Boxing Day misery sees Eastleigh lose unbeaten run to lowly Dragons

BASINGSTOKE TOWN v EASTLEIGH



FRIDAY 26th DECEMBER 2008
Blue Square South

Report by Ray Murphy

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Match pictures kindly provided by Daryl Whitlock

Eastleigh 1-1 Thurrock

EASTLEIGH v THURROCK

SATURDAY 20th DECEMBER 2008
Blue Square South

Report by Jamie Montigue

Eastleigh went into this game riding high in second placed in the Blue Square South following five successive league wins and three consecutive clean sheets.

Emergency centre-back Andy Forbes reverted back to his preferred centre forward's role to accommodate debutant Neil Sharp at the heart of defence. The former Havant & Waterlooville and Cambridge City man who joined the club this week, was partnered at the back by Aaron Martin in the absence of the suspended Tom Jordan.

The Spitfires' second new arrival this week, loan signing Lee Roache, started the game on the bench.

The hosts made a positive start initially but fell behind as early as the ninth minute as Thurrock hit back.

A diagonal ball into the penalty area by Luke Byles saw a great leap and cushion header from Andy Forbes knock the ball into the path of strike partner Matt Groves whose looping header narrowly evaded the target in the opening minute.

Jason Matthews was called into action three minutes later when Che Stadhart picked up on a low cross from the right with his back to goal, where his snapshot saw the former Weymouth stopper at full stretch to keep the ball out. The follow up was then headed wide of goal from just a yard out, somewhat fortuitously for Ian Baird's side.

Disaster struck for Eastleigh when a quick breakaway from the visitors saw Thurrock's FOLA ORILONISHE take full advantage of the Spitfires defence being at full stretch as he coolly rounded Matthews (who found himself in no man's land, a long way out of goal), and tapped into an empty net for the opening goal in the ninth minute.

Taggart chipped the ball through for Andy Forbes down the left hand side soon after, but the prolific forward fired high and wide with his weaker left foot.

Eastleigh continued their search to find a way back into the game and came close as Anthony Riviere forced a save out of Joe Wooley with a side-foot shot from 12 yards following a fine knock down by Forbes.

Aaron Martin recovered well at the opposite end with a well-timed challenge in the penalty area to deny a Thurrock attempt on goal, whilst Luke Byles supported the youngster well with an equally impressive full-blooded last ditch tackle to avert any further trouble.

Martin and skipper Andy Harris won two important headers scrapping for possession in the middle of the park midway through the half and in so doing managed to create an opportunity for Tony Taggart, who sensed the goalkeeper was off his line and went for goal from all of 30 yards. Taggart's dipping volley was just an inch too high but this sparked a spell of pressure that saw Thurrock on the back foot.

On 27 minutes, Anthony Riviere became the victim of a vicious challenge by full back Andy Sambrook. The tireless midfielder writhed in pain in a heap on the floor but thankfully after some treatment on the sidelines was able to continue.

After a five minute spell of barren goalmouth action, Mark Wright came close for the visitors with a speculative effort from deep as he cut in from the left and fired just over, before Thurrock created an even better opportunity just minutes later. David Bryant ran clean through behind the Eastleigh defence as a long ball was flicked on by Stadhart only for a combination of a slightly heavy touch by Bryant, and the alert goalkeeping of Matthews, saw the keeper come out on top of this one on one situation as he saved low down at the edge of his area.

As the half wore on, still it was Hakan Hayrettin's side who looked the more likely to trouble the scoreboard. Andy Harris was caught in possession in front of goal and conceded a free kick for a foul on Orilonishe. Mark Wright stepped up to take the central free kick but curled his shot straight into the Eastleigh wall.

The last of the action in the first half saw Neil Sharp head the ball clear but only as far as Sambrook who fired narrowly wide of the target from 25 yards, though Matthews looked to have his angles covered on this occasion.

This was a poor half for Eastleigh by any standards but certainly an even bigger disappointment on the back of the superb form of late and the fact that Thurrock were outplaying the Spitfires on their own turf.

HALF TIME: Eastleigh 0–1 Thurrock

Barely 30 seconds into the half, Eastleigh came out all guns blazing and got off to the perfect start that they were looking for in response.

Calm, collected defending from Aaron Martin who displayed a solid presence that belied his years led to the goal as he squared the ball to his left for Luke Byles. The move was completed with a stunning pinpoint 45-yard through ball from Byles that saw MATT GROVES hold off his marker and fire through the legs of Wooley for a fine equalising goal.

