Ebbsfleet United manager Josh Wright praises Ronny Nelson, Mustapha Olagunju and Maxx Manktelow after FA Cup first-round defeat at Grimsby Town

Manager Josh Wright praised Ebbsfleet's "sensational" back three after their FA Cup exit at Grimsby.

The Fleet boss opted to move Ben Chapman back to midfield and that left his most inexperienced defenders in Ronny Nelson, Mustapha Olagunju and Maxx Manktelow to try and contain League 2's most expansive attack.

That it needed a red card and a contentious penalty call to give Grimsby a helping hand to progress underlined just how far the trio had come from their last outing together in the defeat at Enfield Town last month.

"That's the thing you get with younger, not hungrier, boys but a younger, fearless-type mentality," explained Wright.

"What all three of them have got is athleticism, height, pace that comes with it, but they're all eager. They're all eager to defend well, they're all eager to play, and that's exactly what I want in my centre-halves.

"You can talk about experience and I'm one for experience. I like it. When I'm picking a team, (at) a daunting place (against) a team that score a hell of a lot of goals, and you're thinking, the age of our back three.

"I thought they were sensational. They were front-footed, aggressive in their defending, calm, composed, and all three of them had a really good game.

"Max came in there, who hasn't played much this year for us, and to play in that role, he put in a great shift. Ronny's getting better and better and Mustapha's been ever-present all year.

"But the whole team, the shape, what I asked them to give me in possession, out of possession, the press, the compactness, the discipline, everything was on point up until, obviously, what happened towards the end of the first half.

"It's a shame that it unravelled from there, but we have to take a lot of positives."

Ebbsfle