Daryl McMahon praised his defence after the 1-0 win at Dartford on Bank Holiday Monday.

An early goal from Jordan Parkes won the game at Princes Park although Fleet came under pressure before and after Dean Rance was sent off for two bookable offences.

McMahon said: "I’m delighted with the win, especially going down to 10 men. They put a lot of bodies in our box and I thought we defended really well.

"We stood strong, it’s great to keep a clean sheet and I thought we did really well.

"It was an ugly game. There wasn’t loads of quality from either side.

"We got the goal, Clarky had a chance, Adam at the end, Haynesy had a little chance but there wasn’t anything else in the game other than that."

Persistent running from Stuart Lewis down the Fleet right led to the only goal of the game.

McMahon said: "I thought Stuart, again, was outstanding. I don’t know how he’s run that much in two games in three days. He’s been excellent, Stuey, again.

"He never gave up, it was a good cross, Matty Godden kept it alive and then Parkesy’s on the spot to get a tap-in."

Rance's first yellow card was questionable to say the least. Tom Bonner won the ball with a clean tackle but referee Sam Purkiss blew for a foul - and then booked Rance.

He later dismissed Rance after the midfielder caught Lee Noble late as both players challenged for a loose ball.

McMahon said: "The first one I didn’t think was a yellow card, the second one was.

"There’s nothing we can do about it now, he’s going to be suspended so we’ll take it on the chin."

Ebbsfleet remain second in Vanarama National League South although they're now just three points behind leaders Bath with a game in hand. They host Maidenhead on Saturday.