The Spitfires followed up on their midweek return to winning ways with a well-battled draw against Hartlepool United at the Silverlake Stadium.

In a cagey first half, Reyes Cleary’s strike from distance broke the deadlock but Tyrese Shade responded in style with a solo effort as the scores were level at the break.

A quiet second half burst back into the life in the final ten minutes as both sides struck the crossbar, but there was nothing to separate the teams at the final whistle.

Kelvin Davis made two changes from Tuesday night’s win over Ebbsfleet, as Ludwig Francillette and Angel Waruih returned to the starting line-up.

It was the visitors who threatened first, with their leading marksman Manny Dieseruvwe inches away from an early opener twice in the space of a minute.

An inswinging corner was met by the striker, who rose highest in the area, but his header was cleared off the line by Ben Close; from the recycled cross, Dieseruvwe couldn’t connect with his diving attempt from just inside the six-yard box.

Eastleigh gradually worked their way into the contest with spells of possession, but it was Hartlepool who continued to fashion more of the first half chances.

On a dangerous counter the North East side broke quickly through Joe Grey, who played in Reyes Cleary but his cutback cross was deflected past the post by Ludwig Francillette.

As the cagey first half wore on, opportunities for both sides were at a premium; Grey headed over Cleary’s cross for Hartlepool moments before Noa Boutin’s low ball across goal was hooked over the bar for a corner.

The game’s opening goal eventually arrived on the half hour mark, and it took something special to break the deadlock as Cleary cut inside from the left wing and powered his right-footed shot past McDonnell into the far corner.

The response that followed was equally impressive, as the Spitfires levelled in style when Shade cleverly lifted the ball over the defence and chased onto the loose ball, before lobbing the stranded Adam Smith in the Hartlepool goal.

Into the second half, openings remained few and far between as Eastleigh were forced to repel a steady stream of Hartlepool attacks.

Just before the hour, from a recycled corner, the visitors went close when Adam Campbell darted towards the byline and cut the ball back towards centre-back Tom Parkes whose shot was deflected behind by Spitfires substitute Paul McCallum.

The game reached the closing stages with little to shout about, before Hartlepool came closest to a winner but somehow couldn’t convert; a ball to the far post found Louis Stephenson who diverted it back across goal where Grey arrived but missed the target from two yards out.

That chance breathed new life into the contest and set up a dramatic final ten minutes, which was amplified when Ben Close drove forward and rifled a shot from distance off the underside of the crossbar and out.

Richard Brindley was on hand to head a Campbell free-kick narrowly over the crossbar, before the Eastleigh full-back was involved at the other end during a quick counter-attack with a cross to the far post that was skewed high and wide by substitute Corey Panter.

The game was end-to-end as stoppage time approached, and a low cross from Cleary was diverted onto the crossbar by an Eastleigh body.

It was then the Spitfires’ turn to go close in the final minute of normal time when Shade raced onto a through ball just inside the area and shifted past a defender, only for his low shot to be kept out by the feet of Smith with Paul McCallum’s rebound blocked away.

Both sides may have felt that a late winner was there for the taking but, after a breathless five minutes of stoppage time, the points were shared at the Silverlake Stadium.

Eastleigh: McDonnell (GK), Brindley, Humphries (Fernandez, 35′), Francillette, Maguire (McCallum, 55′), Taylor (C) (Hodson, 45′), Shade, Waruih (Underhill, 77′), Boutin (Panter, 60′), Close, Maher

Unused subs: Scott (GK), Ryan

Goals: Shade (43′)

Yellow cards: Brindley (83′)

Hartlepool United: Smith (GK), Dodds (Stephenson, 8′), Ferguson, Parkes (C), Campbell, Grey, Sheron, Sass-Davies, Miley (Featherstone, 77′), Cleary, Dieseruvwe

Unused subs: Foster (GK), Waterfall, Hunter, Charman, Folarin

Goals: Cleary (30′)

Yellow cards: Miley (45+6′), Sheron (71′)

Referee:

Attendance: 3212 (155 away)