Dover came from behind to hold Ebbsfleet to a draw in Tuesday's Kent derby at Crabble.

Fit-again Fleet striker Darren McQueen scored his first goal for more than a year at the same ground where he last found the net.

But Connor Essam's header ensured it finished all square as Chris Kinnear's side ended a run of four straight defeats.

There were several surprises on the team sheet, most notably the attacking personnel of both sides.

Dover's Tobi Sho-Silva started his first match for almost a year, partnering Jamie Allen up front, while there was no Danny Kedwell in the Ebbsfleet side. McQueen and summer signing Michael Cheek started together for the first time as boss Daryl McMahon changed from a back four to a back three.

Sam Magri, back at his former club, missed out as Chris Bush was chosen to play alongside Dave Winfield and Jack King.

Andy Drury, like Kedwell, was rested, while Ebou Adams missed the game after being called up to the Gambia squad. Jack Powell was handed a start in midfield and Corey Whitely, having scored a spectacular fourth goal of the season in Saturday's 3-1 defeat to AFC Fylde, was preferred to Luke Coulson behind the strikers.

In the home defence, Moussa Diarra took Kevin Lokko's place while on-loan striker Ntumba Massanka wasn't even on the bench.

There was no great flow to the first half but it was Ebbsfleet who made the brighter start.

Myles Weston's cross-shot from the right had Mitch Walker back-pedalling in the Dover goal and McQueen almost latched onto a suicidal backpass which threatened to sell Walker short from around the halfway line.

McQueen did strike in the 12th minute, dropping his shoulder and threading a left-footed shot into the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area. Walker was caught out by a deflection off Tim Schmoll which left him wrong-footed.

Nortei Nortey and Essam both went into the book for late tackles on Whitely and McQueen and the home side, for whom Mitch Brundle hacked a shot over, were offering very little going forward.

Fleet were largely having things their own way but failed to add to their tally.

They won a series of corners and from one of these, Dean Rance found himself totally unmarked but headed Powell's right-wing delivery over the bar.

Ebbsfleet lost captain Winfield to injury just after the half-hour. Magri came on in a straight swap at centre-half but they didn't look right after the change.

Two minutes later, Essam got free in the middle and headed Brundle's free-kick from wide on the left beyond Nathan Ashmore.

Nortey, again in space, shot straight at Ashmore soon after before Brundle looped a header over from Josh Passley's deep cross after King had given the ball away.

Buoyed by the goal, Dover started the second half in confident mood while Fleet struggled to get their passing game going.

But, little by little, the men in blue shirts started to dominate possession.

Powell had a free-kick deflect wide of the near post and Magri headed Weston's deep cross back across goal but wide.

Cheek was offside when he stretched to turn Weston's shot over the bar and that was his last contribution as Fleet turned to Kedwell for the last 25 minutes.

Dover now had Inih Effiong and Kadel Daniel on the pitch and it was possession without penetration for the visitors as the game wore on.

Magri was offside when he headed Weston's free-kick wide and Shields fired into the side netting after running at George Smith.

Dover fancied their chances of nicking a winner and Effiong outmuscled three Fleet players before dragging a low shot wide.

Deep into stoppage-time, the Whites broke upfield and Bush did well to tackle Josh Passley before Ashmore stood up well to keep out Smith's snapshot.

Dover: Walker, Schmoll, Essam, Diarra, Passley, Brundle, Nortey, Tajbakhsh (Connors 76mins), G Smith, Sho-Silva (Effiong 65mins), Allen (Daniel 71mins). Subs not used: Jeffrey, Okosieme.

Ebbsfleet: Ashmore, Winfield (Magri 32mins), King, Bush, Rance, Powell, Weston, Whitely, Shields, McQueen (Drury 84mins), Cheek (Kedwell 68mins). Subs not used: Coulson, Wilson.

Attendance: 1,127 (253 away).