By Tom Norton

Stuart Maynard was delighted with Wealdstone’s dominant first-half display after they beat Ebbsfleet United 2-1 at Grosvenor Vale on a scorching Saturday afternoon.

Tahvon Campbell opened the scoring just after the hour mark, rifling the ball beyond Mark Cousins in the Ebbsfleet net.

But the visitors responded just minutes later with a brilliantly worked corner for Joshua Wright to head home an equaliser.

Maynard’s men were then awarded a penalty after Chris Solly was sent off for a challenge on Campbell, who tucked the spot-kick away to seal a much-needed win for the hosts, who saw Micah Obiero dismissed for a second bookable offence late on.

And the Stones boss was full of praise for his side, as they ended a three-match losing run in the National League.

“I thought in the first half we could have been four or five up. I thought the lads were outstanding,” he told the club website.

“It’s hard sometimes with such a young group to lose that confidence so quickly. We’re losing three on the bounce, but I think we’ve had one bad half away at Hartlepool last week.

"We had a bad half of football where we weren’t even that bad but we weren’t as fluent as what we have been. We didn’t dominate the game as well as what we have in the first half.

"But for the lads to put in a performance like that in 30-degree heat – the intensity, the press, the saves from their goalie. I think their goalie was man of the match after 20 minutes!”

Maynard then went on to suggest that he was never worried about his team’s capacity to score in the game, adding: “I felt like it was one of those days that the goal was coming.

“I think half-time came just at the right time for them. If we'd had another five minutes we would've scored – maybe one or two. It was down to us as a management team because there was a lot tactically we could say at half time. It was just keeping the lads calm and keeping that belief.”

Maynard was also keen to point out Campbell’s goalscoring feats after being asked about the striker’s performance.

“Sometimes with goalscorers, they do get low on confident when they’re missing chances, but Tahv’s a little bit unique,” he said.

“He believes in himself that much because we create chances, he knows that even when the chances don’t come for him, he knows he’s going to create his own chances.

"If we can get good quality into his feet, he just keeps that belief and he’s not going to shy away from it.”

Maynard’s side now look ahead to another home fixture up against Altrincham on Saturday, before heading to Dorking on Tuesday.