Bad day at the office: Eastleigh 1-4 Staines
EASTLEIGH v STAINES TOWN
SATURDAY 13th NOVEMBER 2010
Report by Jamie Montigue
Eastleigh were by far and away second best this afternoon as their unbeaten run of three league games came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Staines Town.
The Spitfires named an unchanged starting eleven from the side who were minutes away from winning at Hampton & Richmond on Tuesday night, but were disappointingly well beaten by the Swans today.
The first of the action saw the visitors force an early corner following good work down the left flank. Eastleigh only half-cleared with the ball dropping to the feet of Andre Scarlett, but the midfielder failed to capitalise on the opportunity and shot harmlessly over.
Two minutes later Tony Taggart was close to picking out Richard Gillespie’s run with a neat through ball. Louis Wells was alert to the threat and raced off his line to cut out the danger at the edge of his area.
Chris Holland came close in the eighth minute when Taggart’s in-swinging corner was flicked on expertly to the far post by Jamie Slabber. Holland was always stretching for the ball and couldn’t quite hit the target to add to his tally of four league goals.
Out of nothing, Steve Cordery’s side were a goal to the good as RICHARD BUTLER broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. Despite suspicions of offside, the striker received the ball to the right of goal in the penalty area where he side-stepped a challenge before beating Jason Matthews with a low shot.
Boosted by taking the lead, Staines had an air of confidence about them now as Leroy Griffiths let fly with a powerful drive from 25-yards that had to be tipped over the cross bar by Matthews.
With 21 minutes played, Eastleigh were hit with another bolt from the blue and found themselves two goals behind before they had even got going. LEROY GRIFFITHS drilled in a low free kick from just outside the box which proved too hot to handle for Matthews whose error saw the ball slip through his grasp and trickle over the line.
It was a less than impressive start to the game for the hosts and could have got worse when in the 25th minute Jacob Walcott, cousin of Arsenal and England star Theo, found a way through the Eastleigh defence only to shoot straight at Matthews.
If there was to be any hope of turning the game around, pulling a goal back quickly was a necessity. Eastleigh managed to do so from an unlikely source in the 29th minute as TOM JORDAN reduced the deficit by scoring his first goal of the season. The skipper came up for a free kick where he brought the ball down on his chest before poking the ball past the keeper, under pressure to bundle home for the Spitfires.
Ross Bottomley was booked on the half hour and was substituted just seconds later as Ian Baird felt the need for a change. Peter Adeniyi took to the field as his replacement in the centre of midfield.
Eastleigh steadily improved and had a couple of opportunities before the break. Richard Graham showed good control as he turned his marker inside out twice to the left of goal, however instead of looking up and squaring the ball; the winger opted to shoot from a tight angle and failed to trouble the keeper.
In the 38th minute, Anthony Riviere was brought down just outside the box to give Eastleigh a free kick in a promising position. Unfortunately it proved to be a wasted opportunity as Taggart was unable to take advantage of the situation by firing straight into the wall of Staines defenders.
The last of the first half action saw Richard Gillespie shake off a challenge to get into the penalty area and find himself one on one with Wells. A poor refereeing decision saw play brought back for a tug on Gillespie outside the box, which immediately took away any advantage and a clear goal scoring chance.
On the stroke of half time, Matthews punched the ball away from under his own cross bar to clear a Staines corner.
At the start of the second half, trailing by one goal and playing at home, there was every chance of Eastleigh getting something from the game, but the next goal would prove to be pivotal. If Eastleigh failed to get that all-important next goal it would surely be too much of a mountain to climb… and so it proved.
The half got off to an unfortunate beginning for the Spitfires as they lost their leading scorer to injury in the 50th minute. Jamie Slabber collided with a Staines defender when challenging for the ball to get on the end of an inviting cross from the right by Tony Taggart. Slabber was unable to continue and it didn’t look good for the striker who was stretchered off moments later and replaced by Brett Williams in attack.
Two minutes shy of the hour, Eastleigh had a goal ruled out for offside. Luke Byles delivered the ball with his weaker right foot from the left back position, which Richard Gillespie got his head to with a deft touch to find the net. The flag went up immediately and Eastleigh’s hopes quickly diminished once again.
Making an excellent impact in coming off the bench, Marc Charles-Smith ensured Staines were firmly in the driving seat by making an instant impression in his first few minutes on the pitch. His first touches saw the forward turn his marker and force a save out of Matthews at his near post to win a corner that proved key in the game. The Spitfires’ sloppy defending and failure to clear the ball saw MARC CHARLES-SMITH capitalise by smashing the ball into the net from close range.
Staines having scored their third goal were now in full control and Eastleigh simply had no response.
Shaun McAuley came on for Warren Goodhind with around fifteen minutes left to play before Gillespie headed comfortably wide from a Taggart corner.
This was about as good as it got for the Spitfires in a very poor display as Staines threatened to add further goals and always looked like causing problems to the Eastleigh back line with their pace and direct play.
The drubbing continued as Eastleigh’s afternoon went from bad to worse. A mistimed challenge in front of goal gifted Staines with a clear penalty in the 78th minute. RICHARD BUTLER converted in convincing fashion from the spot by sending Matthews the wrong way for his second and Staines’ fourth goal.
Eastleigh were fortunate not to concede a fifth, eight minutes from time, when Charles-Smith set up Griffiths by rolling the ball across the face of goal from the right. Griffiths was completely unmarked and just four yards from goal but was denied by an excellent stop by Matthews who spread himself well.
A minute from time Anthony Riviere had a low shot deflected for a corner. Chris Holland then had a header kept out at point blank range by Louis Wells.
