Ebbsfleet United 5 Chatham Town 3: DFDS Kent Senior Cup semi-final at the Kuflink Stadium, Stonebridge Road - Dominic Poleon and Darren McQueen score twice for National League side

Ebbsfleet United claimed a place in the Kent Senior Cup final after winning a thrilling game against Chatham Town.

Fleet led 3-1 at the break with two goals for Dominic Poleon - the second a penalty - and a Matty Fanimo strike. Jordy Robins and Kareem Isiaka netted either side of half-time to keep Chats in the tie but Darren McQueen struck twice before Chats added another late on through Ashley Nzala, the match finishing 5-3.

A first competitive match between the sides since 2011 saw National League Fleet hosting Isthmian Premier Division promotion-chasers Chatham for a place in the county cup final.

Fleet were in pursuit of a first Kent Cup final appearance in a decade and home boss Danny Searle mixed his team up, including several experienced players, while Kevin Hake’s Chatham were looking to claim a second successive county final spot.

Chatham had some big early chances that they failed to convert before Fleet took a 12th-minute lead.

A frantic start to the match saw Chats captain Jack Evans stab a shot narrowly wide, while at the other end, Miguel Scarlett cleared off the line to deny Darren McQueen.

Within the first 10 minutes Chats had seen Evans hit the woodwork from a free-kick and both Jamie Yila and Ashley Nzala denied by Fleet keeper Chris Haigh, saving both efforts with his feet.

Poleon opened the scoring with a low strike beyond Chatham goalie Ben Bridle-Card and Fanimo struck from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 after half an hour.

Chats had missed another golden opportunity inbetween those goals as Yila shot wide from close range. They were to find the net before the half was out.

Fleet lost possession in the middle of the pitch and Chatham capitalised on the break, Nzala playing in Robins, and he