Chesterfield suffered a last-gasp 4-3 defeat to second-placed Bromley, who twice came from behind to seal the points in time added on.
The Spireites led at the break through a Will Grigg penalty and, once ahead, looked well in control.
Things were very different after the interval after two Michael Cheek goals put the home side ahead. A stunning Ollie Banks blast levelled things up before Tom Naylor glanced home to regain the advantage.
Cheek levelled with just five minutes remaining before Sam Woods completed the fairytale ending for the Ravens.
While Bromley were easing their way through to the last eight of the FA Trophy, the Spireites had to settle for a home league draw against a lively Ebbsfleet side who fully deserved to share the spoils.
Paul Cook will have been expecting the Ravens to offer an even tougher challenge and will have hoped for an improved performance against the Spireites’ closest league challengers who had the added advantage of hosting the fixture on their synthetic playing surface that has seen them victorious over the Spireites on the last two visits to Hayes Lane.
Cook chose to make three changes from the Ebbsfleet starting line up. In came Ryheem Sheckleford, Bailey Clements and Ollie Banks as Jeff King, Armando Dobra and Branden Horton made way.
The largest gate of the season greeted the two teams with an impressive following from Derbyshire boosting the attendance. The Spireites won the toss and Bromley attacked straight from the kick-off.
The Spireites soon looked to develop their possession based game and went close as Banks slotted the ball across the face of goal but no blue shirt was able to connect.
It was end-to-end stuff as a quick Bromley break saw Kamari Grant fire wide of Harry Tyrer’s right upright from 20 yards.
Some neat inter-play between Clements and Michael Jacobs ended as Jacobs’ ball into the area was cut out.
A couple of Bromley corners in quick succession ended with Louis Dennis header strongly but wide of Tyrer’s left-hand post.
Great play between Jacobs and Liam Mandeville saw Jacobs’ final looped effort held well by former Spireites keeper Grant Smith.
An off-side flag ended a promising move after Mandeville and Naylor had provided Grigg with the ammunition.
Just after the half hour mark the Spireites earned a penalty after Ben Karauhaus brought down Darren Oldaker just inside the area. Grigg hit coolly home to notch his 20th strike of the season.
It was goal and almost two after Naylor burst into the box and laid a neat diagonal ball backwards for Jacobs to run onto, he connected but fired waywardly over.
Jacobs was again in the action as he fed Banks in the area; Banks hit for goal and forced Smith to palm away to safety.
There was just one minute added and thankfully the Josh Passley free-kick posed no danger as the Spireites eased their way to the interval with their precious lead intact.
Bromley levelled within a minute of the re-start as Cheek slotted the loose ball home after Tyrer had saved his initial header. The Spireites were expecting a foul to be given after Tyrone Williams looked to have been brought down but the referee decided otherwise.
Things could have got worse after Sheckleford collided with his own keeper but an alert clearance from within the six yard box saved the day.
A great ball into the area from Alex Kirk saw Dennis power his header narrowly wide.
The home pressure paid off when Cheek was on hand to slot home his second of the game after touching home the perfect ball from Corey Whitely on the left.
Out of the blue the Spireites levelled with an absolute screamer. Banks, from 35 yards, let fly and watched delighted as his effort clattered the bar before nestling home.
We’d hardly recovered from the equaliser before the Spireites edged back in front. Birthday boy Mandeville floated over a gem of a corner from the left and Naylor’s glancing header did the rest.
What a game this had become with both teams battling for every ball and the pace relentless.
Cook made his first change with just seven minutes remaining, Dobra took over from the impressive Jacobs.
With just five minutes remaining, Cheek completed his hat-trick as he hit home a peach of a ball in from substitute Myles Weston.
Bromley looked likely to grab the winner as Kirk hit a thunderbolt from close-range and Tyrer threw himself full length to produce the best save of the season so far.
In time added on, Bromley went ahead after Sam Woods touched home from close range to add yet another twist to this remarkable game.
Bromley saw the game out through the eight added minutes to end their barren league spell and clinch their third consecutive home win against the Spireites.
Chesterfield; Tyrer, Naylor, Grimes, Mandeville (Palmer 90), Oldaker, Grigg, Jacobs (Dobra 83), Williams, Sheckleford, Banks, Clements
Subs not used: Hobson, Quigley, Jones
Referee: James Durkin
