by Andrew Gidley

Ebbsfleet United striker Nathaniel Pinney is enjoying life at Stonebridge Road and says his loan spell at the club is proving beneficial.

The 21-year-old, on loan from Crystal Palace, struck twice and made another goal as the Fleet cruised to a 3-0 win against Tamworth on Tuesday night.

Pinney (pictured) has been watched by Palace chief scout Steve Kember during his time at Fleet and the forward believes his time with Liam Daish’s side is helping his career.

He said: "It’s going well so far. The gaffer (Dougie Freedman) tells me to keep doing well and that they have had good reports about me, so I just want to keep doing it here.

"I want to do well here in the rest of my loan, have a good pre-season at Palace and push on from there."

Pinney’s double took his total to seven at Fleet but it was the build-up as well as the finishing that caught the eye.

Daish said: "Nathaniel is an intelligent player and all the goals were clinical finishes and we really came out of the traps in the second half."

Daish continues to work with a small squad but has been boosted by the return of Alex Stavrinou after his loan at Lewes ended, while midfielder Ben Adams has also been registered ahead of Saturday’s visit of Mansfield.

Ram Marwa is struggling with a knee problem that may require a scan, Ricky Shakes has missed the last two games with back spasms, while Calum Willock went off on Tuesday with a tight hamstring but should be fit for the weekend.