Eastleigh boss Allen defends weakened side ahead of FA Cup replay

Eastleigh manager Martin Allen has defended his decision to field a weakened team in their 2-0 FA Trophy defeat at Harlow Town on Saturday.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Dec 2016, 09:00 BST

Updated 14th Dec 2016, 13:50 BST

Allen took the decision to prioritise the FA Cup second round replay with Halifax, a game for which he has only 14 players available.

Allen named six scholars in Eastleigh’s starting 11 and another five on the bench for the game against Harlow, who are two tiers below The Spitfires.

He said: “I must make it clear to all Eastleigh supporters that if we hadn’t had the replay on Tuesday night I would have brought a full first-team to play this fixture.

“But I’ve got 14 players for Tuesday and I can’t afford to have any more risk of injuries with such a big game for this football club.”