Hawks out to upset Martin Allen's men in The Buildbase FA Trophy first round

Danny Chapman knows all about new Eastleigh manager Martin Allen but the Harlow Town boss insists he will be focused solely on his own team when the pair meet in The Buildbase FA Trophy first round on Saturday.

Chapman played under Allen at Barnet for a short spell in 2003 and is aware how tough the task of beating his former manager, who last week left the League Two Bees to take over at National League Eastleigh, will be.

There are two divisions separating the teams but Eastleigh are in Emirates FA Cup second round action on Tuesday night against Halifax Town for the right to play Brentford in the third round.

And while Chapman thinks that could give the Hawks an advantage, he insists Allen will have his side well-prepared for what he expects to be a close contest.

“Martin has got his ways. He does not have his nickname ‘Mad Dog’ for nothing, there is a reason behind that but you can always see the method behind the madness,” he said.

“Martin obviously feels the club can progress and move forward. He is very experienced and from a personal perspective it is always nice to test yourself against top coaches.

“The FA Trophy is the FA Cup of non-league football and to get to Wembley would be fantastic, it is a huge one for us.

“We are looking forward to testing ourselves against a team two divisions above and they are still in the FA Cup as well, so it is a big game.

“You would like to think the FA Cup is a distraction but knowing Martin he will make sure they won’t be thinking about it too much.

“It will be in the back of their heads, but we have to make sure we approach the game in the right way and don’t concern ourselves too much with it.”

Former Premier League defender Ibrahima Sonko now turns out for Harlow Town 

FA Trophy history
Harlow Town have made the second round on multiple occasions, most recently in 2002-03, but have never progressed any further.
Eastleigh have a more impressive recent record, reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 before a narrow 1-0 defeat to Cambridge United.

Did you know?
Harlow signed former Premier League centre-back Ibrahima Sonko in 2015. The Senegal defender enjoyed stints at Reading, Stoke City and Brentford and has been a labelled a key player in Chapman’s team.

One to watch
Striker Alex Read is pivotal to Harlow’s hopes and Eastleigh will want to make sure the 27-year-old does not get a sniff of goal. 
Read scored 42 times last season and has hit the ground running this time around, with 13 goals and two assists in 25 appearances so far.

The prize
The winners will reach the second round and cash a cheque for £5,000.