Aaron Blair completed a stoppage-time hat-trick as Eastleigh beat Boston United 4-2 at the Silverlake Stadium, twice surrendering a first-half lead before Dion Rankine’s long-range volley put the Spitfires ahead for the third time.
Eastleigh manager Matt Gray welcomed captain Jordan Cousins back from injury, while Boston boss Paul Hurst made five changes to his starting side, with Connor Teale unavailable through injury. Blair opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, reacting at the second attempt to beat Louis Chadwick and give the hosts the lead.
Boston equalised five minutes later when Nelson Khumbeni brought down Ollie Bostock inside the penalty area. Lenell John-Lewis stepped up and drove the resulting penalty high beyond Nick Townsend, but Eastleigh regained the lead almost immediately.
Tommy Dobson-Ventura delivered from the left and Ibrahim Bakare headed the ball back into the area, where Blair collected possession and fired into the top corner for his second goal in the 29th minute. Boston responded again just two minutes later when Jake Rooney met a bouncing ball on the edge of the box and drove a powerful shot beyond Townsend to make it 2-2.
Four goals in nine minutes had transformed the first half, and Blair nearly completed his hat-trick before the interval. The forward broke through again, but Chadwick saved his effort to ensure the sides reached half-time level.
Boston came close to taking the lead for the first time in the 57th minute when Bostock forced Townsend into an excellent save. Three minutes later Eastleigh went back in front as Rankine controlled a loose ball on his chest outside the penalty area before striking a left-footed volley into the bottom corner from around 20 yards.
Blair had another chance to complete his hat-trick in the 72nd minute after capitalising on a Boston defensive mistake, but Chadwick denied him again. The visitors remained a threat and substitute Tom Cursons forced Townsend into a fine close-range save shortly after replacing Bostock.
Boston thought they had equalised for a third time when Ken Aboh put the ball in the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for handball. Rooney then had another opportunity from a late corner, but his curling shot from close range drifted wide.
Eastleigh settled the contest in the fourth minute of stoppage time. With Boston searching for an equaliser, Max Dickov helped release Blair through on goal and the striker finished beyond Chadwick to complete his hat-trick and secure the Spitfires’ first league victory since beating Sutton United in mid-September.
The victory ended Eastleigh’s two-match league losing sequence and moved Gray’s side to 18 points from 14 games, placing them 15th in the completed Saturday National League table. Boston suffered a third successive league defeat and extended their winless run to six matches, leaving Hurst’s side 21st on 12 points.
