Eastleigh booked their place in the next round of the Servio Men’s Senior Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 win over AFC Totton at the Silverlake Stadium.

The game was a chance to give the youth plenty of opportunities to shine and they certainly did just that. The Spitfires took control through second-half goals from Freddie Ingram and Barney Stone before surviving a late scare as the visitors pulled one back. A standout display from debut goalkeeper Josh McNamara, including a penalty save, ensured his side held on to secure the victory.

Jason Bristow took charge of a squad that featured the majority of the EDS squad, with a couple of first-team players involved to face AFC Totton. Lloyd Humphries, who has recently recovered from an injury that kept him out all of pre-season and the start of the season, made his first appearance of the campaign. He also took the captain’s armband to lead out a youthful Spitfires team. Josh McNamara made his first start for the Spitfires since signing from Southampton. Connor Underhill also started the game to ensure he retained match fitness and sharpness.

AFC Totton provided the first chance of the game when some good one-touch football around the edge of the box allowed Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to put a low but dangerous ball into the penalty area. The most experienced member of the squad, Humphries, sniffed out the danger and managed to clear it for a corner.

A dangerous ball into the box from the corner allowed Emmanuel-Thomas to flick a header towards Hisham Kassimu, who managed to take the ball down, but as he poised himself to shoot the ball was cleared away for a throw-in.

In the 13th minute, Emmanuel-Thomas tried his luck from range, and what looked like a fantastic effort towards the top-right corner was met by an even better save from McNamara.

Just one minute later, it was time for Eastleigh to launch an attack of their own. Underhill picked up the ball deep into the Stags’ half, drove towards the white shirts with pure intent, and picked out a defence-splitting pass into the path of Tommy Whitehead. Whitehead took one touch to set himself before narrowly missing the bottom-right corner with the best chance of the game so far.

Eastleigh managed to carve out a chance from their relentless pressure in the 23rd minute when Barney Stone cut out a pass from Nico Trojanowski. He opted to shoot first time, but his effort was comfortably saved by Trojanowski in the end.

Next, it was AFC Totton’s turn to force a defensive error while Eastleigh tried to play out from the back. Humphries’ pass was intercepted by Ashley Clarke, who took one touch before attempting to catch McNamara out. But the Spitfires’ keeper got down well to his left-hand post and tipped the ball away from danger.

The only other action to report before half-time was an Emmanuel-Thomas shot that went wayward and out for an Eastleigh throw-in.

Three minutes into the second half, Freddie Ingram delivered the first blow of the game with a fantastic strike. A good spell of possession allowed Ingram space inside the AFC Totton third, and the youngster made no mistake in firing his shot low and hard into the bottom-left corner, earning the Spitfires a 1-0 lead at the Silverlake Stadium.

AFC Totton tried to reply instantly when Christos Batzelis picked out Emmanuel-Thomas on the edge of the box. He took one touch before shooting low and hard, but McNamara continued his impressive debut by making the save.

Emmanuel-Thomas came close once again, this time with his head. After Ashley Clarke turned his man inside out, he dinked a ball towards the back post, but once again McNamara denied the former Arsenal man.

In the 63rd minute, Eastleigh struck again. Stone, who had shown threatening pace throughout the game, cut in from the left-hand side before sneaking the ball between the keeper and the near post to make it 2-0 and put Eastleigh firmly in the driver’s seat.

It didn’t take long for the Stags to conjure up a response of their own. As seven minutes later Emmanuel-Thomas lifted a ball to Kassimu, who finished brilliantly off the bar to make it 2-1.

Two minutes later, the Spitfires had penalty appeals waved away when substitute Freddie Beal beat his man and then appeared to be pulled to the floor.

However, minutes later, just like at the weekend, the referee gave a penalty against Eastleigh and punished them with a red card. After Coby Killick intercepted a Stags attack with both players falling to the ground. But once again, just like at the weekend, the penalty attempt was denied! Emmanuel-Thomas stepped up, but McNamara saved!

The referee continued making interesting decisions, because in the 89th minute  Beale’s incredible footwork made the AFC Totton defence look silly, he then laid the ball off to Ingram. The man who scored the opener took one touch and appeared to be bundled to the floor, but was instead booked for simulation.

There were five minutes of added time indicated by the officials, but the game continued until the 98th minute. AFC Totton pushed hard to level the scoring, but Eastleigh stayed resolute and strong to secure their place in the next round of the Servio Hampshire Cup.

Eastleigh: McNamara, Whitehead, Mubiru, Humphries (Beale 61′), Killick, Farnsworth, Luff (Carroll 61′)  Underhill (Silverstein 85′), Stone, (St. Vincent 88′), Ingram, Jones

Unused Substitues: Russell

Goals: Ingram 48′, Stone 63′

Yellow Cards: Ingram 90′

Red Cards: Killick 84′

AFC Totton: Trojanowski, Carter (Earley 45′), Hallett, Clarke (Andrews 79′), Emmanuel-Thomas, Dolling, Rose, Batzelis (Birks 79′), Vigrass (Bennett 64′), Jakobson, Kasimu

Unused Substitutes: Rendell, Andrews

Yellow Cards: Bennett

Attendance: 611