The Spitfires are on the road for their next Vanarama National League match, as they take on Rochdale at the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday 19th August, with a kick-off time of 3:00pm.
Rochdale:
The hosts were relegated from League Two last season, ending their 102-year stay in the Football League.
Life in the National League has been far from perfect for the Dale, who have lost two out of their opening three fixtures.
They started the season at home to newly promoted Ebbsfleet United, where a first-half strike from Luke O’Neill was enough to seal the three points for the visitors.
They faced another one of the promoted sides in their next game, recording a 1-0 win over Oxford City, thanks to a 72nd minute goal by Ian Henderson.
Rochdale then travelled to Surrey to face Woking, where, despite taking the lead through Tyrese Sinclair, they were beaten 3-2, with ex-Spitfire Kairo Mitchell’s 84th minute goal proving to be nothing other than a consolation.
Eastleigh:
Eastleigh fans would have gone through all the emotions during their midweek clash with Barnet – the Spitfires were 3-0 down with just over half an hour played after Idris Kanu bagged his second of the evening at the Silverlake Stadium.
Paul McCallum pulled one back just before the break and Scott Quigley’s goal 20 minutes into the second half gave the hosts hope of a miraculous comeback.
Deep into stoppage time, McCallum scored his second of the night, to secure a valuable point for the Spitfires in dramatic fashion.
The draw was Eastleigh’s third of the campaign, having been on the other side of a late equaliser on the opening day of the season at Solihull Moors, Eastleigh then drew 0-0 the following week with Wealdstone.
Previous Meetings:
This will be the first meeting between Rochdale and Eastleigh.
Preview by Tom Humphrey
