A five-goal thriller in Eastleigh ended in FC Halifax Town’s favour, as a fantastic Will Harris brace was accompanied by a Florent Hoti goal to see the Shaymen over the line.
The Shaymen lined up with four changes from their midweek victory against Morecambe. In came Max Wright, Adam Adetoro, David Kawa and new signing Thomas Lavery.
An early Halifax free kick spelled danger for the home side. Will Harris was the man to take aim, but his effort crashed against the Eastleigh wall.
It had been a while since Kawa had started a game for Halifax, but it didn’t take him long to re-find his form. His bursting run down the left allowed him to clip a ball into Harris, who took a touch on his chest before acrobatically finishing into the bottom corner. Not a bad way to score his 11th league goal of the campaign.
Eastleigh had a positive spell after going one down. First, a Jordan Cousins shot fizzed over the bar before Lloyd Humphries struck the wall with his free kick, with Cody Johnson booked in the process.
The Spireites were level after 26 minutes. Archie Harris skipped past Lavery before delivering into the feet of Sam Pearson, who swept the ball into the net beyond Sam Johnson for his first goal in an Eastleigh shirt. Max Wright was withdrawn following this as Hoti replaced him.
Latty-Fairweather picked up the away side’s second caution of the game after fouling an Eastleigh player.
Less than ten minutes later, the away side appeared to have retaken the lead through Adetoro, only for the assistant referee to promptly raise the flag for offside. Halifax responded almost immediately, restoring their advantage moments later. Cody Johnson switched play effectively to Latty-Fairweather on the flank, whose composed delivery into the penalty area found Harris. The number nine showed composure, guiding a low finish into the corner to secure both his second goal of the afternoon and Halifax’s second overall.
Eastleigh were inches away from finding the equaliser moments after the restart. Saunders flashed the ball across the area, but Blair couldn’t quite stretch to meet it.
Just before the hour mark, Eastleigh were handed an opportunity to draw level from the penalty spot after Hobson was adjudged to have brought down his opponent inside the area. Johnson, however, proved decisive, producing a fine save low to his left to preserve Halifax’s lead. The Shaymen capitalised immediately at the other end, extending their advantage in clinical fashion. A delivery into the box from Adetoro fell kindly to Hoti, who showed great composure to convert from close range and make it three.
Despite Halifax appearing comfortable in the match, a second Eastleigh penalty of the game gave them a lifeline; this time Humphries made no mistake from the spot and the Spireites were one behind.
Halifax were forced onto the back foot for the final ten minutes, with the defence making a series of vital interceptions to withstand sustained pressure.
Florent Hoti was replaced by Jack Jenkins as five additional minutes were raised by the fourth official. Brilliant, resolute defending from the Shaymen saw them over the line to register their fourth win on the bounce.
Match Stats
Eastleigh
1 Nick Townsend, 4 Lloyd Humphries, 5 Luis Fernandez, 6 Temi Eweka, 11 Aaron Blair, 12 Will Spiers, 15 Harvey Saunders, 17 Josh Lundstram (7 Kieron Evans 72), 20 Sam Pearson (18 Angel Wariuh 89), 24 Jordan Cousins (3 Jake Vokins 89), 27 Archiee Harris
Subs: 22 Josh McNamara, 14 James Waite, 26 Louie Giles, 33 Tommy Whitehead
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson, 33 Tommy Lavery, 36 Thierry Latty-Fairweather, 3 Adam Adetoro, 5 Shaun Hobson, 15 Will Smith, 30 Cody Johnson, 4 Will Hugill, 22 David Kawa (19 AJ Warburton 65), 7 Max Wright (18 Florent Hoti 32 / 20 Jack Jenkins 90), 9 Will Harris
Subs: 12 Nat Ford, 16 Jevon Mills, 17 Owen Bray
Referee: Niall Smith
Goals: Harris 9, 40 Pearson 27, Hoti 60, Humphries 80 (pen)
Yellow Cards C Johnson 25, Latty-Fairweather 36 Adetoro 78, Eweka 90
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 2359 (129 away)
Eastleigh 2 FC Halifax Town 3
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