Ebbsfleet gained a precious away win to re-ignite their survival bid in the National League on Tuesday night.

A stunning first-half turnaround handed Kevin Watson’s men victory at Maidenhead with Gozie Ugwu scoring twice.

Ebbsfleet made five changes with Michael Timlin making his first start, having been an unused substitute during Saturday’s drubbing at Chesterfield.

Ugwu and Josh Umerah both came into the team along with Jamie Grimes and Jermaine McGlashan after Ayo Obileye (concussion) was ruled out.

Maidenhead started the evening just one point above the relegation zone but knew victory could move them up five places.

It proved a shaky opening for Fleet keeper David Gregory. His seventh-minute clearance was blocked by Danny Whitehall before Gregory recovered to grab the loose ball.

He had no such luck two minutes later however when Gregory appeared to be fouled from a left-wing corner and Jaydn Mundle-Smith prodded home the loose ball.

Gregory remained down in his six-yard box and, after five minutes of treatment, he left the field on a stretcher with Jordan Holmes coming on for his first Fleet outing since the turn of the year.

A goal down and with a substitute keeper, not many Fleet fans would have predicted what unfolded in an amazing first half turnaround.

Great persistence by Adam Mekki - Fleet’s stand-out performer - saw him finally thread the ball into the feet of Umerah, who turned and shot into the far corner for a 17th-minute equaliser.

Ugwu wanted a slice of the action and his right-foot shot from the angle had to be turned away by keeper Taya Ashby-Hammond.

It was no surprise that Mekki was the inspiration behind Fleet’s second goal. Mekki worked his way across field and kept going despite a wayward pass, collecting the ball again and delivering an early centre which found Ugwu unmarked and the Fleet striker did the rest from close range.

Fleet’s joy became jubilation within 60 seconds as they scored again. Winning the ball back immediately from the kick-off, Ugwu dropped his shoulder and beat two defenders before curling a delightful right-foot shot into the far corner.

Stunned and shellshocked, Maidenhead nearly capitulated even further a minute later. Ashby-Hammond made a mess of his clearance and skipper Alan Massey had to hack clear with Umerah hoping to slot into an open goal.

Frankie Sutherland, who also featured well in the first half, shot wide from distance as confidence flowed through the Fleet team and Maidenhead struggled to string any passes together.

The second half panned out perfectly for Ebbsfleet. It took until the 80th minute for Maidenhead to have a shot on target, such was the hosts’ failure to exert any serious pressure.

Holmes proved a safe pair of hands between the sticks, dealing with any aerial balls into the area with confidence.

Lawrie Wilson, who produced another solid display, cleared off the line from a corner and then Holmes beat away substitute James Akintunde’s powerful drive.

Maidenhead: Ashby-Hammond, Clerima, Fenelon (Akintunde 65mins), Comley, Kelly, Whitehall, Sheckleford, Upward, Massey, Mundle-Smith, Smile (Alfa 72mins). Subs not used: Dunn, Steer, Smith.

Ebbsfleet: Gregory (Holmes 14mins), King, Wilson, Grimes, Ugwu, Umerah (Adeloye 83mins), Sutherland (Egan 90mins), Timlin, Payne, McGlashan, Mekki. Subs not used: Blackman, Goddard.