Despite this start, Eastleigh breathed a sigh of relief in the 50^th minute, when Rob Swaine's header from a corner kick was diverted by a Dave Bryant header towards goal from close range that looked to be heading in and would have were it not for Matthews standing tall and punching away from goal.

A teasing low cross from the right by Andy Harris saw Groves let the ball run across the six yard box where it hit Forbes unexpectedly before running out of play three minutes shy of the hour as Eastleigh looked to crank up the pressure.

Meanwhile Kenny Beaney curled a shot towards goal from range but found himself under pressure from Martin as the back-pedalling Matthews watched the ball safely over the cross bar.

Neil Sharp lined up a header from a dangerous Taggart corner delivery, though Thurrock's number one Joe Wooley was there to make a flying punch to clear the visitors' lines.

Groves may well have been in for his second goal of the afternoon due to a mistake by Lee Flynn, the Thurrock captain who headed the ball behind kindly into the path of Eastleigh's goal scorer. Groves, perhaps unaware of the space and time he had, decided to turn back on himself and the opportunity was gone.

Ian Baird handed Lee Roache his first appearance for Eastleigh in the 65^th minute as Groves made way. Immediately the loanee showed impressive signs with a mesmerising run that had defenders left standing. Roache had the cross to match as he picked out Riviere, whose attempted overhead kick didn't quite come off.

The positive play rubbed off on the rest of the side and proved to be just the lift Eastleigh needed.

Andy Harris came extremely close with a ferocious free kick that whistled over the bar whilst Roache's terrific impact continued.

A neat ball into the area saw the former Barnet forward hit a very clean strike on the volley only for Wooley to get down low and save at his near post.

The troubles and headaches that Roache was causing to the Thurrock back line did not cease as the new addition showed another attribute to his game, sheer pace. Roache put Matt Paine under severe pressure and got to the ball first, where he was stopped abruptly by a blatant tug. The referee ignored this, perhaps as Paine was the last man and the frustrations showed from the Eastleigh bench and just about every home fan in the ground.

With fifteen minutes to play, a rare attack from Thurrock saw Bryant come on to his right foot and make room for the shot from the edge of the area. Neil Sharp got a crucial deflection on the effort as Matthews scrambled to his left watching the ball just past his post for a corner kick.

Eastleigh showed resilience in defence from a number of set pieces to soak up a little pressure towards the end of the game.

In the 83^rd minute Andy Harris had a good chance from a free kick 25 yards from goal. The skipper struck it well but the shot hit a well-placed defender on the line before falling right on to the feet of Andy Forbes. The man who has provided sound cover for injuries and suspensions in defence and helped his side to three clean sheets in recent games, uncharacteristically snatched at the chance and fired high over the bar.

The scene was set with the scores level at 1-1 and three minutes of injury time remaining in this action-packed second half for a winning goal to settle the scores.

Despite both sides coming close, and Thurrock's Rob Swaine so nearly stealing the points for the visitors with a powerful header that was matched by a fine save from Matthews, neither side could find a winner as both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.

FULL TIME: Eastleigh 1–1 Thurrock

Match pictures by Jozef Montigue

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Baird turns to former Hawk Sharp to boost options

Baird looks to boost Eastleigh's options

By Adrian Kajumba - full story in

EASTLEIGH are hoping to complete a second signing inside a week from Cambridge City.

Striker Lee Roache joined the Spitfires on a month's loan from the Southern League Premier division outfit on Friday.

And highly-rated, versatile defender Neil Sharp is expected to follow him in making the move to the Silverlake Stadium after Eastleigh were given the green light to finalise terms with the 30 year old.

Eastleigh's Director of football Dave Malone confirmed Sharp's deal will be a permanent one, with the length of it to be discussed between the club and player later today.

Former Havant and Waterlooville man Sharp will be a familiar face to Spitfires manager Ian Baird and players Tom Jordan, Tony Taggart and Luke Byles, having played alongside Jordan and Taggart during his four years at Westleigh Park.

And Malone said: "We have been given permission by Cambridge to speak to him and have agreed a deal in principle.

"We are hoping to complete everything in the next couple of days. Hopefully everything goes through.

"It is not a done deal yet though as you know a lot can change in football in 24 hours."

He continued: "He is an experienced player who is well thought of and he will add a lot to our squad.

"He is quite a robust sort of player, tough tackling. He can play full-back as well and he can play in midfield so he is quite versatile and ideal from a squad point of view."

Hemel Hempstead-born Sharp began his career with QPR before spells at Hayes, Boreham Wood, Barry Town and Merthyr Tydfill.

From there he joined then League Two Swansea City in October 2001, making over 30 league appearances, before signing for Woking in August 2003.

