Town’s unbeaten run ended by drab defeat at Eastleigh
TOWN MANAGER Pete Wild felt a point would have been a fair result after his side lost their first game in seven thanks to Tyrone Barnett’s goal for Eastleigh.
Barnett’s volley was the one moment of quality in a drab affair, which brings to an end a fine run of form for Wild’s team.
“I thought there was nothing in the game, there’s been one chance in the whole game and unfortunately they’ve taken it instead of us,” he said.
“It was an even contest, I couldn’t see a goal from either side, but they’ve just managed to nick one. That’s the only chance in the whole game, it was a completely even contest with two teams scrapping it out in the middle of the park on a small pitch that didn’t look like it was going either way. Fair play to them, they’ve managed to get themselves over the line.
“Most games are probably going to be like that until the end of the season, pretty cagey, you’re going to get an odd chance and if you take it, you’ll do well and if you don’t, you’ll find what happened to us.”
Wild was pleased with his side’s performance either side of Barnett’s winner.
“Up to and after. I didn’t really see them scoring, and then we switch off and Tyrone peels off the back of Tom Bradbury and that’s the only chance in the whole game of any note for either side,” he said.
“The cagey ones have gone for us in the last two games and unfortunately it hasn’t.”
Town only registered one shot on target in the whole game.
“We didn’t get enough numbers up in the final third to support Billy and Jamie, they were feeding off scraps,” Wild said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t get the support to them, maybe because of personnel and how they play. We didn’t get enough numbers in the box to really hurt them. We kept their forwards in-front of us and I really couldn’t see a goal.”
Wild said a point would have been a fair result.
“We’ve come away with two 1-0 wins when maybe a point could have been a fair result the other way so you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth,” he said.
Eastleigh settled quicker, passing and moving slicker than Town, but not fluidly enough to create any chances.
A hard, bobbly pitch didn’t help, but it was a messy game, with passes going astray, crosses from deep easily dealt with and set-pieces poorly executed. Plenty of perspiration, but little inspiration.
The second-half continued in the same vein, with Billy Chadwick looking likeliest to make something happen for Town but snuffed out by a solid Eastleigh defence.
A nice one-two between Joe Tomlinson and Abdulai Baggie was a rare moment of invention from either side, but the subsequent cross was cleared before the lively Baggie fired way off target.
But Barnett’s volley a few minutes later was perfectly placed to put Eastleigh ahead from Jack Payne’s wonderful dinked pass.
The goal of such quality was out of place in such a poor contest, but with the game’s first effort on target, the seemingly impenetrable deadlock was broken.
Barnett’s goal proved the sole pulse-racing moment of the contest, as it reverted to a disjointed, stop-start game, with
Halifax failing to exert any real pressure.
Town’s response was flat, with Eastleigh coming closer to a second than the visitors did to an equaliser, as The Shaymen’s terrific run of form came to a weary end.
Eastleigh: McDonnell, Blair (Smart 74), Partington, Boyce, Bird, Tomlinson, Hollands, Payne, Baggie (Smith 89), Barnett (Bearwish 89), House. Subs not used: Flitney, Green. Scorer: Barnett (59)
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