I have not been over to watch the Wings as many times this season as in recent years. I could have managed a few more but I have been disheartened by a non-stop merry-go-round of player changes. It seems as if there has been an average of three in and three out every week since the season started. So much so that when I have turned up for a game, I can barely recognise two or three names in the squad from the previous visit.
You might think that Peter Taylor would have sorted this out or that the better players would have been retained until owner Mark Goldberg felt he had found a winning combination. Sadly, results and performances don't appear to have been anywhere near the top of the priority list and the Wings have struggled all season. Going into yesterday's game they had hit the bottom of the table and are locked with Billericay in a fight to avoid finishing last and dropping into Tier 7 of the football league for, I think, the first time.
Ebbsfleet are fighting for a play-off place at the other end of the table so I wasn't expecting a miracle yesterday. Nor were the Wings faithful from what I could gather. Nonetheless, with the home fans congregated on the Danson Park terrace, we were treated to an opening goal in front of us as Statham worked his way down the right wing and put a fine cross into the box for the arriving Tom Perry to meet in the centre of the box and flick on a header that beat Moulder to his right.
It was game-on at that point but Welling fell back and tried to hold their lead. The visitors didn't panic and set about building pressure. The familiar Chris Solly skipped about behind the defence prompted attacks from deep. Christian N'Guessan and Finney stood tall in the centre and largely kept the Wings forward pairing quiet after the goal. Strangely, the usually lively Dipo Akinyemi was out on the wing and his potential contribution was lessened.
My largest concern, however, was the Wings goalie. I had said farewell to the impressive Jack Sims on Twitter over a week ago and was now focusing on what looked like the smallest man on the pitch between the Wing's posts. This impression might have been exacerbated by the fact that he was wearing his hair in bunches to make himself look bigger. To be fair to his defence, they protected him fairly well but when he was called on to make his first real save, he could only parry the header which came back off the post and was buried by Finney. After that, it was just a matter of time and a penalty before half-time was thumped home with ease.
Welling heads dropped and it wasn't long after the break before all hope was lost. An innocuous looking Fleet attack down the Welling right resulted in a ball into the box which looked easy for the covering defender and goalie Boyce-Clark but there was no communication and the defender's control-touch beat the advancing Boyce-Clark for an embarrassing third.
On 68 minutes, Derry chased a long ball and made what looked to me like a frustrated two footed tackle from behind on Chris Solly who has arrived first and turned to shelter the ball. Derry managed to touch the ball which caused howls from the Wings fans behind the goal when he was subsequently booked but it was a clear-cut booking. I felt sorry for Solly who was the target of abuse all afternoon despite playing very well for the visitors and doing nothing to warrant it other being a former well-established higher league player.
Looking across the Ebbsfleet side, they had a number of ex-league professionals and looked confident from the off, even when going one-down. Finney and N-Guessan apart, they aren't a big side though and I thought Welling should have targeted this far more than they did.
Welling are staring down the gun at the moment and with Dorking and Maidstone yet to visit Park View Road, it's not looking good. It was sad walking around the ground yesterday to see the worsening state of repair. Fences to neighbouring gardens are gaping open and there is rubbish and equipment lying all over the place. The visiting terrace still has a broken section roped-off and there is an air of malaise around the place.
I hear Mark Goldberg may be selling up but you have to wonder who might be coming in and whether or not they will have the ambition and the funds to actually improve anything? Goldberg appears to have lost interest and it will be a sad indictment if he leaves the club in a lower division than when he acquired it.
Meanwhile in South Yorkshire, Johnnie Jackson's boys proved what a wasted season we have had by beating promotion-chasing Rotherham 1-0 courtesy of a classy finish from Player-of-the-Year, George Dobson.
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