Eastleigh secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Gateshead at the Gateshead International Stadium. The visitors established an early two-goal cushion, only for the home side to claw their way back into contention before a late strike sealed the win for Scott Bartlett’s charges.
The deadlock was broken in the 13th minute when Harvey Saunders found the back of the net for Eastleigh, assisted by Josh Lundstram. The visitors doubled their lead in the 23rd minute, with Aaron Blair adding to the scoreline, again with Lundstram providing the assist.
Gateshead responded in the 31st minute, with Frank Nouble pulling one back to inject a renewed sense of urgency into the home side’s play. The first half concluded with the score at 2-1, leaving the tie tantalisingly poised.
The second half began with Gateshead looking to build on their late first-half momentum. However, their task became significantly more difficult in the 53rd minute when Fenton John received his second yellow card, reducing the home side to ten men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Gateshead battled gamely, probing for an equaliser. But as the clock ticked towards full time, Eastleigh managed to put the game beyond doubt. In the 90th minute, substitute Paul McCallum, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, added a third for the visitors, assisted by Richard Brindley.
The victory sees Eastleigh climb to 15th in the English National League standings with 26 points from 22 games. Gateshead, meanwhile, remain in a precarious position, occupying 23rd place with 19 points, having played the same number of games.