Eastleigh snatched a late draw against a resilient Scunthorpe United side at the Silverlake Stadium, in a match decided by two goals in the dying minutes. A vocal home crowd witnessed a hard-fought contest between the two teams.
The first half was a cagey affair, with neither side able to establish any real dominance. Eastleigh, managed by Kelvin Davis, tried to utilise their home advantage, but Andy Butler’s Scunthorpe proved difficult to break down. Clear-cut chances were scarce, leaving both goalkeepers largely untroubled. An intense midfield battle saw neither team able to string together sustained periods of possession.
Kelvin Davis sought to inject impetus into his attack early in the second half, replacing Aaron Blair with Paul McCallum in the 49th minute. Further changes followed in the 55th minute, with Kieron Evans and Richard Brindley making way for Angel Waruih and Sonnie Davis respectively, as Eastleigh searched for a breakthrough. Scunthorpe responded with a substitution of their own in the 62nd minute, bringing on Alfie Beestin for Billy Chadwick. The flurry of changes continued as Louie Holzman was replaced by Lloyd Humphries for Eastleigh in the 68th minute.
As the clock ticked down, Scunthorpe introduced Declan Howe in the 74th minute, replacing Carlton Ubaezuonu. The substitution proved decisive, as Howe broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute, scoring to put the Iron ahead. The goal sparked celebrations amongst the travelling support, who sensed a valuable victory. Eastleigh’s Temitope Eweka received a yellow card in the 78th minute for a foul.
However, Eastleigh refused to concede defeat. In the 91st minute, Harvey Saunders found the back of the net, assisted by substitute Paul McCallum, sending the home fans into raptures. The late goal secured a draw for Eastleigh, salvaging a point from what had looked like a certain defeat. Scunthorpe made two further substitutions in added time, introducing Mark Beck and Kian Scales for Daniel Whitehall and Oliver Ewing respectively, in an attempt to see out the draw.
The draw sees Scunthorpe United maintain their unbeaten start to the season and move to fifth in the National League table, with 12 points from six games. Eastleigh, meanwhile, sit in eighth position with 10 points, having played seven matches.