Mitch Walker admitted he experienced the highs and lows of football all in one half-hour during Saturday’s play-off semi-final win at Crabble.

The young keeper said he was “suicidal” after gifting Eastleigh their second goal in the final minute of normal time, but then emerged as the hero of the penalty shootout with two superb saves.

Walker, who was also beaten from 40 yards for Eastleigh’s opener, explained:

“When the (second) goal went I thought ‘Oh no here we go again’ because you’re so close to going through and then, in one split second, a bit of a mix-up between me and Tom (Wynter) and they score.

“I thought our heads were going to go when it went to 2-0 but the team did really really well to dig in and hold out until penalties because Eastleigh looked strong.”

Walker took a few seconds to compose himself in the goal at the River End before the shootout began and the 21-year-old said he was just trying to prepare himself.

He added: “I was getting my head straight telling myself I can do it and it was good. It just goes to show you the highs and lows of football that you get in half-an-hour.”

Looking forward to the Salisbury match he added: “The whole season comes down to one game and it could go either way."