GOALSCORER Chris Maguire dubbed Eastleigh's 1-1 draw with Newport County 'well-earned' after he scored late to set up an FA Cup third-round replay.

The Scottish international was cool from the spot to draw the Spitfires level on 82 minutes after James Clarke opened the scoring early in the second half.

Richard Hill's side were reduced to 10 men before the break when defender George Langston was shown a straight red card.

Speaking to Eastleigh's media team after the game, Maguire said: “It was a well-earned draw I think. Going down to 10 men that early spoiled it a little bit for us.

“We watched videos of them and how they were going to play - it was exactly what we expected. This is a tough place to come.

“There was great character from the boys. Everybody who came off the bench as well.

“We probably didn’t play at our best, but it was as good as they had. We can take this back to the Silverlake Stadium."

Speaking about his penalty goal, the 34 year old added: “It was never in doubt. When I got the penalty, I thought that it would be a goal.

“I’ve done it throughout my career. There is no better feeling than getting a penalty.

“To do it in front of the away fans was good. The delightful feeling that they got after it was special.”

Eastleigh had conceded 15 goals in the five games prior to their crucial FA Cup tie against League Two Newport.

Restricting higher-ranked opposition to just one goal was an achievement to be proud of - given their man disadvantage - and to continue working on says Maguire.

“You see some teams crumble under that (going a man down). We said that, but we have got goals in our team.

“We know we are going to score goals and create chances. We have that in the back of our heads.

“It is a great feeling to bounce back after going down to 10 men. (Being better defensively) is vital.

“We work on it in training and we try to bring it on to the pitch. We need to not give away silly goals.

“We look forward to the replay, hopefully we can win that and be drawn against a big team.”