Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb felt his side’s spirit led them to a comeback win at Eastbourne on Tuesday night.

The Fleet are the early pacesetters in National League South after a third straight win, twice coming from behind before winning with only 10 men after keeper Chris Haigh came off injured with 12 minutes left.

Luke O’Neill’s first Ebbsfleet goal, a header five minutes from time, ensured they preserved their 100 per cent record.

Victory certainly came at a cost for the Fleet with Haigh suffering a broken ankle. He has already undergone surgery but faces a long spell on the sidelines.

“A big compliment to the group,” said Kutrieb. “We needed a wake-up call when Haighy got injured.

“We went down to 10 men because obviously I got punished when I made the third substitution too early, but I had the feeling I had to do it. As a manager always in your mind you think if something happens then you can’t react any more.

“Maybe that’s what the boys needed after (the injury to) Haighy, to turn up and play what they are able to play.

“I told the boys when Haighy can’t play anymore and someone needs to go in goal that now is their time to turn up and show they are able to play.

“With this point I was sure they would get something out of the game. I could see there was a spirit straight away. That’s exactly what we needed, it was not a good game from us.

“If you go to 10 and then nine men, one clearance on the line so you can say it was a lucky win because they deserved to get something out of the game. But from our point of view I couldn’t care less as we needed the three points and that’s the only thing that matters.”

Ebbsfleet, who had Christian N’Guessan dismissed for a second yellow card in stoppage time, finished the game with nine men.

Player-of-the-year Ben Chapman went in goal after Haigh’s injury, ticking off another position on the pitch in an Ebbsfleet shirt for their most reliable and versatile player.

“The boys took responsibility, two or three said they would go in goal - maybe it’s a child’s dream as they can kick the ball as long as they can!” said Kutrieb.

“Chapo loves it anyway, he was the right player there. They had two shots on target once we were down to 10 men so that’s outstanding to defend so well and don’t have shots. I can’t be any prouder.

“I feel really sorry for Haighy. He had an outstanding pre-season and is really good for us.

“I think it’s a serious injury but we don’t know yet, we need to assess it and then we’ll know more.”

Ebbsfleet will host Farnborough, who feature former Fleet midfielder Sam Deering among their ranks, at Stonebridge Road this Saturday.

The newly-promoted side picked up their first win of the season on Tuesday night, 1-0 at home to Taunton.

“We need to recover quickly as Farnborough are a really hard opponent for us,” noted the Fleet boss.

“We need to get ready for Saturday, you’ve got a few days to be happy and delighted and then you need to go again.

“Farnborough are an outstanding team with good, experienced players with Ricky Holmes, Sam Deering, Kevin Lokko and Jack Turner in goal.

“It’s not a young side that got promoted, we need to be careful and on top of them otherwise we will have a bad Saturday.”