Eastleigh 1 Southport 1

RONNIE Moore’s unbeaten run as Eastleigh manager continued at the Silverlake Stadium this afternoon.

But, after three successive victories under their new boss, the Spitfires had to content themselves with a disappointing 1-1 Vanarama National League draw against a stubborn Southport side, dropping them to ninth in the table.

Moore stuck with the same 11 that had started against North Ferriby last week, while big Ryan Bird, who went over on his ankle in midweek training, kept his place on an unchanged bench.

Southport’s line-up included former Eastleigh midfielder Craig Stanley, who is currently on a month’s loan from Lincoln City.

For the second Saturday running, the game was played in grey, soggy conditions, and there was nothing doing until the eighth minute when Reda Johnson’s giant presence in the box from Adam Dawson’s cross forced an Eastleigh corner.

Played short, the flag kick came back to Joe Partington and, from his pass, Andy Drury’s effort was blocked out.

Southport broke quickly, but good tracking back by long-serving left-back Michael Green snuffed out the danger.

As the Spitfires began to find their feet on a slippery Silverlake surface, Dawson arrowed a cross-shot over from the left and Drury bent a free-kick wide but, while Eastleigh looked efficient enough, there was no real spark to the game in a somewhat dour first half.

The fluorescent-shirted visitors offered little going forward and Spitfires keeper Ross Flitney was a virtual spectator until the 26th minute when he easily gathered Neil Ashton’s cross from the left.

Down at the other end, Southport keeper Tyrell Belford forced Drury wide and safely collected the midfielder’s shot, following good work by James Constable and Dawson, and then he got a solid punch to Dawson’s corner with Mikael Mandron in close attendance.

Flitney had a minor problem keeping the slippery ball in his grasp from Callum Howe’s near-post prod, but he tamed it at the second attempt.

Eastleigh were finding it hard to break through the massed ranks of Southport defenders, but there were twice signs of promise from right-back Partington whose deep cross bypassed the goalkeeper and went behind off a defender’s knee.

Then, when Partington ventured even further forward, his attempted cross rebounded back into his path and he tamely chipped the second attempt into Belford’s hands.

It was all rather turgid stuff for the 1,878 crowd, but they roused themselves to give a huge round of applause to popular striker Yemi Odubade who, it was announced this week, will be leaving the club after three years, unable to break into the side.

Half-time: Eastleigh 0 Southport 0

With no goals to display at half-time, Eastleigh’s new electronic scoreboard temporarily gave up the will to live due to technical issues.

Had it lasted another five minutes, it would have been called into action on 50 minutes as ex-Sunderland striker Mikael Mandron opened the scoring with a top-drawer strike.

The Spitfires had started the second half in rampant mood with the ball bouncing just over off Mandron after Constable had nicked it off the toes of big defender Josh Thompson.

Constable then squared the ball across the six-yard box towards Dawson who seemed certain to score. But Southport managed to nip in ahead of him and clear the ball behind and, from the resulting corner, Johnson was inches away from connecting with another excellent Dawson delivery.

But the Sandgrounders couldn’t hold back the blue and white tide as Eastleigh finally made the breakthrough.

Partington played the ball in from the right and Constable was denied amid a mad scramble at the near post. But as the ball came back out to MANDRON, he added a real touch of class to proceedings, brilliantly arrowing the ball into top corner from just outside the area.

Constable played with real determination after the break and so nearly scored a spectacular second on 53 minutes, seizing possession and almost succeeding in netting an audacious lob from 35 yards.

The pumped-up Spitfires No9 soon tested Belford with an angled shot from the right but, inexplicably, Eastleigh then lost their grip on the game and, after surviving a couple of warning shots from substitute Caton and Callum Howe, they were pegged back to 1-1 with 19 minutes to play.

It proved an inspired second substitution by new Southport boss Steve Burr. Just seconds after arriving the pitch, JAMES GRAY latched onto Caton’s right-wing cross to slot the ball low inside Flitney’s left-hand post.

With the scoreboard back in operation, it made unappetising reading for Eastleigh who quickly set about trying to restore their lead.

Drury drilled the ball narrowly wude from Constable’s lay-off following enterprising work by sub Luke Coulson down the left, and then Constable had the ball in the net only to be denied by the linesman’s flag.

Coulson, on for Dawson, became the Spitfires’ best outlet as they chased a winner but, after Johnson had bulldozed forward and played the wideman in, the big defender missed his kick in front of goal as he attempted to reach Coulson’s cross.

Southport were presented with the last chance of the game when Drury lost possession and Johnson fouled Louis Almond at the expense of a booking, but Almond drove the free-kick into Eastleigh’s defensive wall.

Eastleigh: Ross Flitney, Joe Partington, Michael Green, Andy Drury, Ryan Cresswell, Reda Johnson, Adam Dawson (Luke Coulson, 74), Jason Taylor, James Constable (Ryan Bird, 82), Mikael Mandron, Jake Howells. Subs: (not used) Ryan Huddart., Adam Dugdale, David Pipe.

Southport: Tyrell Belford, Neil Ashton (Ross White, 81), Liam Nolan, Josh Thompson, Louis Almond, John Cofie (James Gray, 70), Andrai Jones (James Caton, 63), Gary Jones, Craig Stanley, Callum Howe, Mark O’Brien. Subs: (not used) Jamie Allen, Connor McCarthy.

Referee: Adam Bromley

Attendance: 1,878