Eastleigh are at home for a second time in three days as they prepare to host Gateshead at the Silverlake Stadium in the 43rd matchday of the Vanarama National League on Wednesday 12th April with a 7:45pm kick-off. Preview in association with Unibet.
Eastleigh:
Two days after a disappointing 3-3 defeat with Aldershot, the Spitfires have a chance to instantly get back on track for the playoffs in front of their home fans.
Gerry McDonagh opened his Eastleigh account as well as early goals from Charlie Carter and Ousseynou Cisse, however, it was not enough to stop Aldershot from mounting a comeback and taking a share of the points.
Today’s fixture will be the third match of four in just eight days for Eastleigh, having previously gone almost two weeks without a fixture.
The Spitfires will be hoping to return to winning ways as they return under the lights of the Silverlake Stadium, where Eastleigh have won 14 of their 21 home fixtures and lost just three.
Eastleigh remain in the play-off positions sitting in seventh position, despite dropping points in the previous two fixtures. The Spitfires are two points above the dotted line and ahead of Bromley in eighth spot, with just four matches remaining.
Top scorer Danny Whitehall (15) turned provider on Monday adding an assist to his name as Carter benefitted for his ninth of the season. Both the club’s top scorers will be looking to improve on their respective tallies for goals to help Eastleigh secure their playoff spot.
Gateshead:
Gateshead come into the match off the back of a fifth consecutive league victory having defeated Altrincham 1-0 on Easter Monday.
Marcus Dinanga netted the only goal in the match to make it six goals in his last six matches for himself after joining the club in February 2023.
In all competitions, Gateshead’s winning streak actually stretches further to six having made the final of the FA Trophy by defeating Barnet on penalties.
However, those five league victories on the bounce have put pulled the Tynesiders almost completely out of danger of relegation as they now sit in 16th position in the league and six points clear of the drop zone despite having played at least two matches less than every team below them.
Adam Campbell is the Gateshead top goal scorer this season with eight goals however is quickly being chased down by Dinanga having only scored once in his last 11 matches.
Fixture History:
The reverse fixture in October ended in a 1-1 draw at the Gateshead International Stadium, with Ryan Hill’s first-half goal being cancelled out in the second half by Dan Jarvis.
That outing proved the tale of the fixture as a whole with it being almost completely balanced in the 13 previous meetings between the two sides.
Eastleigh just about edged the head-to-head having won five of those fixtures however Gateshead have won four themselves and the remaining four ended in a stalemate.
Last five:
01/10/22: Gateshead 1-1 Eastleigh
13/04/19: Eastleigh 1-0 Gateshead
29/09/18: Gateshead 0-1 Eastleigh
14/04/18: Gateshead 2-0 Eastleigh
21/10/17: Eastleigh 3-2 Gateshead
