MANAGER Kelvin Davis admitted 10-man Eastleigh “never got into the game” during their 2-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic on Tuesday evening.
Oldham ended a seven-match winless run by seeing off Eastleigh to reinforce their National League play-off hopes and further dent the Spitfires’ chances.
The Latics had taken just five points from the last 21 on offer but received a handy shot in the arm thanks to goals from Billy Waters and Jake Caprice.
Just eight minutes had gone when Waters opened the scoring, getting on the end of a corner he had forced and headed home.
Their slender lead held until the 73rd minute, thanks in part to the Eastleigh crossbar, but Caprice’s coolly slotted through the goalkeeper’s legs to extend the home side’s advantage.
Nathan Tshikuna was then sent off on his Eastleigh debut in additional time, leaving Micky Mellon’s men comfortable as they leapfrogged Gateshead in fourth.
“It was an evening when they did the basics better than us. They put balls in positive areas and we never really dealt with that constant pressure,” Davis said.
“We didn’t manage to put the ball in those areas to give ourselves a foothold in the game. It was a frustrating night.
“From a game plan point of view, we didn’t really get going. Credit to them, they are a top team in the division and they showed us a lot of respect.
“They put us on the back foot from the first whistle but we had the two best chances in the first half. They have a corner, which gets across the near post, and ends up in the net.
“It’s disappointing because we didn’t put the performance in during basic moments which is what turned the game and overruled on the night.”
He continued: “We wanted to try and turn the situation and act like this was a home game by putting pressure on them.
“But we never got into it. We never got a foothold to be able to do that. It’s disappointing but this was strong opposition. It’s an away performance that can happen.”
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