Sharp featured regularly for Woking during that season before departing by mutual consent in 2004 and joining Havant.

The 6'1" defender made over 100 appearances for the Hawks and formed a strong defensive partnership with Jordan, while also proving to a threat in the opposition box with eight goals.

Sharp, who joined Cambridge after opting not to extend his Hawks contract when it expired in the summer, has also played for the Cayman Islands international side.

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A news item on the official Cambridge City website read as follows: Lilywhites' defender Neil Sharp who joined the club at the beginning of the 2008-09 season has left the club. During his time at Milton Road, Neil made 15 starts and five appearances as substitute, scoring once.

Neil commented: "I have no complaints. I didn't perform to my best at the start of the season and once Theo (Dave Theobald) and Smudger (Mark Smith) formed a partnership, I have had no chance of replacing either of them because they have been tremendous and along with Zac have formed an awesome trio."

An update on this story from Dave Malone confirmed that the transfer of Sharp to Eastleigh took a further step to completion. "We are delighted to confirm that all of the paper work in respect of the transfer of Neil Sharp has been completed (thanks to Ray Murphy), and that the registration will be lodged with the FA tomorrow (Wednesday)."

Player news: One in one out

Director of Football Dave Malone released the following press statement with regard to player news on the club messageboard this morning.

"We are pleased to confirm the loan signing of striker Lee Roache, from Cambridge City. Lee was previously with Barnet, and signs for an initial one month loan period. Lee will be included in our squad for the game with Fisher Athletic on Sunday."

Lee, 24, was a product of Barnet's youth academy and signed professional terms in the summer of 2003.

Whilst playing League Two football with the Bees, Roache scored seven goals in thirty-six appearances before moving on to Cambridge City in 2006.

The pacy forward started his third consecutive season with City in the Blue Square South at the beginning of the current season and is a very welcome addition to the squad here at Eastleigh.

The move was made possible by the departure of Matt Bodkin, which is confirmed as the statement continued: "We can also confirm that we have agreed to the release of Matt Bodkin, who was on loan from Grays Athletic. The Club are also hopeful of making a further signing during the course of next week."

Matt made a valuable contribution to the club since joining on loan at the end of August 2008 from Grays Athletic but has since been restricted to substitute appearances.

The tricky winger will be remembered here for his wonder goal that wrapped up a famous 2-0 win over rivals Havant & Waterlooville. In his very next game Bodkin again made a great impact in coming off the bench against AFC Wimbledon and winning a penalty to help seal the points. Thanks for your efforts Matt and we wish you all the best for the future.

High five! Five straight league wins for flying Spitfires

HAYES & YEADING UNITED v EASTLEIGH

SATURDAY 6th DECEMBER 2008
Blue Square South

Report by Ray Murphy

It was second placed Eastleigh travelling to third placed Hayes & Yeading for this Blue Square fixture on Saturday and with an eighty-sixth minute Tom Jordan goal, Eastleigh cemented their second place position with a four point advantage over Hampton & Richmond Borough.

This was Eastleigh’s fifth successive Blue Square South victory and in a space of three weeks seen them record away victories at Maidenhead United, Team Bath, A F C Wimbledon and now Hayes & Yeading all of which were occupying places in the top six of the table at the time of meeting each other.

Andy Forbes had recovered from a dead leg and returned to his central defensive role with Aaron Martin dropping to the substitutes bench as the only change to the starting eleven that had won at Wimbledon earlier in the week. Martin was joined on the bench by Joe Maxwell following his recent loan spell at Brockenhurst. Hayes & Yeading were dealt a blow when their leading scorer Josh Scott had to be withdrawn less than half an hour before the start of the game owing to injury his place being taken by Esmond James.

The home side started well and in the third minute Will Hendry's corner to the edge of the Eastleigh area saw a shot from Peter Collins saved by Jason Matthews. Jamie Brown and Tony Taggart combined well in the ninth minute to set up Peter Adeniyi but the tall midfielder fired his shot over the bar.

In a game that saw the top placed sides together it was no surprise that it never lived up to the expectations of the six-goal thriller between the two sides at The Silverlake Stadium back in October. Chances were limited. Hayes striker Kieran Knight allowed a chance for James on seventeen minutes but his effort was saved by Matthews.

The closest to anyone scoring in the opening period fell on thirty-one minutes. A sweetly struck free kick from Hendry from thirty five yards saw Matthews just manage to push the free kick up onto the bar and then away to safety. A minute later Knight wasted a good chance on the edge of the box.

