VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE.

Eastleigh 1 Aldershot Town 2.

BEN Strevens’ first game as caretaker Eastleigh manager did not go as planned.

Two Aldershot Town goals inside three devastating first-half minutes put paid to the Spitfires’ sparkling run of four straight wins and six games unbeaten in the Vanarama National League.

Strevens, placed in temporary charge following Andy Hessenthaler’s sudden departure to Dover Athletic, couldn’t have hoped for a better start as Paul McCallum fired them ahead against their north Hampshire rivals inside five minutes.

But the wheels came off as a 36th-minute Reda Johnson own goal, closely followed by one from Scott Rendell, secured the Shots’ first away league win since February 10.

It was the first time in nine attempts that the north Hampshire club had beaten the Spitfires in the National League.

If Strevens himself had written the script, Eastleigh could not have got off to a better start.

Mark Yeates undid the Shots defence with a lofted ball towards Paul McCallum. The powerful No9 used his strength to muscle away from defender Gabriel Osho before slotting the ball past exposed keeper Jake Cole for his seventh goal of the season.

Aldershot responded by forcing a succession of corners before play stopped for an injury to Shots’ Scott Rendell, allowing some of the players to get water on board on an unusually warm and sunny mid-October afternoon.

When play resumed Chris Zebroski went down in the area looking for a penalty after a tussle with Lewis Kinsella, but the decision went in the defender’s favour.

It took the visitors 19 minutes to get their first shot of note away – an opportunist 30-yard strike from Adam McDonnell that scooted wide.

But, when their first clear chance arrived five minutes later, the Shots really should have scored. McConnell played a superb ball between the lines for Matt McClure who, with Stryjeck beaten at his right-hand post, somehow dragged his shot past the far upright.

After the brightest of beginnings, the Spitfires were now on the back foot with Aldershot seeing more and more of the ball.

Stryjek initially remained untroubled, with Portsmouth loanee Adam May lashing a hopeful long-range effort well over before McDonnell’s shot from distance was deflected behind for the visitors’ sixth corner of the game with half-an-hour gone.

But Eastleigh were dicing with danger and disaster struck as Aldershot weighed in with two goals in a dreadful three-minute spell for the men in blue.

On 36 minutes Kinsella pick-pocketed Jones and the influential McDonnell once again found McClure who this time rifled in a shot on the angle from the left.

Stryjek got a strong hand to it and the ball hit the near post, shot across goal and ricocheted over the line off Eastleigh skipper Reda Johnson.

With the Spitfires in defensive disarray, it needed a brilliant one-on-one stop from their big Polish keeper to prevent a second as McDonnell broke clean through.

But the relief didn’t last long as the Shots came again, forcing yet another corner which May flicked on. Scott Rendell met it with at the far post and his shot was deemed to have crossed the line amid a goalmouth scramble.

Eastleigh looked stunned but did their best to respond when Yeates sent in an enticing delivery from the left, but it evaded the front two of Zebroski and McCallum.

Half-time: Eastleigh 1 Aldershot Town 2.

Four minutes into the second half Eastleigh undid the Shots with a defence-splitting pass, leaving Michael Green one-on-one with Cole.

Green got there a split second quicker than the keeper but, with time and angle against him, the left-back clipped his effort wide.

With 55 minutes gone, caretaker boss Strevens made his first change, withdrawing one of his three centre-backs, Alex Wynter, who had an eye problem, and throwing on Ben Williamson up top.

Zebroski pulled wide right and immediately conjured up the Spitfires’ most dangerous cross of the game which was flicked on by Cav Miley and just eluded McCallum.

But just as they were starting to gain some semblance of control, Eastleigh had another let-off on 63 minutes when Marvin McCoy’s cute back-heel found on-loan Huddersfield man Regan Booty whose shot swerved just over Stryjek’s crossbar.

Back came Easleigh with Shots keeper Cole doing well to block out Miley from Yeates’s ball in and then getting a strong fist to a dangerous looking Yeates corner.

With six minutes remaining, the Spitfires went for broke, withdrawing another centre-back, Andrew Boyce, and adding James Constable to the attacking mix, leaving Green, Jones and Johnson to keep the back door closed.

They gave it everything they had for the caretaker boss, but ultimately came up short in front of a bumper 2,349 derby crowd.

Eastleigh: Max Stryjek, Joey Jones, Michael Green, Alex Wynter (Ben Williamson, 55), Reda Johnson, Andrew Boyce (James Constable, 84), Oscar Gobern, Cav Miley, Paul McCallum, Chris Zebroski, Mark Yeates. Subs (not used): Ross Flitney, Ollie Dennett, Danny Hollands.

Referee: Carl Brook.

Attendance: 2,349.