Town know what is expected of them as they look to reach the Second Round of the Emirates FA Cup this evening.
Eastleigh are the visitors to SN1 tonight in the First Round Replay (7.45pm Kick-Off) after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the original fixture at the Silverlake Stadium earlier this month.
Should the Reds come out on top tonight then it would be the first time they have advanced past the First Round of the FA Cup since the 2011/12 campaign.
The Spitfires reached the Third Round of the competition last season and will be hoping to repeat that feat this term.
STAT ATTACK:
Tonight’s game will be only the second time the two teams have met in competitive action, with Michael Doughty’s second-half penalty cancelling out Mikael Mandron’s opener in the first-ever encounter between Town and Eastleigh earlier this month.
TICKET NEWS:
or fans will be able to purchase their tickets on the turnstiles tonight.https://www.eticketing.co.uk/swindontown/Tickets are available to buy NOW via
FORM GUIDE (LAST SIX GAMES IN ALL COMPETITIONS):
TOWN - WLLDDW
EASTLEIGH - WDWLDD
TOP SCORERS:
TOWN - Michael Doughty (3)
EASTLEIGH - Mikael Mandron (12)
TEAM NEWS:
TOWN - Luke Williams almost has a clean bill of health for tonight’s game although Nathan Thompson (hamstring), James Brophy (illness) and Jon Obika (knee) will miss out, although the latter has resumed full training this week.
Luke Norris has been struggling with a slight ankle concern but could feature, whilst Jordan Stewart is waiting to undergo surgery to tidy up the cartilage inside his knee.
Other than that, everyone else is fit and available for this evening’s FA Cup tie.
EASTLEIGH - The Spitfires will be without striker James Constable tonight due to suspension after the striker picked up his fifth booking of the season at the weekend.
Jamie Cureton, Jack Smith, James Granger and Tony Lee are all cup-tied but Ryan Cresswell and Joe Partington, who both missed the first fixture due to suspension, are available to feature.
And Eastleigh could well hand debuts to Ross Stearn and on-loan Derby County winger Alefe Santos, who have both signed for the club in recent days.
A WORD FROM BOTH CAMPS:
Luke Williams, Swindon Town Head Coach: “The pitch here will suit us better for sure and it was well documented that Eastleigh made their pitch the minimum requirement allowed to try and deny space for us.
“We’ve got a reputation for being expansive with the ball and making it difficult for our opponents to cover big distances to defend, so that was very sensible of them but it won’t be the same at The County Ground.
“There will be a bigger area to play on and the actual quality of the surface can help us to make passes more crisp and with less touches, so I hope that swings the tie in our favour.”
*Michael Green, Eastleigh Left-Back: “Everyone will be confident going there. We should have won at home, we had enough chances and they cleared one off the line at the end.
“This is definitely one of the biggest matches of my career.”
OFFICIALS:
Referee - Christopher Sarginson
Assistants - Lisa Rashid & Wayne Barratt
Fourth Official - Mark Griffiths
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE:
pages.Facebook and (@Official_STFC)Town fans will be able to keep up to date with all of tonight’s action across our Twitter
in the wake of the game.swindontownfc.co.ukSTFC Player HD subscribers will also be able to enjoy full uninterrupted commentary of the match whilst there will be a full report and plenty of reaction on
*WITH THANKS TO THE SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO FOR THE MICHAEL GREEN QUOTES.
