Eastleigh return home to face Altrincham at the Silverlake Stadium in the 39th matchday of the Vanarama National League on Saturday 18th March with a 3pm kick-off. Preview in association with Unibet.
Eastleigh:
Despite a spirited effort on Tuesday night that saw the Spitfires take the lead against title chasing Notts County, Eastleigh eventually succumbed 3-1 at Meadow Lane in midweek.
Danny Whitehall continued his fine form in front of goal scoring from the penalty spot to make it three goals in the last four matches.
Tuesday night was just a second defeat in the last ten matches, a run of form which has seen the Spitfires climb into the play-off positions on a tally of 60 points, five points clear of the dotted line.
Eastleigh will look to continue their brilliant home form and extend a streak of five matches unbeaten at the Silverlake Stadium.
The Spitfires are bolstered by the return of Kairo Mitchell who served the final of his three-match ban in midweek.
Whitehall’s opener in midweek extended his lead in Eastleigh’s golden boot race as the striker now has 15 goals this season.
While the Vanarama National League’s February Player of the Month Charlie Carter is now seven goals behind in second place, with an impressive 8 goals this campaign.
Altrincham:
Altrincham recorded just their second victory in five league matches in midweek, snatching all three points from York City in the 83rd minute to win 2-1 on the road.
It was the second time in three days that the Robins defeated the Minstermen, the first of which saw Altrincham progress into the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.
On Tuesday night, Joe Hugill gave the Robins the lead but after being pegged back in the 73rd minute, James Jones restored Altrincham’s lead ten minutes later.
That victory was just the Robins’ fourth victory away from home in 19 league matches this season, however, Altrincham have averaged a point per away game having drawn seven times in that same period of time.
The Robins currently occupy 13th position in the table and sit with 49 points, comfortably in mid-table, 16 points clear of the drop zone and 11 points adrift of the play-off places.
Jones has scored in the last three matches, that Altrincham have found the back of the net in across all competitions. However, in the league this season the top scorer for the Robins that still plays for the club is loanee Tyrese Sinclair, who has scored 4 goals in 8 matches since joining in February.
Previous Meetings:
Both sides have faced off nine times in their history and Eastleigh will be looking to avenge a defeat in the reverse fixture in order to level the head-to-head once more. Altrincham moved into the lead with a third victory against the Spitfires, while Eastleigh remained on two wins, while the remaining four matches have ended in stalemate.
Last Five Meetings:
26/11/2022: Altrincham 2-1 Eastleigh
12/03/2022: Altrincham 4-0 Eastleigh
23/10/2021: Eastleigh 2-1 Altrincham
25/05/2021: Altrincham 1-1 Eastleigh
10/10/2020: Eastleigh 1-1 Altrincham
By Sajidur Rahman
