First win for Spitfires marred by Palmer injury (From Daily Echo)

First win for Spitfires marred by Palmer injury

12:10am Wednesday 18th August 2010 in

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JAMIE Slabber bagged a hat-trick as Eastleigh kick-started their season in emphatic style with a 4-0 win at Dorchester Town last night.

But as is so often the case with the injury-cursed Spitfires, there was a nasty sting in the tail.

Little more than five minutes after entering the game as a second-half substitute, summer signing Staforde Palmer was stretchered off with what manager Ian Baird fears to be another cruciate ligament injury.

The luckless Palmer has only just got back to full fitness after his loan spell at Eastleigh from Hayes & Yeading last season was cut short by a similar injury sustained at Weston-super-Mare.

Though he was delighted with last night’s result and, in particular, the partnership of Slabber and Brett Williams up front, Baird confessed: “Staforde’s injury has put a dampener on things. It’s unbelievably bad luck for the lad. He battled so hard to get fit again and he’s a massive character to have around.

“As one of the Dorchester centre-halves challenged him, Staforde turned and twisted his knee. Will Hendry was driving him home and taking him straight to hospital.

“We won’t know until tomorrow exactly what the damage is but the worst-case scenario is it’s another cruciate ligament injury.”

For full story see today's Daily Echo.