WREXHAM 2 EASTLEIGH 1.

EASTLEIGH’s Vanarama National League woes continued at Wrexham this afternoon under the gaze of the BT Sport cameras.

Having taken the lead through Ben Williamson in the televised team-time kick-off at the Racecourse Ground, the Spitfires succumbed to two quickfire second-half goals as the Dragons extended their unbeaten run to an impressive ten matches.

The Hampshire visitors, in contrast, are left a miserable 18th in the table with just one win from their last nine games.

Spitfires’ boss Richard Hill made four changes after Tuesday’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Boreham Wood, welcoming right-back Gavin Hoyte and top scorer Ben Williamson back to the starting line-up after injury and putting faith in the experience of player-coach Ben Strevens and veteran targetman Craig McAllister to turn their ailing fortunes around.

Eastleigh settled quickest and soon rediscovered some of the cutting edge they had been lacking during Williamson’s absence with hamstring trouble.

With less than five minutes gone winger Mark Yeates drifted inside and picked out the former Cambridge United marksman who powered in a shot from a tight angle which on-loan Northampton goalkeeper Luke Coddington managed to shovel over with both hands.

The classy Yeates then played in 37-year-old McAllister who turned and swung his right boot at the ball, but his shot was well off target.

From looking comfortably the better side, Eastleigh came within inches of conceding on 15 minutes, but were rescued by some heroic defending from centre-back Andrew Boyce.

Paul Rutherford worked an opening on the right and his cross was cleared only as far as Marcus Kelly on the edge of the box.

Kelly's shot looked goal-bound but Boyce, a rock-solid summer signing from Grimsby, flung his body at it and the ball deflected onto Ross Flitney’s right-hand post.

That served to motivate the Dragons and Strevens was cautioned for bringing down Rutherford on 18 minutes.

Ten minutes later Wrexham’s Mark Carrington joined him in the referee’s notebook, guilty of simulation as he tried to buy himself a penalty after latching onto Kelly’s dangerous cut-back.

With neither side imposing themselves, the game got scrappy and the yellow card tally rose to three on 37 minutes when Eastleigh’s Danny Hollands was punished for catching Sam Wedgbury late just outside the centre circle.

The game was crying out for a flash of inspiration – and it was Eastleigh who provided it as the visitors seized a 44th minute lead.

It was a goal of stunning quality too.

Hollands did well to keep the ball in play on the left and find Gary McSheffrey.

The 35-year-old former Coventry City man showed his pedigree, curving a sublime, inch-perfect delivery into the six-yard box where WILLIAMSON slid in to net the fifth goal of his injury-hit campaign.

It was only the eighth time Dean Keates’s stubborn Wrexham rearguard had been breached in the league all season.

Half-time: Wrexham 0 Eastleigh 1.

The Dragons sought to unlock Eastleigh’s defence with a couple of long balls after the break, but the first was just too far in front of Chris Holroyd and Flitney came out positively to head the second into touch.

But alarm bells rang for the Spitfires on 59 minutes when Wedgbury chased a long ball down the right and played it back into the path of Scott Boden, completely unmarked inside the area.

Boden got a shot away but, this time, it was Eastleigh skipper Callum Howe who got in a vital block to send the ball harmlessly wide.

By now Wrexham had thrown on sub Jack Mackreth who instantly looked lively down the right and the Spitfires were fortunate to survive after struggling to deal with his menacing cross on the hour.

Having replaced McAllister with the young legs of Cavaghn Miley on 65 minutes, Hill withdrew goal-maker McSheffrey six minutes later and threw on Chris Zebroski.

But on 74 minutes Eastleigh were undone by a set-play and it was sub Zebroski who lost his man from the corner.

Kelly fizzed the ball in from the right and it was Dragons’ skipper and centre-half SHAUN PEARSON who met it at the near post with a towering header for 1-1 – his first goal for the club.

It got worse for Eastleigh five minutes later as pumped-up Wrexham scored again.

Wedgbury found pacy sub Mackreth with a superb diagonal ball and, as the cross came in, HOLROYD bounced off defender Howe’s challenge and clinically smashed the loose ball past Flitney via a slight deflection off the Eastleigh skipper.

Eastleigh: Ross Flitney, Gavin Hoyte, Sam Wood, Danny Hollands, Andrew Boyce, Callum Howe, Ben Strevens (Ross Stearn, 80), Craig McAllister (Cavaghn Miley, 65), Ben Williamson, Gary McSheffrey (Chris Zebroski, 71) , Mark Yeates. Subs (not used): James Constable, Ayo Obileye.

Attendance 3,907 (46 from Eastleigh).