep-ball for the Fleet with St Albans content to sit deep and avoid conceding any more goals.
Fleet, as is their way, needed no second invitation to pass the ball back, sideways and forwards although the final pass lacked quality until with 15 minutes left, Poleon was played in and he tricked his way beyond Bender before being thwarted by smart keeping from Johnson.
There was nearly a wonderful fifth four minutes from time when Chapman’s goalbound volley from Wood’s corner was blocked on the line.
But Fleet were not to be denied and Poleon nodded in from close range two minutes from time after Wood’s free-kick came back off the woodwork.
Ebbsfleet remain fifth in the table but are now level on points with the two teams immediately above them, Oxford City and Dartford. They trail leaders Dorking by seven points but have a game in hand.
Ebbsfleet: Moulden, Adebayo-Rowling, Mekki, N’Guessan (Paxman 61mins), Poleon, Wood, Tanner (West 79mins), Solly, Chapman, Monlouis, Coulthirst (Romain 59mins). Subs not used: Haigh, Egan.
St Albans: Johnson, Bender, Wiltshire, Brown (Dawson 46mins), Akinola (Mukena 46mins), Jeffers, Weiss (Sole 79mins), Adebiyi, Goddard, Jones, Green. Subs not used: Diedhiou, Lankshear.
Referee: Isaac Searle.
Attendance: 800.