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Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb admitted some players in his squad failed to grab their chance on Saturday – but they will still get plenty of gametime before the end of the season.
The Fleet made seven changes from the side that lost 3-2 to Maidstone in the league on Tuesday for their 2-2 FA Trophy draw at Cray Wanderers. Kutrieb’s side went out on penalties after losing the shoot-out 5-3.
But many of those who came into the side did little to stake a claim for a regular spot, although Kutrieb felt that was understandable given the lack of game time for some players.
When asked if those coming into the side did enough to impress, Kutrieb replied: “Some more, some less. It was not so much about wanting to give them a chance but they knock on the door and really want to have minutes.
“When is the right time, if not today? We have another tough game on Tuesday (at Oxford City) so it was the right time to give them minutes to show they are good enough to be in the starting XI.
“Of course, not everyone could impress but it’s (going to be a) long season. Even the boys I was not happy with today will get their chances during the season because we will definitely need everyone.”
It meant a slight shift of gameplan for Kutrieb, who called on Rakish Bingham, Craig Tanner and Alfie Egan from the bench.
All three helped Fleet drag themselves back into the tie from 2-0 down, to force a shoot-out.
“I said to them that they need to be ready if the game is not decided in our way,” said the Fleet boss.
“If there are problems on the pitch we need them to help us. You could see straight away when they are on it’s a different quality on the pitch, we created a lot of chances in the last 20-25 minutes with them but that’s normal.
“They are used to playing every game, or almost every minute, they have a different attitude, understanding and confidence because they play every time. When you are not playing every time you are almost doubting yourself, ‘am I good enough? If I’m good enough, can I do the things in the same way as everyone else’.”
The game at Cray hinged on a controversial disallowed goal. Will Wood turned the ball in at the far post to seemingly give Ebbsfleet the lead. Referee Joel Mannix and his assistant both gave the goal but Cray protests saw them consult each other, and decide there had been a handball.
Kutrieb added: “It didn’t help that we scored a goal in the first half and then the referee decided after two minutes that it’s not a goal. I still can’t believe it.
“They said handball, that’s the information I got. If the linesman saw a handball he would raise his flag straight away, not after two minutes. That’s not possible. It’s tough to take because I am sure we win the game if we get the lead there but it’s gone now.”
It could prove a blessing in disguise for Ebbsfleet to make an early exit from the FA Trophy with promotion their number one aim this campaign.
But that’s not the view of the Fleet boss who wanted to progress to the third round.
“I hate losing as you know,” he said. “Even if it was on penalties I wanted to progress in the Trophy as far as possible.
“Of course, I wanted to win and be in the hat. For me it’s very disappointing but at the end of the day we have to continue our work and focus on the league anyway."
