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Ebbsfleet United winger Anthony Cook confident his side can see off Whitehawk to reach the play-off final

00:00, 06 May 2016

Anthony Cook is confident Ebbsfleet can finish the job on Sunday when they host Whitehawk in the second leg of their National League South play-off semi-final.

Fleet lead the tie 2-1 after the first leg in Brighton and if they avoid defeat will reach their second play-off final in three years.

Cook, who played in that game against Dover, is looking to win promotion for the second season running after helping Bromley to the championship in 2014/15.

Anthony Cook is in his second spell with Ebbsfleet United Picture: Ruth Cuerden
Anthony Cook is in his second spell with Ebbsfleet United Picture: Ruth Cuerden

He said: "It’s these games that you want to play in.

"Although we didn’t win the league and we’re very disappointed about that, when it comes down to the play-offs it’s a knockout competition. When you’re three games away from going up, you want to win. We all want to win out there.

"Since we knew we were going to be in the play-offs, we’ve been working towards this. We know what we’ve got to do and we’re trying our best.

"We’re very confident in our own ability. We know that if we do our jobs, hopefully we’ll get the job done back at home."

Cook had a great chance to make it 2-0 early in the second half on Wednesday night after Stuart Lewis had fired Ebbsfleet in front.

The winger was denied by Hawks keeper Craig Ross but when Cook was fouled by Sergio Torres just outside the penalty area, Danny Kedwell crashed home the free-kick.

Danny Mills' late goal for Whitehawk means the tie is still in the balance but Fleet start the second leg as favourites.

Cook said: "It’s definitely a good result to come away from home in the first leg of a play-off. We’ll take any victory. To win 2-1 and take that back to Stonebridge Road, we’re happy with it even though we know we could have an even bigger lead.

"I think we played the conditions well, we played the pitch well, created loads of chances.

"We did well on the night but we’re disappointed we didn’t get more goals. That’s football and we’ve got to take it back home now and do the business there.

"We put together a game plan, it went well and as a team we all did our jobs. We were unfortunate to concede a goal but we’ll take any victory away from home.

"It’s a very difficult place to come, Whitehawk, especially at this time of year when the pitch isn’t the best.

"We battled well, there were 11 men out there and we’re all together, determined to go up."

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