RONNIE Moore was celebrating the best FA Cup result of his long career after his elated Eastleigh side stunned former Premier League outfit Swindon on a spine-tingling night at the County Ground.

The Spitfires cruised into the second round with a 3-1 victory over a team two divisions higher in the pyramid.

It has been hailed the greatest night in the club’s history. And, for experienced manager Moore, it topped Rotherham’s 2-1 win against Gordon Strachan’s Saints in 2002 as the highlight of his managerial career in the FA Cup.

He said: “For me it’s got to be the top one. We’re a non-League side, they’re League One and we haven’t just beaten them, we've played them off the park.

“If we can believe in ourselves we’ve got a heck of a team here. I’ll still try to bring one or two in, but it’s a fantastic night for Eastleigh FC.

“This is a ground where I’ve lost nine times out of ten. Last time I was here we lost 5-0 and the time before that we were winning 2-0 when the lights went out – we came back and lost 3-0!

“So for the lads to play like that was fantastic.

“The first half couldn’t have been any better. What a great break for the second goal.

“I didn’t know Dukes (Andy Drury) could run that fast but he’s bombed through and Mika (Mandron) has picked him out.

“It was about taking your time and being cool under pressure. It was a fantastic finish. We knew they were going to improve, it was just a matter of not being too deep.

“We were always a threat on the counter-attack and could have won by more.

“We haven’t been that bad in the league, but the difference tonight was that we took our chances when they came and you put the opposition on the back foot when you do that.

“The support was unreal but they scored from a lackadaisical moment for us.

“You can’t take the mickey as a keeper, you do the right thing and clear it.

“Then your heart’s in your mouth with ten minutes to go and four minutes of added on time.”

Eastleigh will host FC Halifax Town – 2-1 replay winners over Dagenham & Redbridge - in the second round at Silverlake Stadium on Sunday, December 4 (2pm).

Their immediate priority, however, is preparing for this weekend’s long away trip to Gateshead as they look to transfer their scintillating Cup form to the Vanarama National League.

“If we keep playing like that there’s no-one in the National League that will live with us, we’ve set our standard now,” continued Moore.

“Halifax will be a decent team if they’ve beaten Dagenham. But it’s a great opportunity to progress into the third round. Then you want one of the big boys and [the chance to] make yourself a fortune.”

Elsewhere in the Cup last night, Taunton - the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, threatened an upset at Eastleigh’s National League rivals Barrow when Ed Palmer equalised Jordan Williams’ opener with just 17 minutes to go.

However, the hosts restored their lead through Ryan Yates a couple of minutes later to spoil the Southern Football League Division One South & West club’s 297-mile journey home.

Whitehawk – managed by former Eastleigh boss Richard Hill – bowed out 3-0 at Stourbridge on Monday.