Hayes and Yeading lost another striker shortly before the interval when Scott Fitzgerald had to leave the field following a collision with Matthews. Another free kick this time spinning away by Hendry caused Matthews a little concern as the half ended.

Hendry wasted a golden opportunity three minutes into the second half when well placed in the six-yard area, Hendry managed to blast the ball high over the bar. Ten minutes later substitute Ram Marwa fired over after Matthews had taken the ball off the feet of Knight only for the ball to fall kindly to Marwa.

With sixty-six minutes played arguably the turning point of the game that appeared to be heading for a stalemate. The influential Hendry provided a challenge on Luke Byles that saw the defender writhe in agony and referee Sean Feerick showing no hesitation in producing a red card to bring Hendry's afternoon to an abrupt end.

Two minutes following the dismissal, Matt Groves fired over the bar when inside the area. The home side still produced a couple of chances, an acrobatic overhead kick from Marwa was saved by Matthews but Eastleigh were making the most of their man advantage.

Matt Bodkin's cross on eighty-three minutes was controlled by Groves before the striker shot across the face of goal. Then three minutes later the all-telling event that was to separate the two sides. Adeniyi chased a seemingly endless cause but managed to win a corner. Taggart's corner kick from the left hand flank was met by the rising Jordan on the edge of the six-yard box guiding his header past Hayes goalkeeper Aaron Howe.

An excellent victory for Eastleigh though maybe not their best performance of recent weeks.

Reserves lose three on the bounce

Eastleigh Res. 1-2 Corinthian Casuals Res.
Suburban Premier League

TEAM: Jon Webb, James Powell, Adam Gatcumb, Justin Hall, Aaron Blaxall, Perry Mullins, Chris Mason (c), Joe Crook, Nick Watt, Scott Waters, Arron Milburn.

Subs: 12 (on for Watt 65), Steve Hall (on for Waters 71), 14 (on for Hall 86)

By Jamie Montigue

After an incredible thirteen game unbeaten run in the Suburban Premier Division that took Eastleigh reserves to the top of the table, inevitably luck had to change at same point as the number thirteen proved to be extremely unlucky.

Since Eastleigh's last win in the middle of November, the reserves then had two away fixtures where they lost to Ashford Town (Middx) and Metropolitan Police, by 2-1 and 2-0 respectively.

Unfortunately those two results were backed up with another defeat as Corinthian Casuals reserves ran out 2-1 winners at the Silverlake Stadium this afternoon.

As early as the first minute of the game, Eastleigh's Nick Watt forced a fine one-handed save out of the visitors goalkeeper from a splendid early free kick.

The Spitfires second string continued their promising start to the game with centre back Adam Gatcumb coming close with a header from a corner kick in the thirteenth minute.

Skipper Chris Mason also came close with a chipped effort before Eastleigh opened the scoring on sixteen minutes and 'Watt' a strike it was too!

NICK WATT picked the ball up on the left hand side where he got at his marker and unleashed a stunning strike that swerved into the top corner of goal.

On the half hour, Corinthian Casuals put together their best move of the half when the ball was worked well across goal, though the end product failed to trouble Eastleigh stopper Jon Webb.

James Powell fired a free kick out of the ground from a good position for the hosts and just two minutes later, with six minutes before the break, the visitors drew level. Eastleigh struggled to clear the ball in a crowded penalty area as the ball was thumped against the post. Again the danger was only half dealt with, with the ball given straight back to the Casuals who made their opponents pay finding the net from close range for the equaliser.

HALF TIME: Eastleigh Res. 1-1 Corinthian Casuals Res.

The second half saw very little goalmouth action as Eastleigh very rarely threatened.

Corinthian Casuals had the better of the play and possession throughout and wrapped up the win with ten minutes remaining taking the ball past Webb at the edge of his penalty area and rolling the ball into an empty net to take all three points.

Due to injuries and other stoppages an incredible eight minutes of time were added on, but in all honesty Eastleigh would have struggled to find an equaliser had their been another half an hour added on based on their second half performance.

FULL TIME: Eastleigh Res. 1-1 Corinthian Casuals

Adeniyi happy to turn down Hawks, Spitfires keen to sign Allen

- By Wendy Gee

Wendy Gee reveals how Peter Adeniyi turned down a move to arch-rivals Havant & Waterlooville just days after the Spitfires finally ended their hoodoo over Shaun Gale's side, where the towering midfielder was ironically named as man of the match.

A further article confirms that the club have moved for Bashley forward Dave Allen, who scored at the Silverlake Stadium on his debut for his new club against Baird's side in the 2-0 FA Trophy defeat.

