The Spitfires are held to a draw, following a late goal from Halifax at the Silverlake Stadium.

Chris Maguire gave Eastleigh the lead from the spot at the hour mark, before his goal was cancelled out late on by the visiting side.

Kelvin Davis made one change from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat against Tamworth as Tshikuna replaced the suspended Quigley in what was an eventful 1-1 draw that had plenty of drama.

Despite a difficult run of form the Spitfires begun the game in the driving seat after Boutin’s cross found Maguire who volleyed over the crossbar from just outside the area.

It was a question of handball for Eastleigh in the fifth minute with vocal calls for a penalty to be awarded for the home side, but the referee waved the pleas for a spot kick away.

Smart link up play from Chris Maguire and Tyrese Shade orchestrated a effort for Nathan Tshikuna who fired over with a decent effort after finding space in the area in the 12th minute.

Halifax’s Luca Thomas shot soon after sailed comfortably over after good build-up play. Better options were available with an on-running teammate in space, who he opted to ignore.

Tyrese Shade’s long throws were proving to be difficult for the Shaymen to deal with, leading to Jake Taylor being fouled in the box as he went to win the ball. The man who was fouled opted to take on the responsibility with the penalty but was unable to deliver after a smart stop from Halifax’s keeper, Shade’s follow-up effort just going past the post from close range.

A Noa Boutin cross looked comfortable for Toby Salvin to collect, but it ended up hitting his crossbar and causes confusion in the Halifax area.

Tshikuna robbed the visitors of possession soon after before unleashing a venomous strike that collided with the woodwork in what was a fantastic solo effort that deserved a goal.

Ben Close looked to release Shade on the 40th minute with fantastic vision to spot his run, his through ball only just snuffed out by the scrambling Halifax backline as the half petered out.

The second half commenced with Eastleigh looking for the go ahead goal with Chris Maguire having a massive opportunity to open the scoring, his effort from close range somehow stayed out of the net and brushed past the left-hand post.

Close thought he had opened the scoring with his effort from just outside the area which found the bottom left corner. To the dismay of the home support, the goal was ruled out as referee Greg Rollason had already halted play.

Soon after Fernandez was brought down in the box, and the official had no hesitation to point to the spot for the second time. Chris Maguire converted the resulting spot kick on the 60th minute with a well-placed finish that evaded Savin despite him guessing correctly.

In the 74th minute Eastleigh sought to double their advantage and got a handball call that resulted in a free kick in a dangerous area on the left hand side. Close whipped it in, but no one found the finishing touch to add a second.

The game entered its final minutes with Chris Maguire picking up the games only yellow card as he brought down a Halifax player in full sprint on the counterattack.

That looked to be the final act of the tie but for a late FC Halifax Town resurgence, the away side levelled it late on in the 89th minute as Ryan Galvin headed home from an uncontested corner that just looped over Joe McDonnell in goal.

They had a chance to snatch the win but Zak Emmerson effort curled past the top right corner as the game concluded 1-1.

Eastleigh: McDonnell (GK), Brindley (Hodson, 66′), Fernandez, Francillette, Maguire, Taylor (C) (Waruih, 90′), Shade, Panter, Boutin, Close, Tshikuna

Unused subs: Scott (GK), McCallum, Semenyo, Ryan, Underhill

Goals: Maguire (60′)

Yellow cards: Maguire (86′)

FC Halifax Town: Savin (GK), Galvin, Senior (C), Thomas (Eze 62′), Cappello, Emmanuel, Hoti (Tarima, 43′), Jenkins, Emmerson, Pugh (Cooke 62′), Adetoro (Nkrumah 69′)

Unused subs: Ford (GK), Sutcliffe, Hayes-Green

Goals: Galvin (89′)

Referee: Greg Rollason

Attendance: 2,161 (124 away)

Report by Ashley Whiteway