Ebbsfleet United 0 Hartlepool United 1 match report: Fleet remain in National League relegation zone

Shotshy Ebbsfleet remain in the National League relegation zone after losing to Hartlepool on Saturday.

With many of the teams around them not in action due to the cold weather, the Fleet failed to take advantage with a lacklustre display against a Hartlepool team who had not kept a clean sheet in their previous 17 league games.

The visitors were keen to impress new head coach Kevin Phillips, the former Sunderland striker watched the game from the stands and was bizarrely announced in his position during the first half of the game.

Ebbsfleet made three changes from the side that beat Wealdstone a fortnight ago with a debut for Declan Skura while Luke O’Neill and Billy Clifford also started.

Hartlepool fielded an unchanged starting XI from the one that was knocked out by Hampton on penalties in the FA Trophy last weekend.

The visitors are due to appoint former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips as their new manager and he watched this from the stands having met the players around an hour before kick-off.

Skura, who played in a behind-closed doors friendly at Charlton last week, had a nervy start and was nearly left red-faced inside five minutes when his clearance from inside his own box hit a team-mate. But his blushes were spared when Hartlepool’s Anthony Mancini wastefully dragged his shot wide of the far post.

Ebbsfleet, as they did against Wealdstone, were again happy to concede possession and territory but the visitors were restricted to long-range shots until Joe Grey beat the offside trap just before the half-hour but could only shoot at keeper Mark Cousins from an angle.

It took Ebbsfleet 44 minutes to register a shot at goal, with two arriving inside a minute when first Billy Clifford’s low effort was saved by