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Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb praised the character of keeper Tom Hadler after his FA Cup heroics on Saturday.
The 24-year-old keeper saved two spot-kicks as Fleet beat Isthmian South East Hastings 4-1 on penalties.
It was a great response from Hadler, who was at fault for Hastings’ first goal in the 2-2 draw.
“Tom has a really good character,” said Fleet boss Kutrieb. “We pointed to him because we were sure when we got to penalties that he would save one or two because he is a tall guy and he will save penalties because he is very good on the line.
“He was unlucky that he made a mistake (for their first goal) but that’s football, it can happen. He showed good character that he stepped up and got us to the next round.”
Kutrieb was far from pleased with the performance of his players. It was a sluggish display, particularly in the first half, although Fleet increased the tempo in the second half.
The Fleet boss was keen not to get too carried away, given it was Ebbsfleet’s first competitive match since mid-March.
“At half-time, I said that it wasn’t enough and if we play the second half like the first half then we’d lose the game,” said Kutrieb.
“We played much better in the friendlies so we need to talk about the basics, they need to be better. Especially in the beginning of the second half, it was much better.
“I had a good feeling after half-time for the first 15 minutes of the second half, we were the better team. But that was the only time I felt we were the better team.
“In a cup game, you are not allowed to make mistakes but in a friendly it is not a problem. I think it’s more a (mental) thing.
“You could see in different situations, especially in the first half, they had different thoughts about how they can handle the situation and in a friendly they handled it the wrong way and on Saturday they handled it the wrong way. It could only be (the fact) it was their first competitive game after seven months.
“Congratulations to Hastings who played well, you can see they’ve been in the competition already and it was our first game in six or seven months.
“It’s important we are in the next round, penalties are always lucky but from the first game I’ve got many headaches.”
Ebbsfleet travel to Braintree in their National League South opener on Tuesday night.
The Fleet boss indicated that he will make changes with Jack Paxman among those to impress after coming off the bench on Saturday.
“The fact that we have a big squad means we can make changes,” he said. “We have seven games in October so we can rotate a little bit. I don’t want to be too hard on the boys because it is their first competitive game in seven months.
“We have 19 new players and we need time. We’re not prepared at the moment, we need six or seven more weeks. But we need to win the games even when we’re not 100 per cent.”
Kutrieb also need to come to terms with the style of refereeing in English football.
He said that the crunching first-half challenges from his team on Saturday were not intentional but he cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the touchline with the decisions made by the man in the middle.
“I have to adapt the situation with the referees,” said Kutrieb. “I didn’t feel comfortable how they handled the situation but that wasn’t the reason why we got a draw or why we had to go to penalties.
“It’s only for me, it’s a personal thing and I have to learn how they handle things.”
