Striker Danny Kedwell is expecting a cracking game when Ebbsfleet United and Maidstone United meet in the play-off final on Saturday.
With a day to go until the finale – and arguably the biggest game of the Kent Non-League season, after speaking to Maidstone United boss Jay Saunders in midweek, we’ve now been speaking with Ebbsfleet United striker Danny Kedwell.
Former Gills favourite, Kedwell admitted he can’t wait to play: “These are the sort of games that you have to enjoy and get a buzz off no matter what the result.”
“Obviously after the season that both sides have had, we both deserve to be there on performances that we’ve put in during the season and on final positions in the League. It’ll be a good game and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Semi Finals second leg last weekend were played in scorching temperatures and we wondered just how much the conditions took out of Kedwell and his team mates.
He told us, “We’re a fit team anyway – we’ve trained really hard this year three times a week which we’ve found has been a bit of an advantage on other teams in the League. We’re a fit team as I say and I think that we’ve recovered well after the conditions last Sunday.”
Reflecting on the Fleet’s penalty shoot-out triumph, Kedwell said, “I think we had the harder Semi Final what with Truro playing a lot of games in the lead up to the Semi Finals.”
“Meanwhile, everyone knows what teams are like when they sneak into the Play Offs at the death and Whitehawk were on a run and were the in form team going in.”
“We knew it would be tough as Whitehawk are a great side and they should have been up there all season long, but had a bad run which they just about recovered from.”
“They picked up with eight wins in ten games to make it on the last day of the season and they took that form into the Semi Final and gave us two really tough games.”
“Delighted obviously that we won on penalties and,” Danny added smiling, “before you ask I was going to take the last pen!”
A lot of people consider that a win in the Play Offs would be second best for Ebbsfleet when you bear in mind that the Fleet led the National League South table for an incredible 38 games during the season.
Kedwell though isn’t one of them. “No don’t think we’ll be taking “second-best” if we do win on Saturday as that’s football isn’t it?”
He then explained why, “We were top of the League from the second game of the season to I think it was second last game of the season, it was a bit gutting but let’s face it, if we go up through the Play Offs you still get promoted, so in the end we’ve still achieved what we set out to do in August.”
Reflecting on the games between the two sides during the season, the Fleet front man said, “At their place early in the season we played really well and managed to win the game 2-0.”
“The home game we dominated the whole game but lost 0-1, so we’ll have to make sure that we perform the same way, but not I hope with the same result.”
“It will be a good game in front of a full Stonebridge Road. I think that there was a handful of tickets left on Friday morning but they’ll go I’m sure.”
“I know just how great days like this can be as I was in the AFC Wimbledon team that won into the Football League through Conference Play Offs, and you’ve really got to enjoy these days and if they come off it’s even better.”
“I’ve done it before and I can’t see why we can’t do it on Saturday. You couldn’t really have written any better if you’d have tried – Ebbsfleet against Maidstone in the Play Offs Final – it’s a massive game and it’s going to be a cracking day I’m sure…”