There was late drama at the Silverlake Stadium as Eastleigh secured a famous win over League One side Reading in the second round of the FA Cup.

Paul McCallum struck twice for the Spitfires to send the Silverlake into raptures and seal a historic FA Cup upset.

McCallum scored midway through the first half from close range to give the hosts the lead, after he got on the end of a Scott Quigley cross.

Reading looked as though they had forced a replay, when Femi Azeez blasted in a rocket from the edge of the box with just minutes to go in the second half.

McCallum and Eastleigh had the final say though, as he poked home from a Chris Maguire corner in stoppage time to seal an outstanding win for the Spitfires.

There had been a buzz around Eastleigh ever since the draw paired the Spitfires and the Royals together for this second round clash.

The excitement in the stadium was clear to see in anticipation of this huge cup tie, with both sets of fans in full voice well before kick-off time.

With the ITV cameras at the Silverlake, the spotlight was well and truly on the Spitfires, as the Hampshire side looked to pull off an upset against their League One opponents.

The visitors had the first effort of the game, when Amadou Mbengue curled the ball over the bar from distance, just two minutes into the tie.

Three minutes later, Eastleigh responded with an attempt of their own, as Jake Taylor flicked the ball up and fired in a volley that was dealt with comfortably by Joel Pereira.

George Langston went into the book in the 10th minute for a foul on the edge of the box – with Matthew Carson wasting the resulting free-kick for the visitors.

Carson tried his luck from range moments later, but his shot went well over the bar.

In the 16th minute, the away fans voiced their discontent over the ownership of the club, following Dai Yongge’s failure to pay the club’s staff on time.

They staged a protest by throwing tennis balls, fake banknotes and blue flares onto the pitch, which disrupted play for a few minutes.

As play resumed, the visitors nearly took the lead, as Charlie Savage curled a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the area.

A crunching challenge from Savage on Maguire got him a booking, despite the many calls from the home faithful for a red.

The breakthrough then came as Enzio Boldewijn skipped past a couple of Reading players with ease, before playing the ball to Scott Quigley on the right-hand side – Quigley drilled the ball into the path of McCallum, who slid in at the backpost to put the hosts ahead.

Maguire’s fizzing shot was next to test the visitors’ backline, as their defenders charged down his attempt.

McCallum thought that he had doubled Eastleigh’s lead when he headed home a second shortly before half-time, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul.

As the half drew to a close, Boldewijn played Quigley clean through on goal, but he couldn’t beat Pereira in the Reading goal, as the hosts nearly doubled their advantage.

That was the last effort of the first half, with Eastleigh deservedly ahead at the break.

A good block by Langston early in the second half prevented Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s effort from causing the Spitfires any danger.

Ten minutes into the second half, McCallum almost had a second for the hosts, but his close-range shot was well saved by Pereira.

The visitors had the next chance, as Clinton Mola flashed in a cross that Ehibhatiomhan couldn’t convert.

Azeez fizzed another cross in on the hour mark that tested the Spitfires’ defence, but nobody was able to get on the end of it for the Royals.

Joe McDonnell then got down well to prevent substitute Lewis Wing from equalising, as the Royals continued to push for a leveller.

Azeez then had an effort parried away by McDonnell, before Mola dragged an effort well wide of the mark.

The visitors should have been level, after a brilliant cross by Mbengue found Sam Smith in the box, but he headed over the bar,

With six minutes left to play, Reading nearly found a route back into the game, as Mukairu tried an audacious acrobatic attempt, but McDonnell was equal to it.

Moments later, the equaliser came, as Azeez thumped in a scorcher from just outside the penalty area to set up a tense finale.

The dramatic winner came in stoppage time, as McCallum bundled in from Maguire’s corner to send the bumper Silverlake crowd wild.

Reading tried desperately to equalise late on as Pereira came up for a corner – but it was too little, too late, for the Royals, as Eastleigh booked their spot in round three, where they will travel to either Newport County or Barnet.

Eastleigh: McDonnell, Atangana (74′), Francillette, Taylor (c) (58′), McCallum, Boldewijn, Langston, Hodson, Maguire, Clements, Quigley

Subs: Scott, Clampin, Barlow, Nwabuokei (58′), Panter, Rutherford, Tshaka, Harris (74′), Yang

Reading: Pereira, Mola, Holmes (c), Elliott (45′), Knibbs, Savage (58′), Azeez, Ehibhatiomhan (58′), Mbengue (83′), Craig, Carson (45′)

Subs: Button, Dean (45′), Smith (58′), Mukairu (45′), Hutchinson, Wing (58′), Abbey, Rushesha (83′), Vickers

Attendance: 5,002

Report by Tom Humphrey