IT was appropriate that Worcester City chose Hallowe’en to turn in a horror scoreline at Eastleigh.

Despite a debut goal from Marvin Brown to bring the sides level, Richard Dryden’s men were over-powered as they slumped to their worst result of the season.

However, this was also something of a freak outcome as few would have seen it coming given City’s recent revival.

Lingering perilously close to the relegation zone they may be, but Dryden’s team have shown signs of significant improvement in the last month and headed to Hampshire on the back of a commanding performance against Weston-super-Mare.

After all, Eastleigh were only one place above City in the table before kick-off and many fancied the visitors to do well and perhaps pick up their first away win of the season.

Even the supporters, some of whom confronted the manager after the final whistle, felt a win could be on the cards as a group of them had placed a 16-1 wager on a 2-0 City victory. But, as it played out, Eastleigh belied their league position to put in the sort of performance that gave them the double over Worcester last season and took them to the play-offs.

They were ahead through Andy Forbes after 19 minutes and, once Brown had achieved parity seven minutes later, cruised home with Richard Gillespie restoring their lead before the break and Anthony Riviere and Tony Taggart netting in the second-half.

Captain Tom Kemp came back into the defence and Mark Clyde moved to left-back in the absence of swine flu victim Shabir Khan, while Brown was preferred to Marco Adaggio, last season’s top-scorer, and started alongside former Weston-super-Mare colleague Marc McGregor.

City struggled from the off and incurred the wrath of Dryden from the touchline on several occasions. He was less than happy when his side switched off defensively at a sixth-minute free-kick and an unmarked Forbes headed over. The warning signs were there as Eastleigh controlled the early exchanges and forced six corners in the process.

Ben Hinchliffe, who had driven 240 miles from Preston to play, had already tipped over Riviere’s drive before the same player beat Clyde to the ball on the by-line before cutting it back for Forbes to convert.

It was no less than Ian Baird’s side deserved and the visitors’ frustration was clear, with McGregor picking up his second yellow card in as many games for an ill-advised kick at home skipper Tom Jordan.

City, though, got back into the game with a bolt from the blue. Rob Davies, once again starting ahead of Graham Ward, set Matt Dinsmore free down the right flank and he twisted himself into a position to float in a ball which Brown controlled first time before lashing beyond Jason Matthews.

In doing so, Brown became the second former Weston striker to score on his City debut inside a week and vindicated Dryden’s decision to sign extra firepower.

But within nine minutes the visitors got caught out in midfield and Gillespie broke free, danced the ball around Hinchliffe and rolled it into an empty net.

Gary Walker replaced Davies at the break but City seldom threatened in a second-half controlled by the hosts. It needed a last-gasp tackle from Kevin Spencer to deny Riviere on 65 minutes but Eastleigh’s third arrived 60 seconds later as Riviere, still in a forward position, lashed the ball across Hinchliffe and into the bottom corner.

Adaggio’s immediate arrival in place of McGregor made little difference. The woodwork denied sub Jamie White extending the lead in the 74th minute but, five minutes later, Danny Smith’s free-kick was parried by Hinchliffe and Taggart was on hand to drill in the rebound.

Such was Eastleigh’s dominance, City had to wait until the 86th minute to force their first corner and the closest they came to salvaging any pride was Wilding’s tame toe-poke late on.

With Welling United and Chelmsford City visiting St George’s Lane in the space of 48 hours next weekend, it remains to be seen whether this was a relative surprise or a major reality check.