Forbes & Hughes Rescue Point

Bishops Stortford 2 Eastleigh 2



Blue Square South

Match Report by Ray Murphy

The new management structure that saw Ian Baird and Matt Gray in overall charge for the first time, produced dividends on Saturday with a goal in the third minute of stoppage time by now assistant manager David Hughes giving Eastleigh a thoroughly deserved point from a battling display.

A few eyebrows were raised before the game kicked off. It was the first start of any match this season for Jamie Brown having recovered from a hip injury incurred at the end of last season. In addition to that Andy Harris was occupying an unfamiliar right back role, with Rob Marshall switching back to the centre of defence and Chris Piper given a left flank role with Matt Hann on the right. Leading scorer Andy Forbes along with two absentees from last weekend Damian Scannell and Anthony Riviere were on the bench.

It was a somewhat scrappy opening and neither side had created a chance until the nineteenth minute when the home side opened the scoring. A cross-whipped in from the right by Alex Martin found the unmarked Greg Pearson to comfortably head home his tenth goal of the campaign so far.
 
The home side had the upper edge without a doubt at this time. Eastleigh had a chance three minutes after the goal but Piper volleyed over the bar from inside the area. Stortford though should really have added to their score. On the half hour Harris was seemingly impeded by Pearson, but referee Michael Rowley allowed play to continue. Pearson took the ball on went past Marshall and took the ball round Jamie Pullen but had to turn back on himself as the keeper had took him wide of the target. Pearson laid the ball back for Tim Langer who only managed to fire his shot over the bar.

Piper had another chance for Eastleigh seven minutes later but home keeper Andy Young saved his effort. Pearson had another attempt to put the home side two goals ahead breaking through just before the interval but Pullen produced a good stop with his feet.

Stortford did add their second goal within a minute of the restart. Forty five seconds had been played when again Pearson used his strength to get behind Kerim El Salahi much to the annoyance of the whole Eastleigh defence and following, Pearson strode forward before laying the ball square for Martin to drill home the second goal of the afternoon.

Eastleigh made a double substitution, Forbes and Scannell introduced to the action on fifty-three minutes together with a defensive positional change. Within four minutes Stortford's Tom Champion was adjudged to have pulled Hughes over in the area, penalty. Agonisingly Forbes rolled the penalty the wrong side of the upright.

For Eastleigh though this was the start of their afternoon. Despite several close calls on the Stortford goal where luck really did not seem to be going their way they kept battling to the very end.

With sixty-two minutes played Scannell went on a mazy run taking three players out of the action, made just inside the edge of the box before thundering a shot against the underside of the bar, which Stortford scrambled away. Another Scannell cross found Forbes whose shot was blocked.

On eighty one minutes Forbes again was on the end of a Scannell cross, his header this time heading goalwards but a Stortford defender managed to get back and turn the ball off the line. A minute later though and Eastleigh were a goal back. Piper looked as though he had missed his chance to cross into the area but he recovered to send a left foot dipping cross to the far post where Forbes rose highest to head home and give Eastleigh that lifeline.

The home side created a couple of quick chances after the goal. Substitute Roy Essandoh had a header from Pearson’s cross saved by Pullen then a rising drive from Craig Edwards was pushed over by Pullen.

With the game in stoppage time an off-balance Forbes could only fire over the bar, it seemed that it might have been the last chance but with ninety three minutes on the clock Eastleigh got their deserved equaliser for their second half display. Harris’ long throw off the right flank was flicked on across goal by Paul Sales where Hughes arrived to prod the ball home for his second highly important goal in two games.

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