Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb reacts to 1-1 draw with Dorking Wanderers in National League South

Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb dismissed the suggestion that his side showed Dorking Wanderers too much respect on Saturday.

The Fleet were dominated for long spells by an impressive Dorking outfit, who were only held to a 1-1 draw by the brilliance of home keeper Louie Moulden in National League South.

Kutrieb felt his side were good in the first half but struggled after the break until a late rally nearly produced an unexpected Ebbsfleet winner.

“I was pretty happy with them in the first half, I thought in some spells we were a little bit exposed and that’s the reason why we changed a little bit in the second half,” said Kutrieb.

“Maybe then we thought we needed to stay deeper and defend deeper. But we’re a team on the front foot, we need to attack, press and win balls in the opponents’ half and go forward straight away.

“If we get the winner late in the game when we had the two chances, and for me it was clear and obvious that we would get chances, if you take them and get a winner then no-one asks about respect or we could have done better.

“We suffered in this game, and it was clear that we’d suffer in some situations as they are a strong side, they are second in the league and for a long time they were first.

“Of course, they have the quality and they are good, but I think over the 90 minutes we did well.

“We had a spell in the second half when I was not happy but first half I was fine, if Shaq hits the target then we would have led 2-1 at half-time and everything would have been different.

“At the end of the day, we take the point and keep on going from here.”

The Fleet spent plenty of time after the break being pushed back in their own half.

They also sat deeper as a team, and Kutrieb felt it wasn’t until late