Ebbsfleet United 1 Tonbridge Angels 2 match report: Ebbsfleet suffer first defeat of the season

Tonbridge turned the formbook upside down with a magnificent derby win at National League South leaders Ebbsfleet.

Goals from centre-backs Ben Swift and Sonny Miles inflicted a first defeat of the season in any competition on the Fleet, who remain top after Dartford lost at Farnborough.

But it was all about Jay Saunders’ Tonbridge side at a club he used to play for, with the Angels defending brilliantly throughout.

Ebbsfleet were given an early warning by the visitors when inside the second minute, home captain Chris Solly had to block Dejon Golding’s shot.

Louis Collins’ effort from a Jamie Fielding cross was diverted behind for a corner before Tonbridge took the lead on 10 minutes.

A cross from the right fell perfectly for Ben Swift, who needed no second invitation to drill home his first Angels goal.

It needed a cynical Ben Chapman block on Joe Turner, which earned him a yellow card, to deny Tonbridge a promising break but thereafter the remainder of the half was more about the visitors keeping an excellent shape and trying to catch the Fleet on the counter attack.

Tonbridge keeper Jon Henly produced two excellent first-half stops, the first an instinctive arm to keep out Luke O’Neill’s close-range header from an Omari Sterling-James free-kick.

Henly then denied Bingham on the half-hour and leading scorer Dominic Poleon somehow blazed the rebound over from close range.

Tonbridge’s Tariq Hinds was booked for a foul on Greg Cundle and Henly’s timewasting antics earned him a yellow card five minutes before half-time.

It was a perfect half for Jay Saunders’ men who frustrated an Ebbsfleet side that lacked their usual fluidity.

All that good work was wiped out within two minutes of the second half, however, when Kieran