Gilly's goals overturn two-goal deficit at rivals Havant to earn deserved point

HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 2-2 EASTLEIGH



SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2009
Blue Square South

Report by Jamie Montigue

Warren Goodhind gets stuck into the action at Havant & Waterlooville

A second half Eastleigh revival inspired by two-goal hero Richard Gillespie, his first league goals for the club since his summer move from Bashley, earned the Spitfires a well-deserved point at Shaun Gale’s Havant & Waterlooville.

At the hands of their local rivals and in front of a great crowd of 1,451, Ian Baird who returned to face his former club once more saw his side begin well enough only to fall behind to a Mustafa Tiryaki goal in the 30th minute following a rare mistake from keeper Jason Matthews.

Luke Nightingale smashed the ball home with a thunderous strike to double the Hawks' lead before the break. At this point, things were looking bleak for the visitors but after the interval there was only one side in the game as Eastleigh came out far stronger and dominated second half proceedings.

Eastleigh got their just rewards when Gillespie pulled a goal back just after the hour mark with a hooked left foot effort from a tight angle.

His second of the afternoon was equally important and ensured Eastleigh came home with a share of the spoils (which incidentally looked unlikely at half time), as the former Bashley hotshot helped the Spitfires draw level with an excellent glancing header from ex-Havant winger Tony Taggart's cross six minutes from time.

With Tom Jordan sustaining an injury in training on Thursday, Aaron Martin was back from a one-match suspension and fresh from a week’s trial with Coca Cola Football League One side Southampton to partner stand-in captain Warren Goodhind in the centre of defence.

A Peter Adeniyi cross inside three minutes was punched away from danger by Hawks keeper Aaron Howe as Eastleigh came out of the blocks the quickest.

Shaun McAuley posed a real threat down the right flank forcing several corner kicks for his team and crossing well early on.

After fifteen minutes, a high ball into the box from Steven Walker saw Mustapha Tiryaki steal in with a diving header only for the Havant forward to be denied by a flying save from Jason Matthews.

Two minutes later, Eastleigh should have been in front following excellent work down the right hand side from McAuley which saw the winger cut back on to his left foot and deliver a pinpoint cross. Richard Gillespie found himself unmarked from 8 yards out but could only steer his header just wide of the target.

McAuley continued to be in the thick of things for Eastleigh soon after, as his positive running pushed the hosts’ defence on the back foot. The tricky winger unleashed a powerful drive from 25 yards that had to be dealt with by Howe who got behind the effort well to make the save.

At the opposite end, Walker skipped through the Spitfires’ rearguard and was left one on one 18 yards from goal. Matthews was alert to the situation and quickly rushed out to deny Havant with a low save at the edge of his penalty area.

The home side soon gained the ascendancy as Anthony Riviere headed a free kick behind for a corner before former Hawk Brett Poate headed out for a further flag kick in quick succession. Matthews punched the ball away to clear momentarily but the Eastleigh stopper had a moment to forget with half an hour on the clock.

A Steve Hutchings delivery from the right saw a rare mistake from the usually reliable Matthews allowing MUSTAPHA TIRYAKI to pounce from close range, capitalising on the error to head home the spilled ball and open the scoring in Havant’s favour.

It wasn’t long before the hosts were in dream land celebrating a second goal in this local derby.

Six minutes before the break, the goalscorer Tiryaki had a cross flicked away by Goodhind but only as far as LUKE NIGHTINGALE who lashed in an unstoppable, thunderbolt of a strike from 25 yards out.

Shaun McAuley did his best to pull a goal back before the break as he had a deflected shot heading for the bottom corner of goal only for Aaron Howe to pull off a fine reaction stop to change direction and push the ball on to the post.

Things could have been even worse for Eastleigh as in the 42nd minute Wes Fogden had the opportunity to put the game out of sight for the Spitfires when played clean through by Walker. There were no defenders in sight however Matthews stood up well to prevent a third goal, though ultimately at the half way stage it was Eastleigh who still had it all to do and a monumental task in hand to turn the game around.

HALF TIME: Havant & Waterlooville 2-0 Eastleigh

It was quickly evident that Eastleigh had set their stall out to attack from the off as they began their quest for saving the game.

