EX BEE BONDZ ADDS BEEF TO BACK
BIG-SPENDERS Eastleigh signalled another statement of their intent this week by signing Barnet’s bruising defender Bondz N’Gala – in a club record fee.
Man-Mountain N’Gala, 27, has spent the last two and a half years at the Hive Stadium, and made 10 appearances for Martin Allen’s League Two Bees this season.
His future at the club seemed to have been settled in the summer when he signed a new contract that ran to the end of this season, with the option of a further 12 months.
But after receiving a text from the club on Monday night informing him that a bid from the Spitfires had been accepted, the defender had no concerns about dropping down into Non-League and joining respected boss Ronnie Moore at Silverlake.
Happy
After completing the deal, he went straight into the squad for Eastleigh’s visit to Aldershot 24 hours later, making his debut in a hard-fought 1-0 victory where the only blemish on his evening’s work was a yellow card for a lunging tackle on Bernard Mensah.
“I loved my time at Barnet,” N’Gala told The NLP after the match.
“I had an amazing two and a half years there. It’s a great club with a great history and some really decent people, not to mention the fans.
“But when I found out Eastleigh were interested, I was really excited about the challenge. This is a new project and the club is desperate to go places. I can’t wait.”
A former youth team player at West Ham, N’Gala would have stints at Plymouth and Yeovil before moving to Stevenage in 2012.
He joined Barnet on loan later that year, and signed for the club at the start of the 2014-15 season, playing a key role as they won promotion from the-then Conference National that year.
“I know what it takes to get out of this league,” he added. “There won’t be any surprises for me.
“It’s a tough league, really tough. But with the set-up here and the players, along with the manager, we are in a position to really push on.”
Neither Barnet nor Eastleigh released the fee of the deal, but the National League side did stress it was a club record – something N’Gala feels no pressure from.
“No, that won’t be a problem for me,” he said. “The two clubs agreed the fee and that’s that. I have just come here to do a job. Tonight’s win was a good start.
“We just have to focus on ourselves and get a run going. The rest will take care of itself.
“You can never write any side off and you certainly can’t write Eastleigh off.
“I have joined a very talented squad here.”