Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb reacts to 7-2 National League South win over Worthing
Published: 05:00, 08 March 2023
Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb felt it was “more than amazing” to take their season tally to 13 goals against play-off chasing Worthing on Tuesday night.
The Fleet ran out 7-2 winners at Stonebridge Road and clearly enjoy playing against Worthing having won the reverse fixture 6-0 in National League South earlier in the campaign.
The visitors were well in the game during the first half but they gifted Ebbsfleet some of their goals, which is what the Fleet boss was expecting.
“Nine goals in one game - you won’t see it often,” said Kutrieb. “I’m happy for the fans, it was a great turnout again. It was a good outcome.
“As soon as we scored the first goal we had everything under control and dominated the game. Seven goals scored is amazing and I can’t moan too much tonight.
“We showed them video clips and you can see the conceded goals from Worthing, it’s not every game but very often it’s easy, simple mistakes playing out from the back and they get punished. We showed them clips from Oxford, St Albans, Chippenham.
“We were prepared and we said regardless of what happens they are a very good side. It might be the case that they score two goals, three goals, because they are really good going forward.
“But we have to be aware that we can be back in the game very quickly if we punish the mistakes and that’s what we’ve done. 13 goals against a play-off contender in two games is more than amazing.
“I liked the 6-0 more than the 7-2 just because we had a clean sheet and we played much better in the first game. As soon as we had one foot in the game, we dominated them in big parts.”
There were seven different scorers for the Fleet, including an own goal that top scorer Dominic Poleon was trying to claim.
The tally included a first Fleet goal for recent recruit Billy Clifford as well as summer signing Omari Sterling-James.
On Clifford, Kutrieb stated: “The picture’s not changed in two or three weeks. I said he’s the best midfielder in the league apart from my own team and he’s with us now.
“He still struggles at times because he needs to understand what we want to do and that’s no blame for him. It just takes time. He’s adapting very quick and I’m so happy for him that he scored a goal because he’s not a natural goalscorer but he will score goals because he’ll arrive in the right areas.
“Omari’s was a long way coming so it’s more relief for him than Billy. Maybe it will give him the belief and confidence to score a few more. I’m happy for him, the fans are happy for him as everyone can see his work-rate.”
Ebbsfleet continue their march towards the title with a trip to Tonbridge this Saturday.
In-form Angels are closing in on the play-off places and will be looking to complete the double over Kutrieb’s men.
“We need to look at us and make sure we get our wins,” said the Fleet boss. “It’s so packed with so many teams, everyone wants to be in the play-offs and fight hard.
“Tonbridge got a win (on Tuesday) so they are a bit closer to the play-offs, we have to be prepared. The season is not over, we need to make sure we tick the next one off.
“They hurt us here badly, we dominated them for 90 minutes and they got a 2-1 win against us. We’ll try to get it right this Saturday so they don’t get three points against us.”
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Matthew Panting