Click the picture above for a larger image to read the articles in full.

Baird's boys soar onwards and upwards

AFC WIMBLEDON v EASTLEIGH



TUESDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2008
Blue Square South

Report by Ray Murphy

Eastleigh manager Ian Baird celebrated his October Manager of the Month announcement with an excellent victory away at AFC Wimbledon in front of 2,358 spectators. Being forced to change his line up for the first time in three fixtures with Andy Forbes not being able to be included owing to a dead leg, Aaron Martin came in to the side in a centre back role and the 19-year-old gave a highly impressive, mature performance. The Eastleigh threadbare squad though did have to include both Baird and his assistant Matt Gray among the substitutes for the evening.

It is also less than three weeks ago that Eastleigh up to that point this season had played eight competitive away fixtures and only won once scoring nine times and conceding twenty in the process. Their last three games all against sides in the top six of the Blue Square South have yielded three victories with nine goals in their favour.

AFC Wimbledon started as they proved throughout the evening that their fast attacking play gave the impression of the danger they could create but in all honesty the excellent Eastleigh defensive work, meant Jason Matthews was not fully stretched all evening. Eastleigh came closest to opening the scoring on twelve minutes when Tony Taggart's free kick was just off target after Steve Clark had been hauled down on the edge of the box.

Two minutes later Alan Inns powered a header wide from an Anthony Finn corner, as AFC Wimbledon wanted to make sure they did not lose their unbeaten home league record this season. Another cross from the impressive left back Chris Hussey shortly after saw Matthews turn the ball over the bar as the ball threatened to divert into the goal. Matthews also produced a good stop from a Sam Hatton header.

With twenty-eight minutes played, Eastleigh scored the opening goal. Jamie Brown was brought down on the D at the edge of the box and skipper Andy Harris fired the ball just inside the AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper Andy Little's left hand post beyond his reach for Harris’ first league goal of the season. The goal did little to spur the home side on as they struggled to break through the Eastleigh rearguard.

Eight minutes into the second period Taggart had the ball in the back of the Wimbledon net following a Harris long throw but the effort was disallowed for an infringement.

The home side had a couple of attempts to equalise both falling to ex-Grays Athletic striker Danny Kedwell first collecting the ball on the left flanks and then cutting inside before seeing his shot saved by Matthews, then a header from a Hatton cross over the bar. The leading Wimbledon scorer Jon Main failed to impress against the Eastleigh defence. With Tom Jordan and Luke Byles also both giving impressive displays.

With five minutes remaining Eastleigh settled the match. An excellent touch from Taggart brought substitute Matt Bodkin into the penalty area. Skipping past the challenge of Inns, Bodkin was tripped by the trailing foot of the defender and referee Mick McCoy had no hesitation in awarding a penalty which brought no disputes from the Wimbledon players or indeed the now silenced Wimbledon crowd. Taggart confidently struck the penalty into the bottom right hand corner.

In the final minute of the ninety, Jamie Brown somehow failed to apply a tough in the six yard area to have added a third goal and all the home side could muster during the stoppage time was a long range effort from Hatton that was dealt with by Matthews.

Top month for Baird - November's Blue Square South Manager of the Month

Blue Square Announce “Manager of the Month” Awards for November

“Fallon Has Histon Flying On Both Fronts”

Histon manager Steve Fallon has won the Blue Square Premier "Manager of the Month" award for November. Fallon’s side have had a tremendous month in the league and FA Cup, ending with a 100% record in both competitions. The highlight of the period being the two 1-0 Cup wins at home to Swindon and Leeds United. The Stutes also gained a maximum of 12 league points in four games, beating two of the pre-season favourites Stevenage and Oxford in the process. Paul Parker of Setanta Sports said “Some people might be expecting the Histon bubble to burst but they have just gone from strength to strength. “They’ve managed to beat two League 1 teams with a couple of fully deserved victories and are still maintaining their great league form.”

In the Blue Square South the award goes to Eastleigh manager Ian Baird. The Spitfires climbed the table with four valuable victories over their fellow promotion hopefuls during the period. Despite suffering a 3-2 defeat away at Welling, the wins over Hampton, Maidenhead, Team Bath and Havant lifted Baird’s side into third place, firmly in the play-off positions.

Rob Smith from AFC Telford United has won the award in the Blue Square North. Smith’s side competed on four fronts during the month, their only defeat coming in an FA Cup replay at Southend after a plucky home draw. Three league wins stretched their unbeaten run in the Blue Square North to nine matches in which they have only conceded three goals. United also progressed to the next round of both the FA Trophy and Setanta Shield.