RICHARD Hill refused to use the controversy surrounding Welling United’s second goal on Saturday as an excuse for Eastleigh’s 3-1 defeat – the first he has tasted at home in the league since taking charge in September.

Spitfires players were incensed by referee Carl Brooks’s decision to allow the goal to stand after Wings centre-back Anthony Acheampong appeared to clatter into ex-Saints keeper Jack Dovey as he went up for the ball in the 67th minute.

But though manager Hill conceded that “nine times of ten we would have got the decision”, he felt the Spitfires should have dealt better with Welling player-manager Jamie Day’s deep free kick as it came into the box.

He said: “The referee put the whistle to his lips and then changed his mind, but that doesn’t alter the fact that we shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.

“We should have cleared the ball and kept the score at 1-1 rather than relying on the referee to give a foul on the keeper.

“Perhaps Jack should have done better and, another time, I’m sure he will do.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Hill whose side created the better chances in a quality first half and should have gone in leading by more than Craig McAllister’s early strike.

But when the tempo dropped at the start of the second period, so did Eastleigh’s concentration.

Full story in today's Daily Echo