A late equaliser from Eastleigh's Kieron Evans was enough to knock Carlisle United off top spot in the National League in front of a league-high attendance this season of 10,860.

Junior Luamba's early second-half goal after a good combination between him and Chris Conn-Clarke looked to have won it for the home side before Evans popped up with an 88th minute effort for the Hampshire club.

Yet the hosts were close to three points when substitute Luke Armstrong hit the inside of the post deep into injury time.

Mark Hughes' side are unbeaten in seven league games but they dropped to third, one point below new leaders Forest Green Rovers and behind Rochdale on goal difference.

Eastleigh stopped a run of two defeats but despite the draw, they slipped one spot to 14th.

All 12 fixtures in the National League kicked off at 15:03 to showcase the league's 3UP campaign, and their case for a third promotion spot up to the EFL.

As things stand, there are two tickets in League Two every season, with the only automatic spot going to the champions with the six teams below them battling it out in the play-offs for the second one.

There is strong sporting merit to support their case, of the last 12 clubs to gain promotion before this season, all but two are still in the EFL while Wrexham have climbed as high as the Championship.

To coincide with that campaign, Carlisle had designated this match as 'Target 10K', as they reduced ticket prices to attract a bumper crowd and were rewarded with the National League's highest regular season attendance since April 2023.

A run of 16 points from a possible 18 had taken the Cumbrian side to the top of the table and they largely dominated the first half, but striker Georgie Kelly could not turn that into goals.

The Irishman was denied by two fine saves from Nick Townsend and when he was beaten, Kelly's close-range header came back off the post.

Lloyd Humphries offered a warning when he arrived unmarked to head wide but Luamba fired home to give Carlisle a deserved lead.

Regan Linney brought a smart stop out of Townsend, but the Blues did not put the game to bed and were punished when Evans slid one past Gabe Breeze to equalise.

Armstrong nearly won it for the hosts, but Hughes will know this was two points lost in the battle for that sole automatic promotion spot.

Carlisle United head coach Mark Hughes told BBC Radio Cumbria:

"We're disappointed as we did more than enough to win the game.

"I thought our performance was very good, we created chances and on another day we would have taken the game away from Eastleigh.

"But unfortunately at 1-0, there's always a chance that the opposition might get one opportunity. And in the last five minutes, we didn't really manage the game to a conclusion, which we've improved in that aspect of our play."