Alty 2 Ebbsfleet United 0

7:13pm Tuesday 7th October 2008

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THREE wins, three clean sheets and Alty are slowly rebuilding Fortress Moss Lane.

The ground’s reputation as an awkward place to visit took a bit of a battering during the first month of the new campaign after the Robins failed to win any of their first four home games.

But since then, they have won three straight - not even conceding a goal - a run which has included victories over two top six sides.

Their latest scalp was possibly their most impressive, Alty comfortably beating Ebbsfleet United 2-0 thanks to first half goals from revitalised forward duo Colin Little and Chris Senior.

Despite a strong start from Ebbsfleet, the Robins could have been ahead within five minutes, Greg Young rising to meet a Lee Elam corner, only to see his header cleared off the line.

Elam came close himself when his shot was deflected wide of the post, while Senior ended a mazy run by firing narrowly over the bar.

Blustery conditions made it difficult for either team to play any kind of coherent football though, so it was unsurprising that the eventual breakthrough came from a set piece.

When Senior was fouled just outside the penalty area, Little curled a sublime free kick into the corner of Lance Cronin’s net.

That gave Alty the encouragement they needed to keep up the pressure - although Michael Gash did threaten with a shot that was well saved by Coburn - and they doubled their lead on the stroke of half time.

A superb through ball from Mark McGregor released Senior and the striker kept his calm to finish well.

The expected revival came from Ebbsfleet after the break but they were confronted by a stubborn Robins rearguard and weren’t helped by their own profligacy.

Captain Jamie Hand flashed an effort wide of Coburn’s goal, while Neil Barrett headed badly over the bar after launching himself at Luke Moore’s cross.

A moment of respite saw Little float a free kick over the bar, unable to rekindle his first half magic.

Despite dominating the chances though, Ebbsfleet never looked likely to score.

Their inability in front of goal continued as both Stacy Long and Craig Stone were off target in the final 10 minutes and Alty were able to hold on.

The Robins could even have been three up a minute from time, but substitute Dale Johnson’s chip sailed over the bar after he had impressively won possession.