Davis’ delivering for Spitfires
KELVIN Davis has waved a magic wand and transformed Eastleigh’s immediate fortunes in dramatic fashion with a second key National League win in five days.
Spitfires had slithered precariously close to the danger zone after nine winless league games, but since replacing Richard Hill as manager, the former Southampton goalkeeper has celebrated back-to-back successes.
After thrashing basement boys Oxford City 5-2 in midweek, Eastleigh beat high riding Bromley 2-0 through second-half goals by Scott Quigley and Paul McCallum.
It was the first time the Spitfires had kept a clean sheet since mid-October when they beat Dover Athletic 1-0 in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round.
Davis is proud of the players for their response to his appointment and that of ex-Saints teammate Danny Butterfield, his assistant.
“The players have been very open minded about taking on our ideas, which is just what you want as a coach coming in,” he said.
“Scoring five at Oxford was obviously a superb start. The players gave us a lot of effort, though in the first half against Bromley I wasn’t sure if we were quite at it.
“I asked at half-time if we were giving Bromley a bit too much respect – and got the perfect reaction. We deserved our win with a bit more zip in the second period.
“The important thing is that the players want to keep developing and improving.”
Bromley, in contrast, have only last week’s thrilling 4-3 win over Chesterfield as their only tangible result in 2024 and now share second place with Barnet, 20 points behind the leaders.
Chances were at a premium during a cagey first half with the best opportunity falling to Jake Taylor, whose speculative effort was parried by Grant Smith, with McCallum unable to provide the final touch.
A fine save by Joe McDonnell denied Bromley’s Corey Whitely, but the Spitfires took the lead midway through the second half when McCallum’s flick-on found Quigley who took a touch before firing low past Smith in the Bromley goal.
They doubled the lead 15 minutes later when Nigel Atangana’s cross was headed home in trademark fashion by McCallum, his 30th of the season in all competitions.
Disappointed Bromley boss Andy Woodman reflected: “There wasn’t a lot in it until they scored, but we had one moment where we switched off and were punished for it.
“We didn’t test their back line as much as I wanted to, but Eastleigh were upbeat and buzzing under a new manager and we must give them credit. It was a difficult game for us.
“We’re into the business end of the season and its important we keep our nerve. We’ve got ourselves into a brilliant second position, but we’ll go away and lick our wounds and regroup.” STAR MAN: George Langston (Eastleigh) ATT: 2,075 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Farai Hallam