Hartlepool United hang on for a National League point in draw 1-1 at Eastleigh

The impressive Joe Grey gave Pools the lead in the 20th minute following an incisive pass from Terrell Agyemang.

But Eastleigh equalised in the 77th minute when Hartlepool old boy Chris Maguire scored from the spot and the visitors could well have come away with nothing had it not been for some Pete Jameson heroics and the woodwork.

Coach Kevin Phillips made two changes from last Saturday’s goalless draw with Southend as Joe Grey returned from illness to replace Chay Cooper while Terrell Agyemang was a surprise inclusion after Brennan Dickenson picked up an injury in training.

Eastleigh, who were winless in their last four, welcomed back Paul McCallum after the in-form frontman missed their midweek defeat to Barnet while linking up with Mani Dieseruvwe on England C duty.

Like Dieseruvwe, McCallum has been enjoying the most prolific season of his career and came into the game leading the National League’s scoring charts after netting 30 times in 32 appearances, including six in his last five.

With the international break meaning most teams in England’s top four tiers were not in action, the Silverlake Stadium was hosting celebrations as part of the annual Non-League Day, which aims to shine a light on lower league football while also raising money for Prostate Cancer.

And while it might have been Non-League Day, there were two managers of Premier League pedigree in the dugouts as Kevin Phillips faced off with former Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, who made two appearances while on-loan at Pools in 1997, for the first time.

It was a quiet start to the game as Pools looked to take the sting out of the Spitfires by keeping hold of the ball while Eastleigh looked to threaten down the flanks through their lively wing-backs Oscar Rutherford and Ben Reeves.

Grey, who was making a welcome return to the side, was causing the home side problems on the right and almost fashioned a chance 10 minutes in when he slipped away from Luke Croll but his ball across the face was turned clear before it could reach Dieseruvwe at the back post.

The two players coming back into the side combined to fire Pools ahead in the 20th minute.

Not long after Pools had survived a spell of sustained pressure that ended with Paul McCallum’s strike being deflected wide by the attentive Luke Waterfall, the visitors headed up the other end and Tom Crawford found Terrell Agyemang, who in turn slid the ball in for Grey and the 20-year-old finished off a fluid move to score his ninth goal of an increasingly impressive campaign.

The home side looked for a response and came close three minutes later when Chris Maguire, who signed for Pools two years ago but never featured following a contractual dispute with the PFA, curled a free-kick just wide of Pete Jameson’s near post, although the Harrogate loanee appeared to have it covered.

The opening exchanges were something of a clash of styles although Eastleigh’s direct approach almost caused the visitors to come unstuck when Rutherford got in behind but his cross was cleared before either McCallum or the towering Scott Quigley could get on the end of it.

The sunshine that greeted the players when they came out the tunnel had transformed into torrential rain and then hailstones by the half hour mark as Pools were forced to defend a number of balls into their box before Grey turned defence into attack with a superb run, beating two defenders and driving his team up the pitch before his ball aimed for Cooke was cut out on the edge of the box.

For the first 40 minutes Pools had limited the league’s most prolific marksman to one ambitious strike from a tight angle until McCallum found himself in a more promising position five minutes before the break but his header from the middle of the box was straight at Jameson and he held onto it with ease.

The visitors almost doubled their lead eight minutes after the restart when Callum Cooke spurned a presentable opportunity following more good work from Terrell Agyemang, who was enjoying probably his best performance in a Pools shirt.

The Middlesbrough loanee twisted and turned past two hapless home defenders before cutting the ball back to Cooke, who blasted the ball into Row Z from no more than seven or eight yards.

There was a blow for Pools just before the hour after Alex Lacey suffered yet another injury just a week after making his first start since October while Spitfires boss Kelvin Davis introduced Enzio Boldewijn in place of Luke Croll as the hosts switched from a back five to a more attacking flat back four.

After the changes the home side were steadily gaining the upper hand and saw frantic appeals for a penalty waved away with 20 minutes remaining when Scott Quigley hit the deck, although the referee never appeared to have any interest in pointing to the spot nor in the theatrics that followed from the felled frontman.

Just a minute or so later it was Pools’ turn to feel hard done by when Luke Waterfall went down in the box claiming to have been pushed while not long after that Pete Jameson made a superb point blank save to deny McCallum, which was made no less impressive by the fact that the referee spotted a foul in the build-up.

Eastleigh’s increasing pressure eventually told 13 minutes from time when Chris Maguire scored from the spot after the referee adjudged that Nicky Featherstone had handled the ball in the box.

Pete Jameson guessed the right way but the veteran attacker’s penalty was perfectly placed as he struck for the second game in a row to make it 1-1.

Pools weren’t too far away from an instant response but Tom Crawford’s effort was bravely smothered by Eastleigh goalkeeper Joe McDonnell.

Kevin Phillips was becoming increasingly frustrated and went into the referee’s notebook after Crawford’s collision with McDonnell while substitute Solomon Nwabuokei almost made an instant impact but mis-hit his shot from close range before Jameson made a sensational reflex save to thwart Boldewijn at the back post as Eastleigh edged closer to a winner.

In the end, it proved a decent point for Pools who had to hang on for seven minutes of added time and were fortunate that McCallum’s late header glanced off the post and clear of danger.

Pools: Jameson, Ferguson, Parkes, Waterfall, Lacey (sub, Onariase, 58), Featherstone (capt), Crawford, Cooke, Grey, Agyemang (sub, Stephenson, 83), Dieseruvwe.

Eastleigh: McDonnell, Francillette, Reeves, Taylor (capt; sub, Nwabuokei, 83), McCallum, Langston, Hodson, Croll (sub, Boldewijn, 58), Maguire, Quigley, Rutherford.

Attendance: 2,548 (179 away)