The Fleet aim to make the most of back-to-back home games within four days of each other by building on increasingly good form at the Kuflink Stadium for the visit of Slough Town.
Dennis Kutrieb’s side certainly revelled in home comforts with a quickfire five-goal blast past St Albans City (pictured above) in a display very similar to those against Tonbridge and Welling earlier this season, when four of the goals arrived before the break.
Even in the cheery glow of that game’s aftermath, however, the Fleet boss was already concentrating minds on the challenge posed by Slough.
“We need to make sure we do the same on Saturday,” he said. “And then we play a tough game at Havant. If we think like, oh, we can turn up on Saturday and just get another win, definitely not. We need to work at least with the same intensity we did today and then see where we are after the game.”
‘Intensity’ is a word that could equally be applied to team selection, with the capture of Southend winger Ashley Nathaniel-George hot on the heels of debutants Louie Moulden and Shaquile Coulthirst helping to plug the gaps left by injuries in key areas for the Fleet.
It’s been a busy schedule for the Fleet with evening games following hot on the heels of Saturday fixtures but after this week – and aside from the Kent Senior Cup tie at Bromley – the team can for the most part enjoy an unbroken week-to-week run of matches.
A little like St Albans, Slough come to town with an upturn in performances and form. When Fleet won 3-1 at Arbour Park in October, the Rebels seemed set on repeating their league woes of the previous season. Shortly after that game, Slough ended a winless run of eight games, winning five of their next seven.
That took them from 21st to 11th place and although that points haul hasn’t quite been maintained since, Slough are certainly a different proposition. They led against Dulwich in midweek before losing 2-1 and have conceded six at in-form Chippenham recently, but by the same token have beaten Hampton 4-1 and run Oxford City close in two games.
A couple of young loanees and a number of academy graduates have aided the Rebels’ rise. The lively Tyler Goodrham has come in on loan from Portsmouth but the real success story is 19-year-old striker Alfonso Tenconi. A strong and powerful front runner, he wasn’t even in the squad when Fleet travelled to Middlesex in October but since his breakthrough into the first-team two weeks after that, he has hit eight goals in 15 games.
Eitel Goueth, Imran Kayani and Gabe George are other youngsters who have made the first-team lineup recently as joint managers Neil Baker and Jon Underwood make the most of a talented young crop.
At the opposite end of the scale, 40-year-old player-coach and striker Manny Williams has returned to Arbour Park and may still see some action from the bench.
The Rebels lost the 10-year veteran of their defence Guy Hollis to Havant & Waterlooville recently, while ex-Dover striker-turned-centre-back Ryan Bird is out long-term with a knee injury. Bosnian-born defender Edon Pruti – another yet to reach his twenties – has come in from Hanwell Town to fill that hole alongside the experienced Mark Nisbet.
Slough have just two wins on the road this season but they’re significant ones – at Havant and Maidstone – which would suggest that Kutrieb’s rally cry for his players to be on top of their game is absolutely the reminder everyone needs that the visitors will be poised to make the most of any over-confidence.
This will be Slough’s fifth visit to Stonebridge Road and their first for 17 years, when they came here in the FA Trophy. The last league meeting here between the clubs came at the turn of the century, the Rebels winning that one 2-1.
MATCHDAY SMALL PRINT ——–>
ONLINE SALES
Our online ticketing sales platform at fleetlive.club has tickets available until 12.00pm on matchday. We would advise pre-purchase for both your and our convenience in gaining admission to the ground.
On-the-day ticket sales continue to be available from the windows by main reception, accepting card and cash payments. Turnstiles open at 1pm but please remember they will only be accepting online tickets (printed out or on your device) and tickets bought at the windows on matchday. The dedicated season-ticket gate will continue to accept your season-ticket cards as usual.
Tickets may also be purchased before the game from local pubs The Edinburgh Castle and The Rose.
NEW CATERING OUTLET
Check out the new food stalls (to the left of the main turnstiles entrance, there is our Würtsel Haus German sausage experience and straight ahead as you enter the ground is the Manhattan Grill for all your burger, hot dog and more needs!). Pop-up bars are situated by the turnstiles and
CAR PARKING
Car-parking as per usual on matchdays is available at Ebbsfleet International Car Park C for £3. Please have the correct change if possible to aid our parking staff and again, we would recommend an early arrival. Please note that the areas near to Northfleet Station, namely Railway Street and Hamerton Road, have recently become resident/permit-only parking and non-valid vehicles will be ticketed. The area on Thamesway before the roundabout as you approach the Kuflink Stadium is a designated clearway – though that is not particularly apparent as you approach – so you are advised not to park here because of the risk of being ticketed.
MATCHDAY PROGRAMMES
If you wish to purchase your programme in advance for collection from our club shop before you enter the ground, you can do so either via our online shop or when booking your matchday tickets online.
Programmes are also on sale at the ground from the club shop, the popup bar as you enter the turnstiles, the Main Stand tea kiosk or in the Social Club behind the Plough End, costing £3. Advance-order programmes will be available to pick up from the club shop before the game and before you enter the turnstiles.
