Ebbsfleet United 5 Kidderminster 4

A BRACE from substitute Mark DeBolla guided Ebbsfleet United to a hard fought 5-4 win over Kidderminster Harriers in the Blue Square Premier on Saturday.

Fleet took the lead after just four minutes when Chukki Eribenne rose highest to head home from a Stacy Long free-kick.

The home side were dealt a blow shortly afterwards when Danny Slatter was forced off the field with an injury.

But substitute Mark DeBolla needed little time to make an impact and doubled Fleet’s lead just six minutes later.

An initial shot from Long was deflected into the path of DeBolla by Harriers keeper Dean Coleman, and the former Charlton trainee made no mistake when firing home from just a yard out.

With kick-off delayed until 3.30pm due to traffic problems on the M25, Kidderminster will have wished they’d never arrived when Eribenne made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time.

Raphael Nade got up well to flick the ball into Eribenne’s path and the former Weymouth striker made no mistake with a smart finish which left Coleman with no chance.

Both sides continued the second half at a blistering pace with the visitors pulling a goal back after 57 minutes.

Fleet defender Warren Goodhind attempted to clear a cross from Russell Penn, but his hooked clearance came off the bar with the linesman adjudging that the ball had crossed the line.

Ebbsfleet looked to have put the game beyond Kidderminster's reach on 61minutes when DeBolla latched on to a pass from Eribenne, before firing the ball home from inside the area.

But the visitors refused to give in and pulled another goal back when James Constable slotted home a cross from the lively Justin Richards.

And Constable was on the scoresheet again just 10 minutes later when he gathered the ball inside the area before shooting past Lance Cronin.

Kidderminster poured forward in search of an equaliser before teenager Luke Coleman looked to have put the game beyond the visitors reach on 86 minutes.

Nade did well to find space on the right before crossing for Coleman who lashed home from 16-yards out.

Just as the game looked over as a contest, a late corner from Kidderminster’s Jeff Kenna fell to Constable who fired the ball past the stretching Cronin to complete his hat-trick.

Fleet fans held their breath as the home side held out for the final seconds of injury-time to secure maximum points.

Ebbsfleet: Cronin, Goodhind (Liam Coleman 71), McCarthy, Hawkins, McPhee, Slatter (DeBolla 6), Bostwick, Long, Opinel, Nade, Eribenne (Luke Coleman 78).
Subs Not Used: Mott, Purcell.
Attendance: 812.

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