The three minutes of injury time came and went before the referee brought to an end a bad day at the office for Ian Baird’s Eastleigh.
The Spitfires named an unchanged starting eleven from the side who were minutes away from winning at Hampton & Richmond on Tuesday night, but were disappointingly well beaten by the Swans today.
The first of the action saw the visitors force an early corner following good work down the left flank. Eastleigh only half-cleared with the ball dropping to the feet of Andre Scarlett, but the midfielder failed to capitalise on the opportunity and shot harmlessly over.
Two minutes later Tony Taggart was close to picking out Richard Gillespie’s run with a neat through ball. Louis Wells was alert to the threat and raced off his line to cut out the danger at the edge of his area.
Chris Holland came close in the eighth minute when Taggart’s in-swinging corner was flicked on expertly to the far post by Jamie Slabber. Holland was always stretching for the ball and couldn’t quite hit the target to add to his tally of four league goals.
Out of nothing, Steve Cordery’s side were a goal to the good as RICHARD BUTLER broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. Despite suspicions of offside, the striker received the ball to the right of goal in the penalty area where he side-stepped a challenge before beating Jason Matthews with a low shot.
Boosted by taking the lead, Staines had an air of confidence about them now as Leroy Griffiths let fly with a powerful drive from 25-yards that had to be tipped over the cross bar by Matthews.
With 21 minutes played, Eastleigh were hit with another bolt from the blue and found themselves two goals behind before they had even got going. LEROY GRIFFITHS drilled in a low free kick from just outside the box which proved too hot to handle for Matthews whose error saw the ball slip through his grasp and trickle over the line.
It was a less than impressive start to the game for the hosts and could have got worse when in the 25th minute Jacob Walcott, cousin of Arsenal and England star Theo, found a way through the Eastleigh defence only to shoot straight at Matthews.
If there was to be any hope of turning the game around, pulling a goal back quickly was a necessity. Eastleigh managed to do so from an unlikely source in the 29th minute as TOM JORDAN reduced the deficit by scoring his first goal of the season. The skipper came up for a free kick where he brought the ball down on his chest before poking the ball past the keeper, under pressure to bundle home for the Spitfires.
Ross Bottomley was booked on the half hour and was substituted just seconds later as Ian Baird felt the need for a change. Peter Adeniyi took to the field as his replacement in the centre of midfield.
Eastleigh steadily improved and had a couple of opportunities before the break. Richard Graham showed good control as he turned his marker inside out twice to the left of goal, however instead of looking up and squaring the ball; the winger opted to shoot from a tight angle and failed to trouble the keeper.
In the 38th minute, Anthony Riviere was brought down just outside the box to give Eastleigh a free kick in a promising position. Unfortunately it proved to be a wasted opportunity as Taggart was unable to take advantage of the situation by firing straight into the wall of Staines defenders.
The last of the first half action saw Richard Gillespie shake off a challenge to get into the penalty area and find himself one on one with Wells. A poor refereeing decision saw play brought back for a tug on Gillespie outside the box, which immediately took away any advantage and a clear goal scoring chance.
On the stroke of half time, Matthews punched the ball away from under his own cross bar to clear a Staines corner.
HALF TIME: Eastleigh 1-2 Staines
At the start of the second half, trailing by one goal and playing at home, there was every chance of Eastleigh getting something from the game, but the next goal would prove to be pivotal. If Eastleigh failed to get that all-important next goal it would surely be too much of a mountain to climb… and so it proved.
The half got off to an unfortunate beginning for the Spitfires as they lost their leading scorer to injury in the 50th minute. Jamie Slabber collided with a Staines defender when challenging for the ball to get on the end of an inviting cross from the right by Tony Taggart. Slabber was unable to continue and it didn’t look good for the striker who was stretchered off moments later and replaced by Brett Williams in attack.
Two minutes shy of the hour, Eastleigh had a goal ruled out for offside. Luke Byles delivered the ball with his weaker right foot from the left back position, which Richard Gillespie got his head to with a deft touch to find the net. The flag went up immediately and Eastleigh’s hopes quickly diminished once again.
Making an excellent impact in coming off the bench, Marc Charles-Smith ensured Staines were firmly in the driving seat by making an instant impression in his first few minutes on the pitch. His first touches saw the forward turn his marker and force a save out of Matthews at his near post to win a corner that proved key in the game. The Spitfires’ sloppy defending and failure to clear the ball saw MARC CHARLES-SMITH capitalise by smashing the ball into the net from close range.
Staines having scored their third goal were now in full control and Eastleigh simply had no response.
Shaun McAuley came on for Warren Goodhind with around fifteen minutes left to play before Gillespie headed comfortably wide from a Taggart corner.
This was about as good as it got for the Spitfires in a very poor display as Staines threatened to add further goals and always looked like causing problems to the Eastleigh back line with their pace and direct play.
The drubbing continued as Eastleigh’s afternoon went from bad to worse. A mistimed challenge in front of goal gifted Staines with a clear penalty in the 78th minute. RICHARD BUTLER converted in convincing fashion from the spot by sending Matthews the wrong way for his second and Staines’ fourth goal.
Eastleigh were fortunate not to concede a fifth, eight minutes from time, when Charles-Smith set up Griffiths by rolling the ball across the face of goal from the right. Griffiths was completely unmarked and just four yards from goal but was denied by an excellent stop by Matthews who spread himself well.
A minute from time Anthony Riviere had a low shot deflected for a corner. Chris Holland then had a header kept out at point blank range by Louis Wells.
The three minutes of injury time came and went before the referee brought to an end a bad day at the office for Ian Baird’s Eastleigh.
FULL TIME: Eastleigh 1-4 Staines
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