Wealdstone 2 Ebbsfleet United 1 match report: Chris Solly sees red in National League defeat after Josh Wright equaliser

The heroics of Ebbsfleet keeper Mark Cousins were not enough to prevent his team falling to defeat at Wealdstone in the National League on Saturday.

Cousins produced a string of fine saves but Fleet captain Chris Solly saw red late in the second half, in what proved to be the game’s decisive moment.

The Fleet were without top scorer Dominic Poleon - who bagged a birthday hat-trick while on international duty on Thursday - while Wealdstone had two players absent for the same reason, Ashley Charles and Alex Dyer.

Fleet opted for Nathan Odokonyero to lead the line ahead of Shaq Coulthirst while Billy Clifford got the nod against his former club, although he had little impact on the game.

Despite an early scare when a wayward Wealdstone backpass hit the post, it was the home side that settled quickest in the hot conditions and looked the more dangerous.

It needed a smart Chris Solly block to deny Micah Obiero in the ninth minute before Thavon Campbell dragged his shot wide.

A slip by Joe Martin let in Obiero but he was denied by Cousins, who turned his shot behind for a corner.

Wealdstone forced nine corners in the first half, underlining their dominance and the number of saves that Cousins had to make.

He denied Abdulsabur Abdulmalik and Obiero again, the latter a stunning one-handed save to his left.

Fleet were unable to get much going, their best chance seeing a big switch of play to set up Ben Chapman. He cut in from the left and saw his right-foot shot pushed away to safety by keeper Jed Ward.

A short corner routine nearly opened up a chance for Luke O’Neill but hit shot was deflected wide while another alarm for Ward ended with Toby Edser unable to take advantage.

Obiero took his tally to first-half shots to five