Fleet Held By 'Benchmark' Eastleigh

Daryl McMahon's side made it eight games without defeat although were denied their second win of the campaign - watch match highlights here.

After Craig McAllister's equaliser ten minutes from time gained a point for the Spitfires, manager McMahon reflected: “I thought we were well in control at 2-1 and then it was a little error with the ball when we turned it over in our own half. Disappointed because I think we probably should have seen the game out at that point.

“The important thing is we’re creating chances. I think we had a fair few second-half that we could have scored from but overall I’m pleased with the attacking, we need a bit of work defensively again, conceding too many cheap goals for us but we’ll get that right.

"We reacted well to going a goal down, like we always do. We didn’t lack quality after that. I thought we were very good in possession of the ball second-half, we came out and played really well and then it’s just a kick in the teeth.

“I didn’t think we defended very well first-half, I don’t think we got near their midfield,” he explained. “Rancey gave us more balance in midfield, won more second balls and freed up Payne and Powell to get forward a bit more.”

On their opening eight Vanarama National League games, McMahon said: “You look at Eastleigh and they’re probably the benchmark for us as a football club, they’ve been in the division three years and we’ve just come into it.

“I think our remit was to go into the division and be competitive. I think we’ve been more than competitive so far, we’ve been very unlucky a number of times not to take three points, sometimes down to our own bad play that we need to improve.

"But we’re an evolving team. If you look at us, we’re very young. You’ve got Keds the only player in the group over 30, Eastleigh’s team has players with hundreds of League games, probably thousands.”