Walsall through in FA Cup after beating Eastleigh

League Two pacesetters Walsall booked their place in the FA Cup second round draw with a comfortable victory over National League Eastleigh.

An early goal from Evan Weir and second-half strikes from strikers Daniel Kanu and Jamille Matt sealed safe passage in a match in which Walsall's superior composure proved the difference.

The scoreline accurately reflected a tie that Walsall ended cruising in third gear, but their National League hosts might kick themselves for failing to convert several decent chances.

Eastleigh had opportunities in the first half but did not put any away, and Walsall punished them in the second.

Walsall came into this match without a win in five in all competitions and manager Mat Sadler will be hoping this victory delivers a boost to league form that dropped off in October.

Promotion remains the priority at the Bescot Stadium after last season's agonising slip into the play-offs despite having topped the table from early December until late March.

While they did not start this tie on the front foot despite going a goal up early, based on their second-half display that ambition looks realistic.

Walsall were ahead after six minutes with a goal that owed plenty to disarray in the Eastleigh defence, which failed to deal with a corner and watched helplessly as Weir bundled the ball in at the back post off his midriff.

The visitors had the lead but not control of the game, with Eastleigh carving out two good chances to level, Lloyd Humphries heading against the bar and Harvey Saunders hitting a first-time side-foot narrowly wide.

Kanu had a close-range effort cleared off the line by Aaron Pierre shortly before the break, but five minutes after it he showed just why he is rated so highly at Walsall, with a quality finish after being put through by Weir.

Racing on to the defender's slide-rule pass, the on-loan striker, who has scored five goals since joining from Charlton, ripped a first-time shot in off the near post, giving keeper Nick Townsend no chance.

Kanu's strike gave Walsall breathing space but it took a fine save low to his right by Myles Roberts from Saunders to keep the two-goal advantage.

Two minutes later, Eastleigh defender Richard Brindley missed a clearance kick on the halfway line to give Matt a run through on goal. It was an opportunity that the veteran striker took with aplomb, firing past Townsend from just inside the area.

Eastleigh manager Scott Bartlett told BBC Radio Solent:

"They are a top top team and they showed that over the course of the 90 minutes. We had our moments and probably a bit more in the first half, where we sustained a really good passage of play for a long time.

"I was really pleased with us up to half-time and, while the second half was a bit flatter, they are a good team who didn't allow us to do what we did to them in the first half.

"We dealt with that [the first goal], and on the back of conceding that was our best passage of play since I've been here. The second one affected us a little bit because we had a mountain to climb then.

"Getting two back against a team like that was always going to be a tough ask. But the way we played today was a bit more like one of my teams and now we need to do that a bit more often."

Walsall manager Mat Sadler told BBC Radio WM:

"If you could have framed this as the outcome at the start of the game, you would have taken it.

"We all know why there are so many people here - because this was a game that could go either way, so I'm delighted with how professional we were.

"We started the game really well but then they had that storm that we had to weather for 15 to 20 minutes. Around 35 minutes we started getting back into the game.

"We make no assumptions about teams in the National League, because there is so much money being spent now - it's not what people thought it was. We had to be right on top of it and really professional.

"A home draw would be nice in round two whatever it looks like, but please at home."