RICHARD Hill admitted Eastleigh had not been at their best last night as a boisterous Vanarama Conference play-off semi-final first leg swung 2-1 in Grimsby Town’s favour in front of an expectant 3,251 Silverlake crowd.

The Spitfires fell behind with less than three minutes gone and, although manager Hill pulled off a masterstroke when substitute Yemi Odubade – fresh back from loan at Woking - equalised within two minutes of going on , the Spitfires conceded another.

A second brilliant strike from Grimsby’s on-loan Cambridge United frontman Nathan Arnold made it advantage to the Mariners going into Sunday’s return leg.

Hill missed Arnold's quick-fire opener while going to collect his coat on a chilly, spring night in Stoneham Lane, but he felt they could have defended better when Arnold struck again in the 72nd minute.

“We should have defended better for the flick-on, but credit where credit’s due it was a good finish by the lad,” he said.

“We can’t have it all our own way. It’s the Conference play-offs, going for a place in the Football League!

“It was always going to be tough and it’s even tougher when little decisions go against you.

“It felt like we were the away team tonight. It’s not that you expect more decisions to go for you at home, but you expect some 50-50s to go in your favour.

“Every decision tonight we had to earn.

“I don’t think we had our share of 50-50s and, if you don’t get them, you end up defending rather than attacking.

“It’s got under our lads’ skin a bit at half-time and I had to try and calm them down because they felt aggrieved.

“It’s no coincidence to me that Barnet, Bristol Rovers and Grimsby are the top three teams in this league because all the little decisions like that tend to go in their favour.”