MANAGER Richard Hill had asked the home crowd to cheer Eastleigh to a much-needed victory tonight.

Instead the injury-hit Spitfires were taunted by crowing Dover Athletic fans as they were subjected to a brutal 5-2 home defeat in the Vanarama National League, stretching their winless run to five games and dropping them to 11th in the table.

No one will have felt the pain more than ex-Dover goalkeeper Ross Flitney who, having made his long-awaited comeback from a cracked thumb bone, was sent off after Eastleigh had hit back for 2-2 and were beginning to take control of the game.

Spifires' top gun James Constable had a third-minute headed goal from Lee Cook's cross disallowed for offside - incorrectly as DVD footage later showed.

Instead it was Dover who snatched a 19th-minute lead. It was all too easy for Ricky Miller as he ran at the home defence – featuring new Gillingham loan signing Callum Davies - and curled the ball past a furious Flitney.

Ross Lafayette levelled on the half-hour with his second goal for club. The big No11 had thumped the post seconds earlier from Lee Cook’s cross and, as Eastleigh recycled the ball, he rose to glance home Dan Harding’s delivery from the left.

While the first half was a slow burner, the second was anything but.

Less than two minutes in, Joe Partington - sporting a bandage on a head wound - was penalised for bringing down Stefan Payne just inside the box and Nicky Deverdics restored Dover’s lead from the spot.

Eastleigh’s response was instant as Lee Cook curled in a beauty of a free kick for 2-2 and, with tails up, Lafayette and Andy Drury came within inches of putting the Spitfires ahead.

But disaster struck on the hour when Flitney was shown a straight red for taking out Payne in the box. Cook was sacrificed for sub keeper Lewis Noice whose first job was to pick another Deverdics penalty out of the net as the visitors took the lead for a third time.

With tempers fraying all over the pitch it got worse, much worse, for ten-man Eastleigh.

Partington’s foul invited Tom Murphy to make it 4-2 with a free kick from the left side of the area. Then, to cap a nightmare evening, Miller hit a worldy from 35 yards which went in off the underside of the bar.