Ebbsfleet United

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Ebbsfleet 2-1 Lewes

Ebbsfleet United earned themselves some breathing room in the bottom half of the table after edging out Lewes at Stonebridge Road on Bank Holiday Monday.

Liam Daish's side clawed their way back from one goal down to claim all three points and open a bigger gap on the relegation places.

The match was evenly contested on the balance of play despite the home side boasting 58 per cent of ball possession.

The Rooks produced a superb first-half showing and had a number of chances to claim the lead but efforts from Chris Breach, Tim Rivers and Luke Rooney failed to find the target.

They finally took the lead in the 41st minute when Josh Jirbandey got on the end of a Michael Standing corner kick and fired a well-struck volley into the back of the net from a tight angle.

However, their lead was short-lived as the home side drew level in first-half injury time thanks to on-loan midfielder Rashid Yussuff.

The 19-year-old Charlton player fired his free kick into the wall but the ball fell kindly for him and he slid the ball past Lewes goalkeeper Rikki Banks and into the bottom-right corner.

Lewes made two enforced changes after the break with Joe Keehan and Chris Breach both sustaining ankle injuries.

Their absence was sorely felt by a youthful Lewes outfit, who battled valiantly to contain their opponents.

They held firm for almost a half-hour before the referee awarded the hosts a penalty for a foul on Guiseppe Sole by Sam Fisk.

Sole stepped up to take the resulting spot kick and made no mistake to help his side claim a vital three points.

Lewes brought on striker Kezie Ibe for the final stretch and he almost drew his side level but his header from inside the area flew wide of the right-hand post.

Ebbsfleet bookings: Charles, Ricketts, Opinel.

Lewes bookings: Barness, Rooney, Fisk.

Ref: S Burt (Northampton).

Att: 1,098.