Danny’s double downs Spitfires
Magpies move four points clear of the bottom four after much-needed win over Eastleigh
Maidenhead United 2, Eastleigh 0
Danny Whitehall netted a brace of goals as Maidenhead United beat Eastleigh 2-0 and took a big stride towards ending their recent flirtation with the relegation places.
Alan Devonshire's men gained some muchneeded breathing space from the bottom four thanks to Danny's first half double, his first coming from the penalty spot and his second a cool finish from Josh Kelly's cross.
Victory also saw them leapfrog their visitors Eastleigh into 18th position, although the Spitfires jumped back above them with Tuesday's goalless draw with Aldershot.
Both sides came into the clash in poor form, with United having crashed out of the FA Trophy to Halesowen Town only four days previously. The Spitfires have also been nose-diving of late, with Ben Strevens side having lost three on the bounce.
Rob Atkinson, on loan from Oxford United, had a nightmare start to the match as he gave away an early penalty for a foul on
Kelly which gave the Magpies a muchneeded lift. Whitehall smashed his spot-kick beyond Max Stryjek to get the hosts off to a dream start inside seven minutes.
Kelly might have netted a second for the Magpies just minutes later, but he was swiftly dispossessed by the Eastleigh defence as he looked to get a shot off on goal.
James Akintunde went even closer later in the half when he ran onto a through-ball but just dragged his left-footed shot wide of the post. The Spitfires also had their moments in an entertaining first half, with James Alabi shrugging off Ryheem Sheckleford before
Joe Ellul got across to put in a firm chal
lenge and prevent the striker from pulling the trigger. Alabi was a handful for the United defence throughout, but when they were found wanting on loan keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond got them out of trouble with a couple of magnificent saves.
However, just after the half-hour mark, Whitehall double his own and Maidenhead's advantage with a tidy, side-footed finish after Kelly had escaped down the right and driven in a low cross.
Alabi passed up a great chance to pull one back for the Spitfires shortly afterwards when he found himself one-on-one with Ashby-Hammond but the keeper got out to deflect his attempt over the crossbar.
Whitehall might have made it a first half hat-trick before the half-time whistle, but his free kick curled just the wrong side of the
Spitfires' post. Chances were more at a premium in the second half, with substitute Jake Scrimshaw missing a glaring opportunity when he sent an effort high over the crossbar on the hour mark. That miss seemed to suck the optimism from the visitors and the Magpies saw out the rest of the match in relative comfort. After the match, Alan Devonshire said: “I thought we played really well in the first half, and then we showed a lot of resilience in the second half.”
Eastleigh boss Strevens added: “We needed to be more clinical. We had very good chances but we did not capitalise on them.”
Maidenhead United: Ashby-Hammond, Clerima, Ellul, Massey, Sheckleford, Twumasi, Upward, Smile (’72 Steer), Akintunde (’79 Fenelon), Kelly (’69 Alfa), Whitehall.
Subs not used: Davies, Keetch.