OF ALL the stadiums Eastleigh will visit in this historic season, Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground will be among the toughest.

The Welsh side’s home is steeped in history and still hosts Welsh international games.

The Racecourse is the oldest international football ground in the world and was a Football League arena for more than 80 years.

The atmosphere created by the home fans on Saturday was a challenge alone for Richard Hill’s Spitfires.

Eastleigh travelled to the Racecourse at the beginning of arguably their most difficult week as a Vanarama Conference Premier side so far.

Tomorrow theywelcome another former Football League side, lofty Bristol Rovers, to the Silverlake Stadim for a game which will see a new club league attendance record.

Next Saturday they must go to league leaders Barnet, another ex-Football League club.

In a season full of historical landmarks for Eastleigh, who 11 years ago were a Wessex League side, the 3-0 defeat to a classy Wrexham side was Hill’s heaviest loss since November 2012 (4-1 at Hayes & Yeading in the Conference South).

It was a drab performance by Eastleigh, as their five-game unbeaten run was ended, and they looked vulnerable at the back.

New centre back Jamie Turley was ruled out through illness and Michael Green looked far from on his game after recovering from glandular fever to play.

Eastleigh fell behind within 12 minutes through Elliott Durrell’s deflected effort and were further in arrears when Wes York scored under keeper Ross Flitney with 27 minutes gone.

The visitors reverted to a 4-3-3 and looked more capable after the restart.

But by that point they were chasing the game and, against the run of play, Andy Bishop bundled home the third from a Connor Jennings square ball.

“You make it even more difficult (to come to a place like the Racecourse Ground) when you go a goal down so early,” said Hill. “And going two down at half-time makes it even more difficult.

“We can’t use the excuse that it’s a hard place to come.

“We knew it was going to be hard. We have to be difficult to play against, but we weren’t – we were too easy to play against.

“They’re quick, they’re lively.

“We could have got tighter as a team.

We didn’t stop their service from the back to the front.

“It’s all well and good talking about their forwards, but we needed to stop the service coming in from their defenders.

“Wrexham are a good team and undoubtedly they’re going to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season – the edge of the play-offs or in the playoffs.”

Eastleigh’s best effort saw Jai Reason thunder a 25-yard free kick against the bar when his side was 2-0 down in the second half.

Striker James Constable and Jamie Collins both forced Austrian keeper Dan Bachmann into action and Reason had another effort palmed away by the impressive on loan Stoke City stopper.

The energetic Wrexham attack of Jennings, York, Louis Moult and Durrell caused havoc from balls knocked over the Spitfires backline.

The opening goal saw left back Green fail to cut out a cross field ball that found Durrell. The dinky winger, darted off his right wing and broke into the box and his shot was deflected past a wrong-footed Flitney.

Wrexham doubled their advantage when a Moult cross from the right found York at the back post, who scored as Flitney came off his line.

Against the run of play, Wrexham completed a resounding victory when sub Bishop latched on to a Jennings square ball and bundled it into the net on 70 minutes.

The 2,692 attendance at The Racecourse was the largest league crowd Eastleigh have ever played in front of.

That will be beaten tomorrow, though, when a crowd approaching 3,000 will pack into the Silverlake to see Bristol Rovers.