Ebbsfleet United Match Preview

City return to Twerton Park for the first time in three weeks on Saturday when they welcome old rivals Ebbsfleet United, their fifth consecutive opponent who lie in the playoff positions.

With the two clubs below them, Billericay and Welling, meeting in Essex on the same afternoon, Jerry Gill’s team will be hoping to increase the gap on at least one of them.

The Fleet occupy fifth place, 13 points behind leaders Dorking so are realistically aiming for the best possible advantage in the playoffs.

However, having spent most of the season in the top four the Kent club are starting to fall away due to some alarming defensive displays in away matches.

The League’s second highest scorers have managed to concede 20 goals on their last six trips, with both Dorking and Dulwich finding the net five times and four being converted by Havant and Maidstone!

Even their two most eye-catching wins on the road, 5-2 at Chippenham and 4-3 at Hungerford, suggested a very porous defence.

There were a few hints of this problem on the Saturday before Christmas when City visited Stonebridge Road and they should have found the net at least three times. Instead, a disastrous four minute spell either side of half time saw the home team win 3-0 and climb to the top of the table.

One of the goals for The Fleet that day was by Dominic Poleon, their top scorer, and he will be joined on Saturday by a former City favourite. Sido Jombati will surely receive a warm welcome from the home crowd in his first appearance at Twerton since his departure in 2011 having made 94 appearances.

This will be Ebbsfleet’s fifth visit to Twerton since their first in 2012 and City have only been victorious on one occasion.

Of course our friends from Kent were previously known as Gravesend & Northfleet and they were regular opponents between 1947 and 1989. City won two thirds of those meetings with perhaps the most eye catching coming in 1959.

On their way to becoming Southern League champions City triumphed 6-0, including two goals from Charlie Fleming, in front of an attendance of 5018.

While there may not be quite that number on Saturday it always pays to buy your tickets in advance from the Club’s website!