Eastleigh 2-0 Wealdstone - Match Report

High flying Wealdstone fell to a narrow defeat to eighth place Eastleigh this evening at the Silverlake Stadium, bringing an end to their five successive victories in the National League.

Second half strikes from Cavaghn Miley and Sam Smart edged a tight and feisty contest between the two sides.

Manager Dean Brennan made three changes to the side that defeated Halifax Town in the Stones’ last outing, with Danny Green, Danny Parish and Moses Emmanuel returning to the starting line-up for the visitors.

In the third minute of play, the Stones were close to taking an early lead. A loose back pass from Alex Wynter nearly found its way into the Spitfires’ net, but ‘keeper Joe McDonnell was on hand to save the hosts’ blushes with a goal line clearance.

As the first half progressed, the game remained an even and cagey affair, with neither side able to fully dictate the tempo of play.

Midway through the first half, the Spitfires had two goal scoring chances in quick succession. Miley produced a fine curling effort which rose just over the crossbar, and a minute later, Ben House’s powerful effort from the edge of the box narrowly evaded Harry Isted’s near post and flew into the side netting.

In the 21st minute, Wealdstone’s persistence was rewarded as in-form Danny Parish converted for the visitors; but, the linesman adjudged the strike to be offside.

The remainder of the first half concluded in a balanced fashion, with the two sides all square at halftime.

Eastleigh found a breakthrough in the 67th minute of play as Miley dispatched past Isted from inside the box to break the deadlock for the hosts.

Substitute Ross Lafayette had an instant impact for the Stones, galvanising an opportunity as he burst into the box and picked out Parish, but his shot was blocked by a Spitfires’ defender.

Brennan’s final role of the dice came in the 83rd minute with a double substitution as attacking duo Kundai Benyu and Jorome Slew replaced Dennon Lewis and Green.

However, Eastleigh doubled their lead and put the result beyond doubt in stoppage time as Smart finished off a swift counter attack for the hosts.

Despite this result, Wealdstone remain in third place as they return to action on Saturday 21st November, when they host Sutton United at the Vale, in a 5.20pm kickoff, which will be televised on BT Sport.

WEALDSTONE: Isted, Efete, Okimo (C), Phillips, Smith, Green (Slew, 83), Lewis (Benyu, 83), Parish, Mendy, Emmanuel (Lafayette, 74), Cawley.

Subs not used: Charles, Askew.

Report by Nicole Cho-Yee