Eastleigh FC

DORCHESTER TOWN v EASTLEIGH SATURDAY 31st JANUARY 2009 Blue Square South Report by Ray Murphy It had been an upheaval of a week for the home side Dorchester, with rumours of pay cuts, players leaving the club in droves and the departure of manager Shaun Brooks. The truth behind all of this is unknown to all of us naturally, though the team that took the field for Dorchester was the same as seven days ago apart from two players. All of that aside, nothing should be taken from Eastleigh’s four goal rampage that made up for the single goal home defeat suffered by Dorchester earlier in the season. In reality this was nothing but a stroll for Eastleigh for whom after scoring the opening goal, won the game at a canter. Manager Ian Baird kept faith with the side that had scored a two goal advantage over Bath City five days earlier, meaning centre back Aaron Martin retained his place in the side alongside skipper Tom Jordan. Jonny Dixon returned to the substitutes bench following injury. Do

Eastleigh Res. 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United Res. Suburban Premier League TEAM: Fred Toomer, Adam Gatcumb, Aaron Blaxall, Aaron Todd, Tom Nicholas (c), Nick Lane, James Powell, Joe Crook, Scott Waters, Ben White, Nick Watt. Subs: Robinson (on for Blaxall 40), Bamba (on for Watt 50), Easton (on for White 70). By Jamie Montigue Match Photos - Here After just two minutes, Eastleigh Reserves found themselves a goal behind. A long ball forward from the visitors was met by a tidy finish with a fine lob over stranded Eastleigh goalkeeper Freddie Toomer and into the net. Ben White headed wide from an Aaron Blaxall left wing cross soon after, before Nick Watt fired narrowly over the cross bar with a good attempt from a free kick 20 yards out, to the left of goal. Tooting & Mitcham really should have been two goals to the good but were left ruing a squandered chance as an unmarked man at the far post headed wide with the goal at his mercy. In the 26th minute Ben White had the ball in

EASTLEIGH v BATH CITY SATURDAY 24th JANUARY 2009 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue Eastleigh got back to business with an important 2-0 win over Bath City, who were second in the form table coming into tonight's Blue Square South fixture. The performance was a dramatic improvement on the weekend's showing as the Spitfires hit back at their critics with the best possible response. They did this by showing a lot more determination, doing the simple things well, taking their chances, as well as the added bonus and rarity of a clean sheet to get back to that wonderful winning feeling. Ian Baird was forced into changes from Saturday's 3-1 home defeat to Team Bath as he lost two players to injury - skipper Andy Harris and loanee forward Jonny Dixon, who grabbed his first goal for the club late in the game as a consolation at the weekend. Promising young centre back Aaron Martin replaced Neil Sharp at the heart of the defence, whilst Warren Goodhind returned t

EASTLEIGH v TEAM BATH SATURDAY 24th JANUARY 2009 Blue Square South By Jamie Montigue Eastleigh handed a debut to latest loanee, Ashley Carew who has joined on loan from Barnet, whilst fellow loan signing Jonny Dixon made his home debut having already played last weekend in the 1-1 draw with Braintree Town. Luke Byles returned to the first team after being relegated to the reserves for disciplinary reasons last Saturday, having resolved his differences with manager Ian Baird this week. Unfortunately the game was one to forget for the Spitfires with very few positives to come out of it as Team Bath ran out comfortable winners and gained ground on Eastleigh in the league table with two games in hand. It was nice to see the sun shining for a change at the Silverlake Stadium on a fine afternoon after all of the bleak weather we have had recently, however Eastleigh were most certainly not shining as they put in a very off-colour performance and got all that their play deserved - nothing.

Eastleigh have captured the loan signing of Ashley Carew from Barnet FC of the Coca Cola Football League Two. Eastleigh's Director of Football Dave Malone confirmed the deal: "We are delighted to confirm that we have agreed a 2 month loan deal with Barnet FC for 23 year old Ashley Carew. "Ashley can play on either wing, and has also played full back for Barnet. He will be a welcome addition to our squad, particularly bearing in mind the recent injury to Steve Clark." Click here for player profile from Barnet website.

