SPITFIRES HALT CARDS ASSAULT
VINNY Harper struck with a stunning break-out goal seven minutes into the second half to end Woking’s run of six successive National League away wins.
The goal came from a classic counter-attack - Eastleigh repelling a Woking corner at one end and breaking at speed with recent loan signing Kairo Mitchell supplying the vital pass from which Harper raced into the penalty area to beat the advancing Craig Ross.
It was Woking’s first defeat since Eastleigh knocked them out of the FA Trophy by a 2-0 scoreline just before Christmas and left them 12 points behind second placed Wrexham.
“The first half was a bit rugged, but we stood firm and stood up well to the physical aspect,” boss Lee Bradbury said. “As the game opened up I always felt we had the pace to hurt them on the counter-attack.
“Mitchell ought to have scored a second soon after and so relieve a lot of the pressure Woking applied later on, but all 11 guys put in a terrific shift to beat a good in-form Woking side.”
The game burst into life after a comparatively dull and uninspiring first half, Eastleigh gradually getting a foothold after Woking had, territorially, bossed the initial 25 minutes.
The first half was a cagey affair with chances at a premium, while the second, in almost complete contrast, was end-to-end, with Eastleigh looking increasingly dangerous on the break.
Their winning goal caught Woking upfield from a failed corner, with four Eastleigh players breaking out at speed before Harper applied the finishing touch.
Ten minutes later, Eastleigh could, and should, have doubled their lead as Mitchell, on debut following a loan move from Notts County, broke away but with only Ross to beat chipped his lob shot agonisingly a foot or so wide of the goalkeeper’s lefthand upright.
Despite having won four matches in a row before being held 1-1 by Torquay United in midweek, Woking looked flat and appeared to be lacking belief.
But manager Darren Sarll stirred the pot with a double substitution on 68 minutes which so nearly paid off – Marcus Dackers powering a header against the Easleigh post soon after coming on.
And with Eastleigh clinging on to their slender lead, Padraig Amond ballooned a great equalising chance high and wide of the goal.
“We didn’t do enough to win the game,” Sarll moaned. “We didn’t really seem to have a route to goal, apart from the closing sages when we created a flurry of chances.
STAR MAN: Corey Panter (Eastleigh)
ATT: 2,568
ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★
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