A cup final awaits for the Fleet as an eight-goal thriller booked a spot in the Kent Senior Cup Final for the first time since the 2013/14 season.
Danny Searle named a Fleet team that included Dominic Poleon up front with Darren McQueen, while Ouss Cissé skippered the side and Chris Solly returned to action.
Chances at both ends of the pitch could have easily opened the scoring within a busy first two minutes. A shot from the edge of the area for Chatham saw that one denied by the post with the Fleet sending the ball up the other end to force a shot on target. A darting run from Matty Fanimo down the right picked out McQueen in the area but Ben Bridle-Card was able to gather before the Fleet’s No. 11 could get a second shot away.
The visitors continued to pose a threat in the final third and skipper Jack Evans’ free-kick struck the crossbar while a one-on-one situation with Chris Haigh saw the Fleet keeper do well to come out on top of that duel.
The opener came on 12 minutes when a neat low drive from Poleon arrowed its way into the back of the net from the edge of the box as Chatham failed to clear.
Play settled down with the Fleet beginning to maintain more possession – and Chatham were restricted to just a cross from the right that picked out Jamie Yila who sent his effort off target.
The Fleet doubled their lead and pushed closer to the cup final when Fanimo secured his first goal in a red shirt. Down the right he came again and a powerful strike curled into the bottom corner and away from the dive of Bridle-Card. Two goals nearly became three when Jordon Ibe found himself through on goal but he was well intercepted before he could pull the trigger.
Fleet seemed to have done enough to kill off Chatham as they passed across midfield with half-time approaching but there were two more goals in the added time. Chatham closed the gap in the 46th minute when Bryant Bilongo was caught and as his protests for a foul fell on deaf ears, Jordy Robins fired a low shot into the bottom right corner.
But the Fleet’s two-goal advantage was restored immediately when Darren McQueen was brought down in the area in the next attack – Poleon stepped up and made no mistake with the spot kick to earn his second of the night.
The second-half started as lively as the first had ended with attempts from the Fleet denied by the woodwork. The first came from Fanimo who beat the keeper and fired his shot on goal but it clipped the outside of the post after his pass towards Poleon somehow stayed out. And Franklin Domi saw his shot deflect off the post before Famimo was once again denied by the crossbar with a curling effort from inside the area that the goalkeeper nudged high.
Once again, Chatham fought back after seeming dead and buried and substitute Kareem Isiaka stretched in ahead of the Fleet defence to beat Haigh.
The visitors continued to push and for a short spell looked hungry for an equaliser but the next goal came Fleet’s way. Substitute Rashawn Scott linked up with McQueen just past the hour across the box and he kept the ball well to fire off a blistering shot low into the corner for 4-2.
The reoccurring sparks of threat from the visitors between goals continued with another Evans free-kick on target but again it was well-gathered by the impressive Haigh. Fleet finally looked to have wrapped things up with goal number five on 76 minutes when Poleon with a strong run fired a ball across the face of goal where McQueen walked it into the empty net with Bridle-Card stranded.
There was still time for more action and an eighth goal as Evans’ dangerous free-kick abilities set up Ashley Nzala to stab the ball home from close range on 84 minutes. A goalmouth scramble then produced a flare-up as Chatham tried to force the ball over the line but again saw that chance defended.
There was time for supporters to wait for the result of a penalty shootout at Dartford to discover that it would be Maidstone to provide the opposition in an attractive final, with venue and date to be confirmed.
EUFC: Haigh, Solly, Cisse, Bilongo (Shoolbred 83), Domi, Tanner (Scott 59), Cundle, Fanimo, Ibe (Manktelow 61), McQueen, Poleon.
CTFC: Bridle-Card, Scarlett (Isiaka 55), Broad, Robins (Stone-Richardson 79), Butler, Nzala, Evans, Da Costa (Gody 79), Yila, Cooper, Cooper, Ebuzoeme. Subs: Dunne, Beckwith
Attendance: 867 (305 Chatham)
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