Eastleigh Ladies started where they left off after a near 8-week break by beating Salisbury 3-0 as they continued their unbeaten run in Hampshire Division 1. On a pitch that had seen better days, the girls scored their first in under 20 minutes with a great goal by former Salisbury player Zoe Cranmer. Momentum continued with some great crosses and runs from the wings which led to the second of the day by Night Akhonya her eighth of the season after she followed up a shot by Lucy Piper. With a 2-0 lead the team went into the second half attacking still and playing some great football. The defence held strong and played a major part in an important clean sheet. The third goal came from subsitute Amy Boucher who proved her worth with a great shot inside the 6-yard box. Salisbury failed to attack though but made promising runs down the wings. Eastleigh's midfield were there to snub out any real danger, and with the Spitfire's keeper rarely troubled, three points and a clean sheet

BRAINTREE TOWN v EASTLEIGH SATURDAY 17th JANUARY 2009 Blue Square South Report by Ray Murphy It was sixteen days since either of these sides last took to the field and the opening forty-five minutes showed just that. Cressing Road Stadium has now seen the visit of Eastleigh four times and the hosts Braintree Town still wait to record their first home victory against The Spitfires. Since their last outing Eastleigh have been rocked with the loss of striker Andy Forbes for the rest of the season and the latest addition to the injury list is Steve Clark who injured ankle ligaments in training forty eight hours earlier and first reports is that the versatile Clark will be out for four to six weeks. Add to that Luke Byles was left behind to appear for the second string, it was a much changed starting eleven to the one that may have been fielded with all players available. Skipper Andy Harris was pushed forward into a central midfield role allowing Peter Adeniyi to switch to wide right to

Eastleigh Res. 2-1 Corinthian Casuals Res. Suburban Premier League TEAM: Fred Toomer, Adam Gastcumb, Aaron Blaxall, Tom Nicholas (c), Luke Byles, Adam Wiltshire, James Powell, Joe Crook, Scott Waters, Ben White, Nick Watt. Subs: Todd (on for Wiltshire 81), Hall (on for Powell 83), Lane (on for White 88). By Jamie Montigue Eastleigh's second string made a promising start to the game with James Powell coming closest early on, his shot saved well by the visiting keeper low at his near post. Ben White had the ball in the back of the net in the tenth minute for the Spitfires but the 'goal' was ruled out for offside. The early pressure paid dividends as Eastleigh took the lead just eight minutes later following an extremely well worked move. White's sublime header from a ball forward was perfectly into the path of right sided mifielder Powell who overlapped well to side foot a powerfully driven ball in across the face of goal. NICK WATT raced in at the far post to take full

Eastleigh FC Ladies are hosting a race night on Friday 20th February 2009 at the Silverlake Stadium. The event will win run from 7:30pm through to approximately 10:30pm. Ray Murphy has very kindly organised the night and arranged two local businesses to sponsor the event, Covers and Premdor. Our events in the past have had a great response from friends and family of the team but low number of support from the club and supporters. We hope that you will all support your local women's football team and come and make a flutter on a few races. The ladies hope you will come and show your support as you do so well for the men! Horses are available to buy prior to the night at £5 each. Every winning jockey receives £20. The club need to sell 56 horses and there are 6 races, so even if you cannot make it, please sponsor a horse or a race. Entry is free!

Last weekend's postponed Blue Square South fixture against St. Albans City will now be played on Tuesday 3rd February 2009, 7:45pm kick off at the Silverlake Stadium .

Having lost Andy Forbes to a ruptured Achilles injury, Eastleigh have moved quickly to bring in a replacement striker. Yesterday evening it was confirmed that Jonny Dixon of Coca Cola League One side Brighton & Hove Albion has joined the Spitfires on loan. The Spanish born forward, joined Brighton last January for a fee of £55,000 after a decent goalscoring record at Aldershot Town but has struggled to get into the Seagulls side this year having already had a loan spell at Blue Square Premier outfit Grays Athletic. Dixon, who turns 25 next week, would have been in contention to line up against St. Albans this afternoon, but will now have to wait until next Saturday's away trip to Braintree Town to make his debut following today's postponed fixture. Meanwhile Lee Roache has returned to Cambridge City after his one month loan period expired. The diminuitive forward looked lively as a substitute but was restricted to just three cameo performances for the club and was recalle

Last weekend's postponed Blue Square South fixture at Fisher Athletic will now be played on Wednesday 18th February 2009.

