Will Grigg marked his Forest Green Rovers debut with a goal as the hosts ended a five-match National League winless run by beating Eastleigh 2-0 at The New Lawn, with substitute Filozofe Mabete adding the second in the closing stages.
Grigg had joined Rovers on a free transfer from Chesterfield the previous week and had started Saturday’s abandoned fixture at Barrow, which was called off after 14 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch. The 35-year-old striker made an immediate impression against Eastleigh, forcing goalkeeper Nick Townsend into a save inside the opening two minutes.
Forest Green continued to create early opportunities. Kyle Kelly also tested Townsend, while Sean Etaluku came close to opening the scoring when his deflected effort clipped the top of the crossbar. The hosts had already threatened several times before finding the breakthrough.
Eastleigh made an early change when Neil Kengni replaced Freddie Sass in the 24th minute, but Forest Green took the lead four minutes later. Kelvin Abrefa was credited with creating the opening for Grigg, who reacted inside the penalty area and poked the ball home beyond Townsend to score on his debut.
The goal gave Rovers a 1-0 advantage at half-time, having created the better opportunities during the opening period. Eastleigh, who had beaten Boston United 4-2 in their previous league fixture, were unable to find an equaliser before the interval.
Eastleigh manager Matt Gray made three changes at half-time, introducing Reece Johnson, Dion Rankine and Jonny Williams for Ali Koiki, Jake Caprice and Hady Ghandour. Forest Green retained their narrow lead as the second half progressed, with Jayden Clarke also striking the woodwork during the contest.
Grigg was replaced by Mabete in the 65th minute, and the substitute made his contribution 11 minutes later. Mabete found the net in the 76th minute to double Forest Green’s advantage and leave Eastleigh needing two goals in the closing stages.
Both sides made further substitutions, with Forest Green introducing Nick Haughton and Bryan Ifeanyi, while Eastleigh brought on Barney Stone and Oli Hawkins. Rovers preserved their two-goal lead to record a clean sheet and secure their first league victory since beating Gateshead 4-0 on 12 September.
The victory ended Forest Green’s five-match winless league sequence, which had included draws against Carlisle United, Sutton United and Wealdstone and defeats to Boston United and Hartlepool United. It also continued Rovers’ strong recent record against Eastleigh, having won all four league meetings across the previous two seasons.
Forest Green moved to 18 points from 13 National League matches, drawing level with Eastleigh, who have played two games more. The defeat was Eastleigh’s third in four league fixtures, preventing Matt Gray’s side from building on Aaron Blair’s hat-trick-inspired victory over Boston United.
