A GRITTY defensive display earned Eastbourne Borough a point at Eastleigh on Wednesday night.
Pat Harding gave Borough an 18th minute lead with a poached finish from inside the area but Eastleigh captain Danny Smith cancelled it out 20 minutes from time.
And Borough needed to weather a spell of Eastleigh pressure as the game wore on to extend their unbeaten league run to 14 matches.
Wins for Welling and Braintree however meant that Borough lost ground to their play-off rivals.
After the hamstring strain he suffered on Easter Monday, Neil Jenkins added his name to Borough’s burgeoning sick and injured list but Scott Ramsay returned to the starting line-up at the expense of Duncan McArthur.
Eastleigh are the only club in Conference South that Borough have never previously beaten but that record looked under threat when Sports took an 18th minute lead.
Adam Wilde’s corner was cleared only as far as Ramsay and his low drive was pounced upon by Harding who turned it in from close range for his 14th goal of the season.
Eastleigh were almost gifted an immediate reply when Jay Lovett, filling in at left-back, mis-kicked straight to Steve Watts. But the experienced striker hurried his shot and sliced it wide of the near post.
Watts was later denied by a fine low save from Hook and Chris Collins drove over as Eastleigh finished the first half in the ascendancy.
Eastleigh, managed by former Southampton defender Jason Dodd, are still not yet clear of relegation worries and their determination to grab an equaliser was evident throughout a full-blooded second half.
Ramsay had an early chance for Borough when he drove over the bar but it was defensively where Garry Wilson’s side showed strength of character as Eastleigh pressed.
On 51 minutes Hook saw a kick charged down but was relieved to see it bounce to safety and he was called upon to claim Darren Wheeler’s half-volley ten minutes later.
With Darren Baker particularly impressive, Borough’s defence held firm until the 70th minute when after a period of head tennis skipper
Smith powered a header beyond Hook to level.
Several times Borough got beyond the Eastleigh backline down the flanks but couldn’t deliver the final ball to test James Pullen in the home goal.
But a point is a point and this was a good one against a team fighting for its Conference South survival. Borough may not be under any pressure to get into the play-offs as Wilson has already admitted the aim was just to do better than last year’s 17th position but they remain in the hunt.
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