Ebbsfleet were knocked out of the Kent Senior Cup by a young Charlton side on Wednesday.

Karlan Ahearne-Grant scored two goals in five minutes at the start of the second half as Charlton first-team manager Bob Peeters looked on from the stands.

His brace sent Jason Euell's development side through to the quarter-finals.

Fleet boss Steve Brown had hinted at naming a similarly young team, with one eye on Saturday's league game against Sutton, as well as a mounting injury list.

But all of Brown's starting XI were senior players, with new signing Dean Pooley lining up at right-back and Jordan Sanderson handed his Fleet debut after returning from a loan spell at Lewes.

Pooley lashed an early shot wide and Ollie Muldoon was off-target at the other end before Anthony Cook whipped in a cross that was just too strong for Matty Godden.

Sanderson got free in central midfield and dragged a shot wide when he should have passed. Aiden Palmer's cross then dropped to Dean Rance, whose stabbed effort was straight at Charlton keeper Dimitar Mitov.

A decent ball forward from Pooley sent Godden running at Ayd Obileye but the defender stood his ground and made an important block.

Ebbsfleet looked more likely to score in a slow-paced first half and they almost did when Mitov got a hand to Godden's shot and Harry Lennon ran back to stop the ball crossing the line.

Cook went close twice, forcing Mitov to shovel one shot behind and then drawing a good block from Lennon after Charlton had given the ball away cheaply at the back.

But it was a different story after the break as the young Addicks took control.

Ahearne-Grant turned in the box and fired past Brandon Hall to open the scoring on 51 minutes, before making it 2-0 to Charlton with a cool finish four minutes later.

Hall saved from Jack Munns before the Fleet missed a great chance to get back in the game. Cook's cross from the left was terrific but Rance's header missed the target.

An improvised cross-shot from Harry Osborne had Hall scrambling to turn the ball behind and a curling effort from Zak Ansah flew just past the angle as Charlton pressed.

Matt Johnson and Dean Rance both had shots saved late on but the game was up.

Ebbsfleet: Hall, Pooley, Acheampong, Corcoran (Howe 62mins), Palmer, Sessegnon (Tracey 86mins), Rance, Johnson, Cook, Sanderson, Godden (Sheringham 78mins). Subs not used: Edwards, Denny.

Charlton: Mitov, Osborne, Holmes-Dennis, Muldoon, Lennon, Obileye (Thomas 83mins), Munns (Gerera 65mins), Cumberbatch, Ansah, Ahearne-Grant, Browne (Kennedy 72mins). Subs not used: Beeney, Pyke.

Attendance: 377.