The Fleet started 2016 with a goalless draw away at Concord Rangers, maintaining their unbeaten run away from home in the league this season, in what was an uneventful game on Saturday.

There were two changes from the team that beat Whitehawk on Monday, one tactical and one enforced. Top Scorer Matty Godden was out injured which meant that Charlie Sheringham started up front with Danny Kedwell.

Anthony Cook came into left-wing back in place of Danny Haynes as Daryl McMahon opted to stick with a 3-5-2 formation. Tom Bonner served the final part of his three-game ban.

Concord had the better of the first half, creating several chances and forcing Brandon Hall into several reflex saves. Concord passed the ball around well and dominated the midfield, similar to when they had played at Stonebridge Road a week earlier.

The Fleet struggled to pass the ball around fluidly and didn’t create any clear-cut chances until Jordan Parkes put the ball through to Sheringham to finish but the linesman already had his flag up. Judging by the lack of complaints from the visitors, it was probably the right decision.

It took until the final minutes of the first half for Ebbsfleet to really get a foothold in the game as the ball was spread out wide, Matt Fish cut inside and played a brilliant lobbed pass towards the onrushing Anthony Cook, which was fumbled by the Concord keeper, and the ball bounced off Cook’s head and back into the goalkeeper’s grasp.

Just before the half-time whistle, a free-kick from the right was floated into the box by Jordan Parkes but somehow evaded the cluster of players.

The second half saw a slight improvement from the Fleet, but Concord became more defensive, putting more bodies behind the ball. McMahon’s side saw a lot more of the ball than they did in the first half but clear-cut chances were hard to come by.

The Concord goalmouth had become a muddy quagmire by this point and one of the most promising moments of the half came via a goalmouth scramble in the mud, where several Ebbsfleet players swung a boot towards the ball but Concord were able to clear their lines.

There was one final opportunity where another floated Parkes set-piece was cleared just as several Fleet players were about to close in.

Ebbsfleet: Hall, Fish, Acheampong, Clark, Pooley, Cook, Rance, S Lewis (Kissock 70mins), Parkes, Sheringham (Haynes 70mins), Kedwell. Subs not used: Miles, Osborne, West. Attendance: 767.