Eastleigh scored five unanswered goals in an hour, but were left clinging on as Aldershot Town launched a late assault to leave the Spitfires clinging uneasily to an eventual 5-3 victory from an eight-goal National League thriller at the EBB Stadium.
Spitfires played some of their best soccer of the season in establishing a 3-0 interval lead through Paul McCallum, Bailey Clements and a superb individual effort by Chris Maguire.
When McCallum scored his 21 goal of the season and Scott Quigley made it 5-0 on the hour mark, Eastleigh went into cruise control, only to be hit by three late Shots goals, two by Josh Stokes.
Spitfires lost their earlier composure and needed some fine saves from Joe McDonnell to deny Aldershot further success. Eastleigh skipper Enzio Boldewijn was then sent off for his part in an unsavoury brawl which saw five other players booked before Stokes scored his second in the fifth minute of added time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here