Eastleigh keep their unbeaten record going at the Silverlake Stadium as a Danny Whitehall penalty was enough to see the home side win 1-0 against Torquay United.
Lee Bradbury made two changes from the defeat at Solihull Moors on Saturday as Whitehall and Jake Hesketh came into the starting XI as Ousseynou Cisse and Oscar Rutherford dropped to the bench.
The Spitfires started full of energy and created their first opening of the encounter just minutes in as Danny Whitehall headed over from a Ryan Hill cross.
Moments later, JJ McKiernan nicked the ball from a Torquay player and lashed a shot from outside of the penalty area which stung the hands of goalkeeper Mark Halstead who saved well.
Eastleigh were really banging on the door for the opening goal as Brennan Camp’s pinpoint pass unlocked the Torquay defence but Tristan Abrahams could only find Halstead’s gloves from an acute angle.
The Gulls recorded their first effort of the match on the 17th minute as the ball got sprayed out to Dillon De Silva on the wing but his tame effort was never going to beat McDonnell.
The visitors had a free-kick 35 yards out which they played short and worked out to their danger man De Silva who twist and turned which eventually ended with a delivery into the Spitfires box.
Torquay’s number nine Aaron Jarvis rose highest to head back across goal where the alert George Langston was on hand to clear yards out from his goal line.
The game was starting to get stretched as Camp played in a rocket of a delivery into the box where the clearance found Charlie Carter who’s thunderbolt shot went inches wide of the post.
The boys in blue were edging ever closer to taking a deserved lead as they were piling on the pressure onto the Devon side.
On the 32nd minute, Eastleigh were awarded a penalty as Camp yet again played a dangerous ball into the 18 yard box.
The delivery was destined for a Torquay player but Whitehall was quickest to the ball where the defender had to bring down the striker.
The Spitfires’ number nine powered his penalty into the bottom left hand as he sent the Halstead the wrong way to give the home side the lead.
Straight from the kick-off, Camp was involved again as he was thumped by a Jarvis elbow who received his second yellow card resulting him being sent his marching orders.
Eastleigh were now a goal up and a man up with ten minutes to go until the half-time whistle.
Moments before the interval, Ryan Hill’s cross went goalbound which made the visiting goalkeeper scramble as the ball landed just over the crossbar.
Torquay were enjoying their best spell of the game at the start of the second half as they looked for a way back into the game.
De Silva again being the real threat for the away side as he did well to elude Micheal Kelly but could only put his shot curling just wide.
The Gulls were now showing more grit and determination since the break but Eastleigh were still creating chances of their own.
From a long throw-in the ball fell to substitute Tom Lapslie at the edge of the area, who powered a shot goal bound which was bravely blocked by Camp who’s intervention was crucial.
Carter piped the ball from a white shirt and drove at the Torquay defence, his low drive zipped off the wet surface and just past the far post, even closer than his first half chance.
The second 45 minutes definitely lacked intensity compared to the first half however Eastleigh were doing enough to nullified Torquay’s attacks.
As the clock struck 80 minutes, the home side counter attacked from a visiting corner as they flooded blue shirts forward rapidly.
The ball came to Abrahams after a lovely weight through pass by Rutherford who hit a shot first time that whistled wide of the goal.
In the dying moments of the game the ball pin balled in the Eastleigh penalty area and Asa Hall blasted an effort towards goal where his shot was turned away from danger by Kelly.
Match report by Jack Bunclark
