Fleet fans will dust off their satnavs again for the weekend but before that have one last hurrah at the Kuflink Stadium as the run of four home games come to a conclusion.
It’s St Albans City under the lights for the second season running and the home crowd will certainly not be disappointed if they get anything approaching the performance of last February’s fixture, when Fleet rattled in five goals without reply.
Dennis Kutrieb’s side achieved the double over the Saints in 2021/22, gaining revenge for the previous season when City came back from two goals down to win at Clarence Park.
Going into a very busy period for the squad with Emirates FA Cup and Isuzu FA Trophy action to come, the Fleet boss may need to ring the changes after a fiery derby match against Welling United on Saturday – plus trips to Hemel and Havant to come.
The likes of a fresh Ben Chapman and Jack Paxman stand ready while both Alex Finney and Elliott Romain were back in the squad for the FA Cup match against Sevenoaks Town.
St Albans, under new interim management since long-term boss Ian Allinson made way, have risen to sit just outside the play-off places. The man in charge currently is experienced midfielder David Noble who has put his boots to one side for now and masterminded a 3-0 win at Welling last week, followed up by a 1-1 draw at home to Dartford and he’ll be hoping to take points from a third Kent side in a row when his team come to the Kuflink Stadium on Tuesday night.
Noble hasn’t made drastic changes since taking charge. Indeed the City side will not show a huge number of personnel differences from the team that last played here, with only a handful of new signings in the door. City have changed the way they play of late, however, and will be looking for top scorer Shaun Jeffers to continue his recent good form after a relatively slow start for the former Fleet trialist compared to his prolific strike rate of previous seasons.
His strike partner Mitchell Weiss has been out injured for a while, meaning summer arrival from Biggleswade Town Joe Neal helps leads the line but it will be another new signing – from Hendon – wide man Tafari Moore, that Fleet will hope to keep quiet. Midfielders Romeo Akinola and Liam Sole are likely to remain on the sidelines although Stevenage loanee defender Mackye Townsend-West could return.
And the Saints defence is one the Fleet will need to breach for the three points – the visitors haven’t conceded more than a goal in a league game this season and have let in just nine in total. Of course, that sort of record meant nothing to Kutrieb’s men when they demolished Taunton’s proud defensive record and that will be the aim again under the Tuesday night lights.
MATCHDAY SMALL PRINT ——–>
ONLINE SALES
Our online ticketing sales platform at fleetlive.club has tickets available until 5.00pm on Tuesday evening. We would advise pre-purchase for both your and our convenience in gaining admission to the ground.
On-the-day ticket sales are available from the windows by main reception, accepting card and cash payments. Turnstiles open at 6pm but they will only accept online tickets (printed out or on your device) and tickets bought at the windows on matchday. There is a dedicated gate for season-ticket holders but they may also use their cards through other turnstile gates.
MAIN STAND BAR
There is no segregation for this game – so all supporters are welcome in our Main Stand Bar and Social Club bar. To access the Main Stand bar, enter through the turnstiles and walk the length of the gangway in the Main Stand to the door at the Swanscombe (uncovered) End. There is signage pointing you in the direction. Dennis Kutrieb does a pre-match teamsheet run-through and he and other players attend the bar post-match as well for the man of the match presentation.
CATERING OUTLETS
Check out our 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 also situated near to the turnstiles and by ‘Geeks Corner’ between the Plough End and old stand. We have a Hofmeister popups to be found in the marquee between the main turnstiles entrance and the Main Stand.
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, are 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.cccc. c c c.
