Eastleigh’s miserable week continued at a freezing cold North Street in Alfreton, as Dan Bradley’s stunning 90th minute strike condemned Richard Hill’s side to another defeat, just three days after they had tumbled out of the FA Cup at Southport.

It was a result that left Spitfires boss Hill bemoaning a performance that he considered ‘not good enough’, writes Paul McNamara.

Spitfires’ substitute Craig McAllister looked to have rescued a point when his 80th minute effort drew the scores level at 2-2. With the game moving towards injury time, however, the ball broke for Anthony Howell from Dan Spence’s tackle on John Johnston, as the Alfreton man had surged free on the right. Howell slipped a pass to Bradley, enabling the midfielder to duck inside onto his right foot and send a fantastic whipped effort into the top right corner of the net.

"It was a very good goal, but we lost our shape. We’ve all got sucked over one side of the pitch, when there was no need to have done," said Hill.

It was seven minutes before the game saw any real goalmouth action and, with it, came the night’s opening goal. Anthony Howell won a corner off Dan Spence on the Alfreton left, giving Tom Shaw the chance to swing over a corner into a crammed six yard box.

Under considerable pressure – and Hill claiming vociferously that his keeper had been unfairly impeded – Flitney could only punch as far as the hosts’ right-back Cliff Byrne, who fired gleefully through a forest of bodies and low into the net.

Eastleigh’s first attempt at a response came three minute later when Ben Strevens’ quick free-kick sent Stuart Fleetwood scampering down the left to roll a ball across the box that was cut-out by Luke Graham.

Nevertheless, buoyed by their breakthrough, the home team were taking a measure of early control. The lively Johnston, after being set towards goal by Shaw’s pass, lost his footing at the vital moment as he made his way into the Spitfires’ box. Flithey was then called upon to hold a shot hit from 18 yards by the energetic Bradley Wood, before the home midfielder spun in the centre of the park to clip a terrific ball over the top of Jamie Collins that sent Johnston bearing down on Flitney. The winger forced his strike across Flitney and on target, but Chris Todd was on hand to intervene and hammer the ball away.

When Shaw struck the resultant corner over from the right, Jack Midson was perfectly placed inside the left hand post to clear Graham’s header from the line.

Eastleigh returned fire on 26 minutes when the home side couldn’t alleviate the pressure after Spence’s throw on the right and Craig Stanley hung a cross to the far post. Todd leapt to direct the ball back across the area, finding Jai Reason, whose low strike was wickedly deflected on its way past a stranded George Willis in the Reds goal.

With the wind at their backs Eastleigh began the second period on top, Midson’s flick on Spence’s forward ball proving slightly too heavy for James Constable and running through for Willis.

Reason’s slide-rule ball nearly played Constable in, only for home skipper Graham, an absolute colossus for his team throughout the 90 minutes, to slide in and prod the ball out of the forward’s feet. Strevens was thwarted by Graham’s block, and Stanley couldn’t get hold of a shot from range before, at the other end, Karl Hawley’s snap shot was easily snaffled by Flitney. The away stopper was at full stretch, though, when Shaw received Hawley’s cute touch into his run on the right, to dip infield and lash a shot that Flitney pushed round the far post.

Home left-back Lathaniel Rowe-Turner made a mess of dealing with Flitney’s long punt, freeing Reason to escape on the right and apply a smart back-heel that teed-up Constable to shoot low but straight at Willis.

Soon after, Hawley saw his delivery from the left evade Johnston rushing in at the back post. On 78 minutes, though, the veteran former Notts County marksman put his side in front. Strevens couldn’t do enough to muscle Johnston off the ball, so allowing Bradley to slip a pass right for Hawley to dispatch a clinical right-footed finish beyond Flitney and into the bottom left corner.

It took the Spitfires just two minutes to level matters. Collins helped Strevens’ high ball on into the box where McAllister pounced to knock the ball goal-wards. Willis desperately pawed the initial effort away, but the talismanic frontman was able to nudge home the rebound from a couple of yards out.

With neither side prepared to settle for a share of the spoils, Bradley smashed a strike waywardly off-target, before Midson and Willis indulged in their own one-on-one battle. Three times the ‘keeper kept out the former AFC Wimbledon attacker; holding Midson’s first time flick from close-in, saving at his feet and then clutching the striker’s dig from the left of the area.

Willis’s late saves appeared to have secured his team a point; that was until Bradley had the final word and won all three to leave HIll fuming.

"We had a go, but it’s not good enough," he said.

"It’s no good me making excuses. We weren’t good enough in the right areas of the pitch and we didn’t put them under enough pressure. We weren’t very good tonight. That was similar to the Wrexham performance (where Eastleigh lost 3-0).

"It’s extremely difficult coming to these places – even in August or September, let alone when there’s an icy wind blowing down the pitch. You have to roll your sleeves up. We’ve done that, but we weren’t good enough."