Eastleigh v Lewes - Preview

-
Eastleigh v Lewes
Saturday 11th September, K.O. 3:00pm

2009/10 - Results
Eastleigh 1-0 Lewes - 14th November 2009 >> Link
Eastleigh 1-1 Lewes - 21st November 2009 (FA Trophy) >> Link
Lewes 1-0 Eastleigh - 25th November 2009 (FA Trophy - Replay) >> Link
Lewes 1-2 Eastleigh - 3rd March 2010 >> Link

EASTLEIGH:
By Wendy Gee -

EASTLEIGH boss Ian Baird has a big decision to make ahead of tomorrow's home game against Lewes - does he bring Warren Goodhind back in after suspension or stick with the side that triumphed 1-0 at Dover?

Come next Saturday his defensive dilemma will be even greater for the trip to Braintree with ex-Saint Luke Byles due to fly into the country from Australia next week.

With left-back Byles in the side, Eastleigh enjoyed their best ever season in the Blue Square Bet South in 2008/09, finishing in an all-time high of third.

Last term they fell away to 11th while Byles was playing on the other side of the world for Melbourne-based Heidelberg United of the Victorian Premier League.

Such is the 26-year-old's value to the side that manager Ian Baird began the groundwork to get him back five months ago.

"I made moves to try and get Bylesy to commit to us in April," he revealed.

"I asked him then what he was doing for next season and he said he'd either go on to South America with (fellow ex-Saint) Phil Warner or, if it was worth his while, he'd come back to England. He said the only club he'd play for was Eastleigh and we did a deal with him in 48 hours.

"So he's been in our budget plans for this season as far back as April."

Given that Byles is not always Mr Reliable when it comes to time-keeping, Eastleigh have made his travel plans for him.

"I've booked his flight and, hopefully, he should be back in the country on Tuesday (Sept 14)," confirmed director of football Dave Malone.

"We've received international clearance for him and, with a bit of luck, he'll be a big, big plus for us. Bylesy leads a bit of a riotous lifestyle from time to time, but he manages to keep himself fit."

Byles's homecoming could not have been timed better. It coincides with galling news that Brett Poate, the player brought in to replace him, is out long-term with a broken arm.

"It's not as straightforward as we thought," said Baird.

"Brett's actually broken his arm in three places and the worst-case scenario is that he could be out for the rest of the season. He had it operated on last week and it's been plated and screwed. It could be a long process."

Eastleigh were last night due to hold talks with midfield playmaker Will Hendry who has intimated he would like to sign a contract at the Silverlake - despite being the subject of an approach by his old club Hayes & Yeading.

And next week they will begin negotiations with AFC Totton over the future of striker Brett Williams, whose initial month's loan ends on Thursday.

Of Eastleigh's long-term injured, midfielder Anthony Riviere and goalkeeper Jason Matthews could be back in two to three weeks. Shaun McAuley has started jogging but is still weeks away from a comeback, while Peter Adeniyi hopes to be playing again by the end of October.

Staforde Palmer was due a scan this week and fellow frontman Richard Gillespie, who played in discomfort at Dover, has seen a specialist about his ankle.

Eastleigh's Dover win lifted them to seventh in the table.

But lowly Lewes knocked them out of the FA Trophy last term and Baird warned: "As we found to our cost, they are a very dangerous side."

Last two results:
Mon 30th August - Havant & Waterlooville (A) BSBS Drew 2-2 >>http://eastleighfc.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-square-in-entertaining-derby-havant.html 


Next two fixtures:
Sat 18th September - Braintree Town (A) Blue Square Bet South
Sat 2nd October - Basingstoke Town (H) Blue Square Bet South

How the Spitfires lined up last time:
Dover vs EASTLEIGH - 04/09/2010 Blue Square Bet South (A). Won 1-0.
Barfoot, Smith, Bottomley, Brown, Jordan (c), Holland, Williams (Mason 80), Hendry, Slabber, Gillespie, Graham. Subs (not used): - Robinson, Toomer, Collins, Easton.

LEWES:

Last two results:
Mon 30th August - Welling United (A) Blue Square Bet South Lost 2-1
Sat 4th September - Hampton & Richmond (H) Blue Square Bet South  Lost 2-1

Next two fixtures:
Sat 18th September - Chelmsford City (H) Blue Square Bet South
Sat 2nd October - Farnborough Town (A) Blue Square Bet South

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deal sealed with Lawshield

-
Image
Eastleigh Football Club are delighted to unveil Lawshield as sponsors for the South Stand (opposite the clubhouse end) at the Silverlake Stadium for the 2012-2013 season. Lawshield have signed a deal with the club which sees the stand rebranded the Lawshield Stand and we hope the fans will embrace the newly named ‘Lawshield End'. Lawshield Managing Director Ken Specter commented:"It gives us great pleasure to continue our association with Eastleigh Football Club - we wish the whole team, both on the pitch and behind the scenes at the club all the best for the forthcoming season". Lawshield specialise in providing quality insurance products which are underwritten by leading insurers. Their products and services offer comprehensive cover and a seamless integrated service solution to Insurers, Brokers, Fleet Managers and Affinities. They provide a one stop shop offering outsourced claims assistance solutions for household insurance and personal/commercial motor insura
Read more

Richard Hill

-
Image
Eastleigh Football Club are delighted to announce Richard Hill as their new first team manager, with immediate effect. Richard will be introduced to the players and staff tomorrow evening and will take charge of his first match on Saturday against Maidenhead. Richard is vastly experienced having managed Stevenage Borough and assisted John Gregory at both Wycombe and QPR, Brian Little at Aston Villa and also fulfilled the same roles at Gillingham, Tranmere Rovers and Northampton Town. It is a new era for the football club and we feel that in appointing Richard we have made the right choice. We are confident that he has all the attributes necessary to ensure the football club continues to develop and move forward in the correct manner. Stewart Donald added ‘I am delighted that we have been able to appoint Richard so quickly. He is exactly the calibre of Manager I wanted. Like all managers that inherit a team, there will be a transitional period while he familiarises himself with
Read more

Eastleigh 3-1 Newport County

-
Image
EASTLEIGH V NEWPORT COUNTY MONDAY 12th MARCH 2007 Conference South So far so good, as Eastleigh pressed on with their busy schedule with a second comprehensive win in as many days. Yet another classy performance from the Spitfires saw them come out firing on all cylinders finding themselves two goals to the good in the blink of an eye, and just like they did in the Farnborough match at the weekend, they comfortably saw the game out. The only change from the winning side, saw Liam Green replace the injured David Hughes in the centre of midfield. Newport were panicking from the start with the excellent Steve Watts and Jamie Brown letting their presence be felt up the front, giving their opponents no time on the ball. The constant chasing down and pressure from the two Eastleigh forwards almost led to catastrophe in the third minute for Newport, as Stewart Edwards played across his own goal with his keeper missing the ball before it was eventually hacked away. Scorer of Eastl
Read more