Chester FC boss Jon McCarthy says his players keep 'punching above their weight' after watching his side stun big-spending Easteigh.
The injury-hit Blues had to soak up plenty of pressure from their big-spending hosts but goals from Kane Richards, Elliott Durrell and substitute Jordan Chapell snapped a six-game winless run to earn Chester a valuable 3-0 win at the Silverlake Stadium.
And the Blues boss was glowing in his praise of his charges after the match as they made it just one defeat in the last 14 National League games.
"It's just another outstanding performance from our group of lads," said McCarthy.
"We've lost one game in 14 and there has been a few challenges lately. We've had a couple of draws at home and I think that has been some unfair criticism on some of the players when you see the results as a whole.
"But they've bounced back again and come to Eastleigh, where nobody has given us a chance. To produce that result, this group of players, trust them and be proud of them because they are proud of you and proud to wear your shirt. They are punching above their weight again, again and again. They were outstanding and deserve everything they get."
It would be unfair to simply file this game under 'smash and grab' as Chester played their part in an entertaining contest, arriving with a clear game plan that worked perfectly against Ronnie Moore's men.
Said the Chester boss: "We focused on their two full-backs and most things started from them, so we put our two strikers on them and we didn't really put anybody on (Bondz) N'Gala and (Reda) Johnson (Eastleigh centre backs), we just didn't do that.
"We knew they were going to create chances and we were a real threat up front. At some point our players will be the big players in this league. It is a massive result in terms of our development. It moves us on another level."
