Beware of Spitfires, Saints told

SAINTS have been given a word of warning ahead of their pre-season friendly at Eastleigh on Monday, August 2 (7.45).

The Spitfires have been acknowledged as "stubborn opposition" by Southampton's npower League One rivals Leyton Orient who needed a late goal to beat them 2-1 in the Joma South West Challenge Cup on Tuesday night.

Even without their central defensive pairing of Tom Jordan (dead leg) and new signing Chris Holland (hip), Eastleigh proved a hard nut to crack for the Os, who finished 17th in League One last term.

Praising the patience of his Orient side and the tenacity of Blue Square Bet South outfit Eastleigh, Os' boss Russell Slade said: "I was pleased we came back from going behind (to a Richard Graham goal in the 1st minute).

"It was a good workout for us in a different way to our matches last week. Eastleigh are very strong and physical.

"They sat right deep and we had to break them down - and we did eventually.

"It was very important to keep plugging away because there was no space in behind."

Considering Eastleigh had played and beaten Truro City 2-1 just 24 hours earlier, their fitness and stamina was a credit to them.

"I was pleased with our lads," said manager Ian Baird. "They played exceptionally well considering it was their second game in two days and they were up against a full-time side."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Deal sealed with Lawshield

Eastleigh Res. 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham Utd Res.

Richard Hill