James Constable struck at the death to secure three extremely hard-won points for Eastleigh, against a game Boreham Wood outfit in the Vanarama National League.

The evening’s spoils appeared set to be shared, when substitute Josh Payne picked out Jai Reason with a crisp pass to his left, writes Paul McNamara.

Reason traded passes with another home sub Yemi Odubade, before swinging in a delivery that Constable rose to plant low to away stopper James Russell’s right, breaking Wood hearts in the process - and sending the majority of a 1,427 Silverlake Stadium crowd home happy.

The thrilling conclusion was reward for manager Richard Hill’s determination to not settle for a point from this competitive clash; an attitude aptly demonstrated when Eastleigh’s boss sent on adventurous winger Lee Cook with fifteen minutes to play. ‘

"I had to try and do something," explained Hill. "It would have been easy to sit on my hands and hope, but you can also try and do something, and hope at the same time.

"There’s expectation again around the place. It was important when it was 0-0 that we keep a point, at least.

"But you always know, with the players we’ve got, that we’ll get a chance.

"You’ve seen in the last couple of seasons how often we’ve scored in the last five minutes of games and that’s a good trait to have." 

This, at times, absorbing encounter stirred into life when Russell spilled a Dan Harding cross to give the Spitfires some early encouragement.

After a frantic scramble the ball eventually ran for Andy Drury, whose drive on goal was deflected off target by closing Wood midfielder Luke Howell.

As the action settled, the away team began to find some real joy with their accomplished passing through the middle of the park.

One such move would have led to Eastleigh falling behind, but for the alert Michael Poke. The visitors first engineered a way out of a tight spot deep on the left, before working the ball across the field, with Conor Clifford and then Billy Clifford eventually combining to send Ricky Shakes in one-on-one with home ‘keeper Poke, who saved bravely at the attacker’s feet.

Their confidence fuelled, Wood began to pour forward with greater regularity. Left-back Danny Woodards was a yard too high with a rasping drive from distance, while Poke was soon haring off his line, once more, denying Jamie Lucas after former Spitfire Graeme Montgomery’s measured through-ball.

When the hosts’ next glimmer of goal arrived, it was the result of an under-hit back pass by Conor Clifford that left Russell competing with the on-rushing Ben Strevens for the loose ball. The opposing pair collided, however, with the ball dribbling an inch past the ‘keeper’s left upright.

Montgomery had two further efforts at breaking the deadlock against his old club in the opening period, seeing one shot take a nick off Jamie Turley on its way behind – and then volleying over when the resulting corner was only cleared as far as the Boreham Wood man.

At the other end, Turley’s header, from Drury’s set-piece on the cusp of half-time, was too close to Russell to trouble the former Chelsea number 1.

Ross Lafayette had perhaps the home side’s best opportunity so far quickly after the restart, when Reason picked out the striker in space to the right of the box. Ex-Welling man Lafayette connected sweetly with his effort, but the strike lacked direction, flashing beyond Russell’s right-hand post.

Strevens got on the end of a Reason corner to draw a tremendous sprawling left-handed stop from the away glovesman, and it was centre-half Callum Reynolds’s turn to perform heroics next, when the imposing centre-half stood tall to get his head in the way of a Reason pile-driver.

Montgomery set hearts aflutter among the home faithful with a late shot which crashed just the wrong side of the post, rippling the outside of the net and leaving the cheers stuck in the throats of the fifty or so travelling fans behind the goal.

The same player would send another strike across the face of goal and wide, following substitute Harry Crawford’s cut-back, while, sandwiched between those two efforts, Russell was fully extended to parry away Payne’s bouncing 25-yard free-kick.

Constable would have the final say, however, sealing the Spitfires’ second maximum points haul in four days at the outset of their second National League campaign.

A satisfied Hill concluded: "Give Boreham Wood credit. They looked lively. They’ve come here, put everybody behind the ball and tried to hit us on the break – and it’s nearly paid off for them.

"There are four or five players in their team whose agents were on the phone to me in the summer, wanting to come here.

"They obviously want to try and prove me wrong, and I was aware that could work against us.

"When you work for Eastleigh, you have to win the next game, and be prepared for the opposition to spoil your party."