HAVING proved they can live with the best at the Sparshatts Stadium on Saturday, Eastleigh are more convinced than ever that they can nail down a place in May's Ryman Premier play-offs.

For 45 minutes of Saturday's absorbing 1-1 draw, league leaders Yeading showed why, barring an unforeseen collapse, they will deservedly take the automatic promotion place into the Conference South next season.

With lightning pace allied to height, power and a redoubtable team spirit, the Ding are the class act of the division.

Yet, after being largely outplayed in the first half, Eastleigh gradually got the measure of their high-riding opponents and,in the end, might even have pulled off a famous victory.

Manager Paul Doswell reflected: "It was quite a frantic game, but I thought a draw was just about the right result. Yeading had two or three good chances, but so did we.

"Yeading are a superb side as I said when we lost to them up there (3-2)in October, but today I didn't think they technically outpassed or outplayed us. It's their physical strength that's unbelievable, but we managed to match that in the second half."

Wins for Essex duo Braintree and Billericay mean Eastleigh have slipped a place to fourth ahead of next Saturday's trip to bottom-of-the-table Kingstonian.

But, with new signings Alex Haddow and Shaun Dyke adding depth and quality to the squad, Doswell confidently predicted: "As long as we can keep between 16 and 18 players fit and healthy, I guarantee we'll get into the play-offs.

"A lot of our remaining home games are against top sides, but most of the away games are at bottom-half clubs, so we're looking to pick up away points too."

When Yeading were seemingly running away with the championship earlier this season, they were masters of scoring late, regularly winning games in the closing stages.

But on Saturday it was Eastleigh who finished the stronger, deservedly claiming a share of the points when Andy Forbes cancelled Dean Palmer's early strike from a corner with an 81st-minute equaliser.

Substitute Paul Sales - back in action after a groin problem - did all the hard work, using his strength and determination to win possession and, as keeper Delroy Preddie came out to block, the ball ran loose for Forbes to sweep home.

After his headline-grabbing 76-goal haul for Winchester City last term, you might be forgiven for thinking that Forbes has had a relatively quiet time of it this year.

Yet the statistics prove that the Reading-based hotshot is as lethal as ever - despite a season punctuated with injury and personal problems.

Incredibly, the 25-year-old boasts a virtual goal-a-game record, scoring 20 times in just 21 appearances for his new club.

While on-loan frontman Craig McAllister kept Yeading on their toes with his aerial presence, it was the arrival of his replacement, Sales, that helped give Eastleigh a foothold back into the game.

The pony-tailed striker instantly proved a handful with his combative style and just failed to connect fully with a back header from Haddow's high cross in the 79th-minute.

Two minutes later he did all the spadework for Forbes's goal and Doswell admitted: "I thought Salesy made a difference in the last 20 minutes when people were tiring. We've got three very good strikers here but when Paul plays like that it gives him a strong chance of getting into the side."

On a more fortunate day, Yeading's ace marksman DJ Campbell could have had at least two goals in what was a highly-charged, often explosive encounter.

He had a low, 42nd-minute drive saved by the feet of goalkeeper Wayne Shaw and, then, eight minutes before Eastleigh scored, he had a dream chance to make it 2-0 but dragged his shot across the face of goal.