Eastleigh 4 Welling 2

Welling were unfortunate not to take at least a point from their six-goal thriller at Eastleigh on Saturday.

The Wings fought back from 4-1 down after 52 minutes and a combination of poor finishing and controversial refereeing decisions saw their valiant comeback end fruitless.

Former Welling winger Matt Bodkin gave Eastleigh an 11th minute lead when his deflected right-foot shot left recalled keeper Jamie Turner flat-footed.

The Wings levelled six minutes later with a flowing move that started inside their own half. Ellis Green played a neat one-two, before feeding debutant Richard Stevens and his slide-rule pass played in Joe Healy who chipped in his first goal for the club.

Two goals inside the space of eight minutes just before half-time left the visitors with a mountain to climb.

Matt Groves made it 2-1 in the 32nd minute and then former Welling player Anthony Rivere set up Bodkin for his second.

Ryan Martin's spectacular free-kick was kept out just before the break and the game looked over seven minutes into the second half when Tony Taggart's low drive again took a wicked deflection to give Turner no chance.

Wings boss Andy Ford immediately introduced Dorian Smith and Orlando Smith, the latter making his first bow of the season.

It was almost an amazing start for Orlando Smith but, having cut past two defenders, his shot hit the underside of the bar and bounced out.

Healy was denied his second with 13 minutes left when he converted Lee Blackburn's low cross only to be denied by a late offside flag.

Welling did reduce the arrears two minutes later when Green beat the offside trap and Craig Braham-Barrett scored after Blackburn's initial attempt was blocked.

Welling had strong appeals for a penalty turned down three minutes later, when a blatant handball went unpunished, and Healy missed a great chance to set up a dramatic final five minutes when he went clean through but blazed over.

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