Until now, Kent derbies were something Dennis Kutrieb had only experienced in relative silence. The three against Maidstone, Dartford and Welling last season were played behind closed doors – little different in intensity to any other fixture in that ultimately abortive campaign.
But now come two in quick succession, both at the Kuflink Stadium and both eagerly awaited by supporters who missed out on the quest for bragging rights last season. In fact it’s almost two years since supporters enjoyed a Kent derby in person and now there are two upcoming in three days.
With Welling up first, it’s a chance to avenge the 4-3 defeat in the last game of 2020/21. Whereas the other two Kent derbies of that campaign were fairly sterile goalless draws, the meeting at Park View Road was – like Fleet’s most recent game – a seven-goal thriller with the Wings then under the stewardship of former Fleet boss and more recently director of football Steve Lovell.
Unlike the Hungerford game last Saturday, however, it was Welling who prevailed in that one.
“It’s a big derby for us and we got a heavy defeat there with the 4-3, it was a tough one to take,” said Kutrieb of that last game of last season. “We have it in our minds and we want to make it better definitely with all our fans to win the derby. We will definitely not take Welling lightly because they’ve had some great results in the last weeks so it’s a tough game for us.
“The fans have a massive chance to push our boys for both games because they’re both derbies. It doesn’t matter if there’s 3,000 or 1,000 – a derby is a derby. So we need to make sure that we don’t think about Tuesday, we need to do Saturday and after Saturday we can talk about Tuesday.”
The appointment of the experienced Peter Taylor has seen the Wings’ fortunes rise sky-high in the two months since the former England caretaker boss walked into the building. Had Fleet taken on the low-confidence, out-of-luck Welling that lost 6-0 at Dartford prior to Taylor’s appointment, then similar predictions for tomorrow might have carried some weight.
But it would be a bold prediction to talk of such easy pickings now. Taylor has taken Welling from the pits of relegation despair to the comfortable heights of mid-table. A couple of personnel changes have helped, not least former Blackpool U23 goalkeeper Jack Sims – a former teammate of Christian N’Guessan – who has kept three clean sheets and been featured in several team of the week selections since his arrival.
Loanee Arthur Penney from Millwall is another who has propped up the backline well since his arrival, joined by the son of former Spurs and Brentford player Brian Statham, Maxwell having signed from Hornchurch, via Watford’s U23s.
Taylor has also brought in Maltese international utility player Joe Muscatt, O’Shane Stewart from Southend who played against us in pre-season and former Maldon & Tiptree prolific striker Danny Parrish from Wealdstone. Muscatt and Parrish, however, are likely to struggle to be fit to play this weekend.
The Wings have kept hold of the troublesome two from last season’s 4-3 win over the Fleet, midfielder Olu Durojaiye and striker Dipo Akinyemi who both turned in excellent performances on that February night. Akinyemi may well be out this Saturday, however, having injured himself in the pre-match warmup last weekend and ex-Gillingham player Bradley Stevenson could deputise.
The experienced Daniel Carr is another option up front, the striker having played in Finland, India, Sweden and Cyprus as well as for Dulwich Hamlet, Woking, Shamrock Rovers and had bit-parts at a number of EFL clubs.
Welling have claimed four wins in their last seven league games and while those have come against sides in the bottom half of the table – Chippenham, Braintree, Billericay and Tonbridge – it has bred confidence that the Fleet will be on guard against.
The Wings come to the Kuflink Stadium for the first time since a 5-1 defeat back in 2017 – and this season’s away form has earned them a win and a draw, but both of those have come in their last three roadtrips.
“I’m sure Ebbsfleet will have more ball than us,” Taylor said ahead of Saturday’s game. “There might be times where we just counterattack so that [passing and possession] is where we’ve got to get better. I’m pleased with our progress, but I would like us to cause other teams problems. Sometimes if you get a couple of points, it’s how the players react, sometimes they think they haven’t got to work as hard.”
MATCHDAY SMALL PRINT —————————->
ONLINE SALES
Our online ticketing sales platform at fleetlive.club currently has tickets available for our next four matches. Again, we would advise pre-purchase for both your and our convenience in gaining admission to the ground. Online ticket sales for this Saturday’s game cease at noon on Saturday matchdays.
On-the-day ticket sales will, however, continue to be available from the windows by main reception from 1pm, 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.
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. 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.
Please be aware there is a temporary three-way traffic light control at the top of Stonebridge Hill towards Northfleet High Street so please plan your journeys accordingly.
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.
Programme sales online will cease at 10.30am on Saturday morning and thereafter the remainder will be sold at the ground. You can buy copies from the club shop or in the Social Club behind the Plough End.
Advance programmes will be available to pick up from reception before the game.