Please be aware that the dates have now been confirmed for the Quarter Final ties for the Hampshire FA Senior Cup sponsored by Tenon. Tuesday 3rd February 2009 - V T vs Basingstoke Town Tuesday 10th February 2009 - Andover vs Eastleigh Fleet Town vs Bashley Tuesday 17th February 2009 - Brockenhurst vs Farnborough All matches are to kick off at 19:45. In the first of the Quarter Finals, V T will look to continue their fine form in the Wessex League as they take on struggling Basingstoke Town at Portsmouth Road. Last season's winners Basingstoke are expected to take a strong side to V T as they look to strengthen their hold on the trophy. Eastleigh have not seen much success in the past couple of season's in this competition, but following two big score lines in the last two rounds, they will fancy their chances at Andover. Fleet Town will look to use the home advantage as they prepare to face Bashley at Calthorpe Park. Both sides have seen relative success in previous years, a

Hi, I am a season ticket holder with you and am about to set off on a 4250 mile bicycle trip across USA. I will be raising money to buy a disabled boy a specially adapted bicycle. However, what I wondered was if there is anyone willing to text me the results until the end of the season, being in fairly remote areas I will not be able to access a computer regularly. The last game I can attend will be 27 January, I'm willing to pay for the texts. If also you are able give any publicity to this ride it would be most appreciated, please visit our web site www.bike4gus.com . Many thanks Tony Thompson 1 Kensington Close, Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, SO50 6NS

Eastleigh v St. Albans Blue Square South MATCH POSTPONED DUE TO FROZEN PITCH

Eastleigh fans today were dealt a massive blow when they learnt of a 'serious achillies injury' to star man Andy Forbes. Director of Football Dave Malone broke the news to keep fans informed and up to date as he so often has done on the club messageboard, but sadly it was bad news indeed. The posted message read as follows: "Not the news you might be expecting, but we have to report that Andy Forbes has sustained a serious achillies injury - and is likely to be out injured for at least the remainder of this season. "Andy was exercising yesterday when the injury occured, and was taken to Reading Hospital. He was examined there, and his lower leg was plastered. "We expect him to see a specialist in the next 48 hours, and a decision will be taken as to how best to proceed. "The Club has in place top medical insurance, and you can rest assured that he will receive constant medical attentions from experts in their field. Andy will also be placed in the

Fisher Athletic v Eastleigh Blue Square South Eastleigh Res. v Basingstoke Town Res. Suburban Premier League BOTH MATCHES ARE OFF - FROZEN PITCHES

Blue Square Announce “Manager of the Month” Awards for December “Clough Scoops Award As Brewers Make It Ten In A Row” Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough has won the Blue Square Premier "Manager of the Month" award for December. Clough’s side ended the year in pole position in the Blue Square Premier table with a ten point lead. This was due to a fantastic run of form that extends all the way back to the start of November. Since then, Albion have embarked on a run of ten straight league victories. Clough was unlucky not to scoop the November award as Histon’s cup exploits eventually swung the vote in the favour of their boss Steve Fallon. There can be no doubt that Clough deserves the honour as he continues to break records with the team he joined just over ten years ago. During December Albion recorded victories over former Football League sides Cambridge United, York City and Mansfield Town. They completed their 100% record with wins over Forest Green and Altrincham. Duri

EASTLEIGH v BASINGSTOKE TOWN THURSDAY 1ST JANUARY 2009 Blue Square South Report by Jamie Montigue Seeking revenge on the Boxing Day defeat, Eastleigh entertained neighbours Basingstoke Town for round two of this Hampshire derby on the opening day of 2009. A solitary goal from Andy Forbes on the stroke of half time was enough to settle the scores for a New Year's Day win. Lots of play in the air contributed to neither side taking charge of the game in the opening stages. 'Stoke captain Joe Dolan, risked a casual back flick towards former Eastleigh goalkeeper Ross Kitteridge with Andy Forbes chasing in, though fortunately for the visitors, nothing came of it. Eastleigh's first attempt on goal came in the fourteenth minute. Dolan conceded a corner kick under pressure from Tony Taggart and from it Andy Harris' delivery picked out Andy Forbes at the far post. Forbes' downward header found the side netting of goal though Kitteridge appeared to have his post covered. Tw