Joe Partington was quick to brush off the disappointment of the late sucker punch dealt to Eastleigh by Darren Pratley on Saturday.

The Bolton Wanderers midfielder pounced with three minutes to play equalise Dorian Dervite’s 51st minute own-goal and deny the Spitfires a stunning FA Cup third round victory over the competition’s four-time winners.

But swashbuckling right-back Partington preferred to focus on the quality of his team’s performance – and the mouth-watering prospect of a replay at Bolton’s Macron Stadium next week.

“We played well against Championship players, players who’ve played in the Premier League, so we can take confidence from that as a team,” said Partington.

“Who knows, maybe on a nicer pitch at their place we can prove how good we are - and we might have a sniff of causing an upset?”

Reflecting on the blow of Pratley’s strike, a scrambled finish following Liam Feeney’s right-wing corner, Partington said: “We were so close. Before the game you would never have thought we would have come in disappointed to have been drawing the game.

“Going into the latter stages they threw a lot at us and we dealt with it well, until the corner ends up being a tricky one for us.

“I had a tussle in the box as it came in and I thought I was fouled. But we’re not overly disappointed. You get over the initial disappointment and realise you’re still in the draw.

“We’ve now got a massive day ahead for the club, going to play at Bolton.”

Other than the football itself, the day’s other major talking point was the condition of the pitch at the Silverlake Stadium, with referee Iain Williamson conducting three inspections before finally giving the game the go-ahead.

“It was, without a doubt, the worst thing I’ve ever played on,” Partington said. “But once they say the game’s on, it’s on. We were all buzzing about it. None of us wanted the game off, regardless of what the pitch was going to play like. “I’d like to thank all the people who helped out with the pitch, Eastleigh and Bolton fans, as well as all the ground staff. They’ve done a great job and without them the game wouldn’t have been on.”

“It wasn’t always pretty, but I think we still played some good stuff today regardless of the pitch.”

Shortly before Pratley’s leveller, Andy Drury was inches from extending Eastleigh’s advantage to two. And, with one of the best views in the house, Partington thought his team-mate was about to seal a famous victory.

He said: “I was stood very close behind it. You fancy Dukes (Drury) in that position, because he’s scored plenty from there, but the keeper pulled off a good save.

“I think on a different day, when the pitch isn’t as soft, it might have rolled in – but it wasn’t to be.”

There was also praise from Partington for Ben Strevens, after the ever-dependable 35-year-old turned in a maestro performance anchoring the Spitfires’ midfield, as boss Chris Todd tweaked his tactics to combat Championship opposition.

Partington said: “We worked on a few things in training. A couple of their players we focused on didn’t end up coming (Mark Davies and Zach Clough, both on the verge of moves away from the Macron Stadium) so we had to reshuffle mentally.

“But Strevs did a great job in there in front of (centre-backs) Reidy (Paul Reid) and Will (Evans), as well as harrying their midfielders and getting on the ball himself.

“It’s a great asset to have: to be able to change things around depending on the game and our opponents.”

by Paul McNamara