Eastleigh v Chelmsford
1ST TEAM MATCH REPORTS
Eastleigh v Chelmsford City
SATURDAY 19th SEPTEMBER 2009
BLUE SQUARE SOUTH
At the seventh attempt Eastleigh won a fixture on a Saturday afternoon for the first time this season and with a shaky opening, it came as a slight surprise that Eastleigh did manage to gain their victory.
Richard Gillespie started his first League game for Eastleigh and Warren Goodhind returned to the side following injury with James Taylor and Danny Smith both finding themselves on the subs bench.
The afternoon could not have started worse for Eastleigh. Antonio Murray's left wing cross was met by a volley from Danny Hockton in the second minute, which gave the Essex side the lead.
The early goal gave Eastleigh a jolt and it took time for the home side to settle, with Chelmsford having the better of the early play though Jason Matthews was not really troubled. Eastleigh wore them into the game though and six minutes before the interval the whole course of the afternoon changed direction.
With the Eastleigh supporters starting to feel as if it was going to be another low weekend, Brett Poate floated a free kick into the area where Aaron Martin knocked the ball down to his defensive partner TOM JORDAN to fire home an equaliser.
The mood of the crowd changed instantly as did the performance of the team Eastleigh suddenly looked so much more of an attacking force and it was no surprise when they added to their tally four minutes later. Peter Adeniyi slipped a pass through the Chelmsford defence for his midfield colleague ANTHONY RIVIERE to coolly slip the ball past Chelmsford goalkeeper Craig Holloway before slipping away goal number two.
HALF TIME: Eastleigh 2-1 Chelmsford City
Eastleigh were now in full attacking flow, the confidence returned to both wingers Tony Taggart and Shaun McAuley whilst Adeniyi and Riviere were in control of the midfield. A deserved third goal arrived to give Eastleigh the breathing space required on sixty-three minutes. Taggart's corner was met with a looping JORDAN header at the far post over Holloway, for the skipper's second goal of the afternoon.
There could still have been further scores from both sides, Gillespie was unfortunate to see a shot bounce off the bar whilst Matthews produced a fine stop from Dave Rainford and Dave Edmans to prevent a nail biting finish for the Spitfires.
FULL TIME: Eastleigh 3-1 Chelmsford City
RAY MURPHY
