Hanwell Town 1-2 Eastleigh

Hanwell Town’s record-breaking run in the Isuzu FA Trophy came to a heartbreaking end as they lost 2-1 to Eastleigh at The Powerday Stadium on Tuesday (December 10).

Joe Wilson’s 29thminute wonder goal had the Geordies dreaming of an upset. However, Eastleigh kept themselves in the game despite not playing well and equalised just before the hour mark through Scott Quigley.

Then, with three minutes to go, the visitors were awarded a controversial penalty. Chris Maguire, who made over 100 appearances for Sunderland, made no mistake from the spot and left Hanwell disappointed with the result but proud of their performance.

The game started at a high tempo with both teams eager to get the opening goal of the FA Trophy Third Round clash. Mat Mackenzie almost sent a lively Hanwell crowd into raptures when his long-range volley hit the bar.

Eastleigh had their first opportunity of the game when Alex Stepien-Lwumene broke free down the left. His shot from the left corner of the box was well saved by Sam Beasant.

A few minutes later, Tyrese Shade turned quickly on the edge of the box and fired the ball off the left post.

Hanwell had their opener in the 29thminute. A Hanwell long throw wasn’t cleared properly by Eastleigh and fell to Joe Wilson on about 25 yards from goal. The full-back smashed the ball into the top right corner to create a party-like atmosphere in the Ray Duffy Stand.

The Geordies managed to resist any Eastleigh pressure and went into the half-time break on track to cause an FA Trophy upset.

In the 50th minute, Hanwell almost doubled their lead when Ezekiel Coker was fouled on the edge of the penalty area. Dan Carr’s resulting free kick was just wide to the of the left post.

Some good play from the visitors ended with Scott Quigley clean through on goal. Beasant managed to get a hand on the forward’s shot, but it still trickled into the back of the net to bring the scores level.

Hanwell then dug deep and, despite conceding most of the possession, stopped their higher-tiered opposition from having many chances to take the lead.

In the 87th minute, substitute Jai Semenyo drove into the Hanwell box and pushed the ball passed Beasant. The Geordies goalkeeper was judged to have tripped the Eastleigh forward and the visitors were given a chance to win the tie from the spot.

The experienced Maguire made no mistake, firing his penalty into the left corner to give Eastleigh the lead. Hanwell came very close to equalising late on but Kameron English’s low driven shot was just wide.

Despite the loss, Chris Moore will be proud of his side’s performances in this season’s FA Trophy. The Geordies will look to carry their encouraging performance into this weekend’s league clash with Gosport Borough.