Ebbsfleet United 0 Tamworth 1
By Steve Tervet
Ebbsfleet's goal drought now stands at 630 minutes after Bradley Pritchard's first-half strike sent them crashing to a sixth consecutive defeat.
The home side's misery was compounded when captain Darius Charles was sent off for dissent late on.
In the only change from the Fleet side which lost 1-0 at York a week earlier, Leon Crooks returned from suspension to replace Dean Pooley in the centre of defence. Lining up alongside Crooks was Ross Smith, the 29-year-old Canadian making his second home debut for the Fleet after returning from America.
Ricky Shakes continued to support Magno Vieira in attack as Liam Daish's hunt to bring in a loan striker goes on.
The first clear-cut chance of the afternoon fell the way of the hosts - Ishmael Welsh surging past his man on the left wing and delivering a pin-point cross which Shakes could only head tamely into Danny Alcock's arms.
Lance Cronin was scrambling moments later when Jake Sheridan collected Nick Wright's pass and drilled a low shot across the face of goal, but the ball flashed just past the far post.
With 16 minutes on the clock, Fleet were presented with a golden opportunity to snatch the goal they so craved. Vieira's inventive back-heel in a crowded six-yard box fell the way of Stefan Bailey but the midfielder was thwarted from close range with the goal seemingly at his mercy.
Fleet continued to carry the greater attacking threat and when Vieira's cross was hacked clear, Gavin Heeroo saw a thunderous shot blocked.
With the home side having committed numbers forward, the Lambs broke at pace and punished Ebbsfleet's missed chances in the most emphatic style. Wright turned away from two men and picked out the unmarked Pritchard, who rifled the ball low beneath the body of Cronin to give Tamworth a 26th-minute lead.
Far from letting their heads drop, however, Fleet continued to threaten. Smith almost capped a perfect return with a point-blank header but Alcock produced an astounding save to cut short the celebrations around Stonebridge Road.
Having already seen Crooks hobble off eight minutes before half time, Daish was forced to reshuffle his pack once more when Crooks' replacement, Clint Easton, failed to reappear for the second half. The introduction of Kane Wills meant a change of formation, with Heeroo, Smith and Charles settling into a back three.
It took ten minutes for Ebbsfleet to find their feet after the break but their passes eventually began to stick and Wills almost put the finishing touch to a high-quality move when his shot was scrambled off the line by desperate Tamworth defending.
Ebbsfleet's efforts briefly galvanised the home crowd but the Lambs remained stubborn in defence and sporadically threatened on the break. Wright's pace took him clear of Smith but he could only toe his shot wide of the post. Only Cronin's reflexes kept the deficit to one shortly after when he spread himself well to deny Christie.
With the Fleet resorting to long balls out of defence, the diminuitive pairing of Shakes and Vieira found themselves starved of service and Wright could have put the game to bed when he thrashed past the angle of crossbar and post.
Fleet's frustrations boiled over with 11 minutes remaining and Charles was red-carded after unloading a tirade of abuse against the referee's assistant when Tamworth were awarded a dubious free kick.
The visitors were themselves fortunate to keep their full quota on the field, with Michael Wylde shown only yellow for a dangerous lunge on Peter Holmes.
In the end though, the chances dried up and the game fizzled out with Alcock merely a spectator in the closing stages.
Ebbsfleet are in action again on Tuesday when they face AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.
Attendance: 867
Ebbsfleet: Cronin, Heeroo, Smith, Crooks (Easton 37 (Wills 46)), Charles, West, Bailey, Holmes, Welsh, Vieira (Ginty 86), Shakes
Unused subs: Forshaw, Lamprell
Tamworth: Alcock, Tait, Blackwood, Smith, MacKenzie (Wylde 62), Wright (Ulker 85), Pritchard, Sherdian, Shaw (Christie 58), Bristow, Brown
Unused subs: Little, Lake-Gaskin
POSTED: 21/11/2009 17:00:23
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