An impressive Eastleigh side beat fellow National League side, Boreham Wood, 5-1 as they progress into the second round of the Emirates FA Cup.
This is the third straight year the Spitfires have been drawn against The Wood in the competition, losing the tie in the last two successive years.
However, this wasn’t just a win to banish their FA Cup demons against Boreham Wood, they put them to the sword in which was an emphatic victory for Richard Hill’s side.
Chris Maguire shone the brightest as he was the fulcrum of good for the Hampshire side in this contest with his two goals alongside his one assist.
Nigel Atangana got the scoreboard ticking as his first-time effort, from 18-yards out, rocketed past Nathan Ashmore just after 11 minutes on the clock.
Boreham Wood are 17th in the National League table, so are lacking confidence, but stayed calm under pressure and they equalised in an instant.
Matt Robinson curled a shot to perfection that left Joe McDonnell clutching at thin air as the Hertfordshire side got back on level terms.
Richard Hill’s side have an a mix season so far, from thrashing local rivals to being consistently inconsistent, but they saved their best performance of the campaign for the FA Cup.
This was all without top goalscorer Paul McCallum, who was back on the bench after recovering from his recent injury.
The Spitfires re-took the lead as Jake Taylor powered down the right, drove the ball hard and low into the penalty area before Maguire smashed home for yards out.
Ludwig Lancillette made it three just before the break as Maguire’s wide free-kick was met perfectly by the defender to sweep the ball home from close range.
The relentlessness from Eastleigh didn’t stop in the first half, they were straight out of the blocks in the second period as well.
Francillette claimed his second goal of the contest with a thumping towering header before Maguire rounded off the five star performance with great skill and composer to make it 5-1.
The only negative on this wonderful afternoon for the club is that Jayden Harris was sent off after two yellow cards.
Eastleigh will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon at 2.30pm to see who they will get in the second round of the FA Cup.
The Spitfires last reached this stage of the competition in the 2014/15 season where they played in the second round for the first time in their history.
