Eastleigh defend re-laid pitch after AFC Wimbledon pre-season game postponed

Eastleigh are due to host League Two champions Portsmouth in a friendly on 15 July

Eastleigh were left "very, very disappointed' after AFC Wimbledon cancelled their pre-season friendly.

Representatives from the League One side inspected the pitch on the morning of Saturday's scheduled match and deemed it "not suitable to play on".

National League Eastleigh said recent work to re-lay the pitch had been completed to the required standard.

Chief executive Mark Jewell said the game would have gone ahead "had it been a National League or FA Cup game".

Eastleigh's first-team squad trained on the same pitch after the game was cancelled and are next due to host League One club Portsmouth at their Silverlake Stadium on Saturday.

"We're adamant the pitch is ready to play on," Jewell told BBC Radio Solent. "Our regulars have never seen the pitch look so good."

In a statement, AFC Wimbledon said: "We discovered from a newspaper article that the Eastleigh pitch was being laid this week.

"We arranged to visit the ground early today (Saturday) to inspect the pitch. We are very sorry for the inconvenience to our fans."

The club declined to comment further when contacted by BBC Sport.