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By Katie Humphris
Ebbsfleet chief executive Damian Irvine has voiced his pride at the club's preparations and performance during their FA Cup Second Round tie against Fleetwood.
The Fleet hosted League 1 opposition live on ITV on Sunday - the club's first-ever match on national freeview television - and it proved a massive undertaking even for the ambitious National League South outfit.
"It's been incredible," said Irvine. "I think we were quite pleased to get to 11 o'clock on Sunday and know that we were in that normal hour and a half before a game and in that routine.
"It's not been routine and the staff here have been unbelievable, I think some of us had one or two hours' sleep on Saturday night because the crews have been in.
"There's so much, there's not just one crew, you've got ITV's production crew, you've got your LED production crew and you've got your pitch production crew. So we've had three large crews in here and they'd been here for the last two or three days, so it's really been out of the club's comfort zone.
"But everyone's got it done and that's what you've got to do, just get it done and we're very pleased to get the game behind us.
"People don't see the stuff at 8am on a Monday and we drive a hard ship here with all of our staff, in terms of being professional, in terms of the high work load and a work ethic.
"To see it on a big stage like Sunday, to be able to demonstrate where the club is at off the pitch, front of house, food and beverage, everything, as well as on the pitch, that's something to be proud of, so that will be our take out from the day."
Despite the curtains closing on Ebbsfleet's cup run, they were able to portray themselves in a good light in front of a nationwide audience.
Irvine was pleased with a strong performance from the Fleet, and the support the club received from a crowd of 2,960.
"The football side of it was exciting for everyone, I was very happy," said Irvine.
"The main thing coming here with a big game like this is you want to put your best foot forward, project the club and the players, the work ethic and what Dennis Kutrieb has been doing for a couple of years now.
"In that regard I'm really happy for the club because they performed well, it wasn't the result we wanted but we were playing a side three divisions higher.
"You do need those 50/50 calls and you need the decisions, we're disappointed not to have a penalty in the second half and get a result or at least get a replay.
"Off the pitch, we're really happy. Nearly 3,000 fans here, that's another 1,000 more than came to our last FA Cup game or our last biggest game which was the Chippenham play-off semi-final here.
"It shows that the people of Ebbsfleet and the surrounds of Gravesham borough are coming out to support us, so we're really happy with that."
"We're very disappointed we didn't win but the performance is something to be proud of and, as I say, the club is taking steps forward every week and every month, so that's the big positive and to see the supporters proud of their team, that's the biggest positive of them all."
It was a second successive cup exit for Ebbsfleet, who were beaten by Eastbourne in the FA Trophy the previous weekend.
It means they can now have all eyes on the league campaign.
"It is a bit of a cliché, it's true and while it's not 'oh we can focus on the league', you can look at it as it's a silver lining, you try and take the positives from everything," said Irvine.
"We had an issue with Chris Solly coming off injured, so that's a big disappointment but we've got a week off now, which is unusual.
"We would love to still be in the Cup obviously but now we're back here for the league next week against Slough and we've really got to take the next step in the league now."
