INJURY-PLAGUED Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell reckons you can forget all about the theory that the old Ryman League was less physical than the Dr Martens.
Two bruising home matches in four days against London clubs Hampton & Richmond and Harrow Borough have had the physio working overtime at the Sparshatts Stadium.
Having lost Christer Warren and Ryan Ashford in the heat of a physical 3-3 midweek draw against Hampton, Eastleigh sustained more damage on Saturday -- this time to new midfield signing Danny Smith.
The former Winchester City skipper needed stitches around his eye and nose after being elbowed in the face amid a disappointing 1-1 result against Harrow.
Doswell, already without defender Chris Collins (infected ankle) and striker Andy Forbes (calf cramp), suffered yet another setback on Saturday morning when skipper Rob Marshall withdrew with flu. Ex-Saints midfielder David Hughes was complaining of a ricked neck, but had no choice but to play.
Eastleigh were undone early as Danny McGonigle fired Harrow into a ninth-minute lead.
But, once again, it was Paul Sales - two-goal hero of the Hampton fightback - who pulled them out of the mire with a looping header over the keeper on 75 minutes.
Doswell reflected: "I didn't rate Hampton and Harrow wouldn't even be a top-six Wessex side, so it's disappointing to have drawn both games.
"I don't like not getting three points against poor sides and, as our chairman Roger Sherwood said, we had enough chances on Saturday to have won two games, let alone one."
Salisbury team manager Mark Kelly disagreed with Braintree Town officials in their assessment that the Whites were the best footballing side they had come up against for some time.
Kelly said after the 2-2 draw: "We made two silly mistakes during the game and put ourselves needlessly under pressure. After going one up we should have been able to build on that but, for the second game running, let things slip."
The Whites took the lead on 16 minutes when Adam Wallace bagged his third goal in three games with a vicious shot into the roof of the net.
The hosts side levelled with an Abbott headed goal in time added on at the end of the first half, following and injury to Salisbury's Scott Bartlett.
Goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer's hesitation on 50 minutes gifted Brayley the chance for Braintree's second but substitute Leigh Phillips popped up on 89 minutes with a vital late equaliser from Craig Davis's free-kick.
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