Ebbsfleet boss Liam Daish praised his players’ response after a ‘horrendous’ day that saw their coach break down en route to Hereford.

Fleet put Saturday’s nightmare journey and 4-2 defeat behind them to give Blue Square Bet Premier title favourites Luton a test at Stonebridge Road on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Hatters won 3-1 but Daish (pictured) took plenty of positives from the game and believes wins are around the corner.

He said: “Saturday was a horrendous day, an absolute nightmare but after everything we went through, the players put in a big effort against Luton.

“We left for Hereford at 9am but by 10.50am we were stuck at services on the M40 for two hours waiting for a replacement coach.

“The coach breaking down affected us physically and mentally but I couldn’t have asked for any more on Monday. We were committed, worked hard for each other and never gave up.

“We gave away two poor goals but it wasn’t the time to address that because the lads gave me everything and I thanked them for their efforts.”

Daish handed teenager Lanre Azeez his first start of the season on the right of a three-pronged attack.

He impressed and could keep his place when Fleet travel to Lincoln on Saturday (3pm). That is followed by a trip to high-flying Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday (7.45pm).

“Lanre did himself no harm at all,” said Daish. “He ran at Luton’s left-back and was brave tackling back.

“We have two tough games coming up but if we match what we put in on Monday and get a couple of breaks, then we’ll soon be winning more games than we lose.”

Do you think Fleet can start a winning run at Lincoln? Have your say below.