Gozie Ugwu said the support Ebbsfleet received at Maidstone made the difference on derby day.

The travelling contingent was officially announced as 622 as Fleet fans packed their section of the Genco Stand at the Gallagher Stadium.

Ugwu sparked a huge roar when he opened the scoring midway through the first half and that set Ebbsfleet on their way to a 2-0 win.

He said: "The fans were unbelievable all game. Straight from kick-off, I could hear them and once you hear that, it gives you that little extra push to give it your all for them, cheering, and for the team.

"It was an awesome atmosphere. In games like this, you need all the support you can get and we definitely heard them. I definitely think the boys felt that support."

Ebbsfleet won't score a better team goal this season than the one which Ugwu tucked away in the 21st minute.

Michael Cheek collected the ball on halfway, turned away from two defenders and switched play to Corey Whitely, whose pinpoint cross bisected the goalkeeper and last defender, giving Ugwu a simple finish from close-range.

"It was a great counter-attack from the team," Ugwu said. "We worked it really well to go out wide and Corey put a great ball in, first time.

"I was very cautious not to get in there too early because I thought he may take a touch but he didn't, so it was just up to me to put it away.

"That was probably the only quality from the game, which shows how scrappy it was - but we can mix it up. We've come out of a scrappy game winning 2-0 so that's definitely a positive.

"Local derbies are scrappy, with everyone putting it in, so it was up to us to keep our heads. We knew we'd get opportunities and thankfully we were able to put them away."

Ebbsfleet have won all three games since Ugwu joined the club on loan from Chesterfield and he deserved his goal at Maidstone.

It was his first in a Fleet shirt for almost seven years, the last coming during a previous loan spell in the same division while Liam Daish was in charge.

Ugwu said: "I'm really enjoying it. The fans and the players have all welcomed me in and it's just like old times to be fair.

"I want to make an impact in whatever way I can, whether that's assists, goals or being a nuisance up top. I'll do what I can for the team.

"In the first two games I managed to make an impact with a couple of assists and this game, I was able to get a goal.

"There's always a team that makes a late surge for the play-offs but we'll just take each game as it comes. We're not looking too far ahead.

"We're looking at the next game, which is Halifax away, so we'll try to get a result and I believe that if we carry on doing that, the results will take care of themselves.

"I've come here feeling fit and on top of that, the boys are great footballers.

"I've noticed that straight away as soon as I came in and then you've got the fans 100% behind us so it's a good place to be right now."

Read our match report from Ebbsfleet's 2-0 win at Maidstone and reaction from manager Garry Hill