Ebbsfleet midfielder Ben Chapman has described his 45-yard strike on Saturday as the best goal of his career.

The 25-year-old started the Fleet’s comeback in the 2-2 National League draw at home to Rochdale with a spectacular goal.

Chapman revealed that he didn’t hear the crowd’s collective cries of ‘shoot’ as he weighed up his options.

“I think it’s got to be the best goal I’ve scored,” said Chapman.

“I did not hear a thing, in that moment everything went quiet. I just looked around and thought what am I going to do?

“I felt like I was getting pressed from either side, I took a touch and thought what are my options, I saw the keeper just off his line and the centre-back hadn’t pressed me so I thought let’s go for it and it was in the back of the net!

“I set it out wide as it was stuck under my feet so I was trying to get it to come back as the keeper was quite far to my right-hand side.

“I thought I couldn’t get it over him so let’s try and get it round him. I set it out wide and I saw it swing back in and thought this is in.”

The significance of the goal was not lost on Chapman as the game swung dramatically in Ebbsfleet’s favour and they were back on level terms within minutes.

“I felt like there was a big shift in momentum after the goal,” he added.

“We were 2-0 down but we weren’t quite breaking through and then that goal turned it, we pushed them back and started to implement our game plan a lot better.

“We got up the pitch and started to play in their half where in the first half we didn’t manage to do that.

“That is us and what we can do, it’s about doing that week in, week out and having that consistency.

“The season hasn’t gone where we’ve wanted it to. We need wins but we’re glad to get a point on the board.”

Chapman admitted it’s been a tough spell mentally with results not going Ebbsfleet’s way amid some inconsistent performances.

It’s not something he’s been used to during his time at Stonebridge Road, having joined the club in 2020.

“It’s a factor of everything, from performances to losing games,” he added. “It is tough for footballers and it’s not really spoken about much.

“Losing a couple of games does affect you and it was more going into this game still knowing that we’re good enough. We had a good week in training before Rochdale, good energy and a good vibe so it was nice to put that into practice in the second half.

“To come back from two goals down against a very good Rochdale side can give us confidence going forward.”

Next up for the Fleet is a FA Cup fourth qualifying round derby trip to Maidstone this Saturday.

He’s fully aware of how important the game is for Ebbsfleet.

“It's a massive game for the club, two local sides that are both floating between the National League and National League South, and both have a point to prove really,” said Chapman.

“I know how much of a big occasion it is for the club as well as the fans. It will be a good game with a big crowd so I’m looking forward to it.

“Maidstone have a good following and every time I’ve been there, they’ve been loud. We need our fans to be our 12th man and hopefully, we can get a result for them.”