PROMOTION CHASERS Eastleigh and ten-man Sutton shared the points – and then traded blows over who has the biggest budget.
Sutton were a man down for 70 minutes when ex-Eastleigh defender Mitchell Nelson was shown a straight red card for a studs-up foul on Stuart Fleetwood.
But after Craig McAllister had given the visitors a first-half lead, Craig Dundas kept his cool to equalise from the spot.
It’s fair to say there is history between these two with Sutton fielding six ex-Spitfires – including Damian Scannell, introduced from the bench when Jamie Taylor limped off early on, who put a glorious chance to win the game wide late on.
And there’s clearly no love lost between the two managers with former Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell and current incumbent Richard Hill disagreeing on the size of each other’s chequebook.
Asked whether not banking the three points against ten men was a frustration Hill, who felt the foul by Will Evans on Scannell for the penalty was outside the box, said: “They are a very, very good side indeed, you shouldn’t lose sight of that. They are playing at home, they’re 1-0 down with nothing to lose and they play some nice football with some good players.
“Whatever people say about Eastleigh I think you’ve seen the big money team in the league which is Sutton.
“I know what Damian Scannell was earning and he’s come here (Sutton) and I know what I offered Dale Binns for a new contract and he turned it down and came here.
“And they’ve signed Charlie Clough from Dorchester for £10,000. So I think you’ve seen the big spenders in the league and you’d expect them to play like that at home even if they have got ten men.
“So, all in all, saying Eastleigh are the big spenders? No. Eastleigh have come up against the big spenders in the league and we’ve done well.”
Doswell, whose side are now unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, hit back at Hill’s claims.
“I’ve actually seen their wage bill and we’re on half that amount I can tell you that now. So he can come out with all the claims he wants and he can say what he wants but everyone in this league knows what the true story is.
“Footballers can’t help themselves but talk about what they’re on. For me it’s a very similar situation when Weymouth won the league with a massive budget that year and that’s why everyone wants to beat Eastleigh.
“No one likes their manager. He’s arrogant, he talks about clubs like Concord Rangers with disrespect when they’ve gone to his ground and got a draw, he disrespects the Dover manager in the play-off semi-final (last season) and he’s become an unpopular person at this football club. You talk about respect with people and I haven’t got any for him whatsoever. That’s my view.”