With far more possession and keeping Havant in their own half of the field, Eastleigh were allowed to take charge and control for the majority of the half.

A strong run from Peter Adeniyi was brought to an abrupt halt as the towering midfielder was fouled by Ian Simpemba around 30 yards from goal early in the second half.

Brett Poate stepped up to hit the set piece but the wall did its job to keep the free kick out. McAuley continued where he left off winning a corner kick soon after.

Brett Williams, who was summoned back to Eastleigh following a successful goal scoring loan spell at AFC Totton, was introduced to the action just before the hour mark in place of James Taylor in what was Ian Baird’s first change of the game.

Williams livened things up for Eastleigh in the attacking department alongside the hard-working Richard Gillespie and just two minutes after the change, Eastleigh had halved the deficit to give themselves a fighting chance.

RICHARD GILLESPIE chased a lost cause down the left channel and from an incredibly tight angle hooked the ball goal wards to find the back of the net with a fine finish with the help of the cross bar.

With renewed hope, Eastleigh pressed on to the increasing frustration of Havant.

Gillespie made another darting run this time to pull an excellent ball back across the face of goal to tee up McAuley who had charged into the box, though his shot was mis-cued and ultimately harmless.

The pair combined again a minute later with McAuley turning provider with the delivery and Gillespie’s looping header testing the back-pedalling keeper who was more than relieved to see the ball land on the roof of the net.

In the 69th minute, a Poate free kick was nodded back to Anthony Riviere whose shot from 10 yards was agonisingly close to the equalising goal, though having beaten the keeper, the tireless midfielder’s attempt was hacked off the line after striking the foot of the post.

A Poate corner kick was headed on to the far post by Peter Adeniyi where Aaron Martin appeared to be shoved in the back as he attempted to connect with the header. Nothing given.

Brett Williams lost two markers with a fine turn only to fire off target before Gillespie had a shot saved at the near post.

Eastleigh came so close to a deserved equalising goal for a second time, as Peter Adeniyi this time beat Howe but had his effort cleared off the line in the 74th minute and it really was a case of one-way traffic. At this stage Havant were struggling to get any foothold on the game and were lucky to still be in front – a complete contrast to their dominating position at the end of the first half.

Andy Forbes came on for McAuley with 12 minutes remaining and it was a case of a second inspired substitution from Baird that unlocked the door for the second and most important Eastleigh goal.

Havant did have a couple of rare chances on the break, their first of the half having been kept so quiet for over half an hour and being mere spectators. A low cross from Shaun Wilkinson caused a problem or too as Matthews spilled the ball initially but quickly recovered.

Tiryaki then created a great opportunity holding the ball up well inside the Eastleigh penalty area and playing it back for a shot to come in that was heroically charged down by Warren Goodhind who saved an otherwise certain goal with an important sliding challenge.

This proved to be the last of Havant’s handful of chances since scoring two goals in the space of nine first half minutes as Eastleigh regained control looking incredibly dangerous in the final third of the pitch.

Williams provided a cross from the left that was met by a tame downward Gillespie header with time running down, but he made no mistake with the next chance that came his way.

Tony Taggart went on a mazy run from the right wing coming inside and on to his favoured left foot to float in the perfect cross. RICHARD GILLESPIE rose high to meet the ball steering a sublime header beyond the keeper and into the top left hand corner of goal for a late equaliser, which was no more than Eastleigh deserved.

Even after drawing level so late on and wiping out the 2-0 margin that the Spitfires found themselves trailing to at the break they still may have pinched all three points.

Riviere lashed a shot just wide of the far post from a deep cross and soon after Brett Williams created room for an effort that was deflected through to the keeper. The last of the action saw Poate fire a free kick into the wall as the referee called time on a thrilling second half performance from Eastleigh.

Few would argue that Eastleigh were well worth the point they came home with and perhaps merited even more for the way they responded with great spirit to fight back. Richard Gillespie proved his quality with two great strikes and hopefully this result and performance will help both Richard and Eastleigh to push on and further up the table in the weeks that follow.

FULL TIME: Havant & Waterlooville 2-2 Eastleigh

Match pictures by Jamie Montigue

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