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Showing posts from December, 2008

Boxing Day misery sees Eastleigh lose unbeaten run to lowly Dragons

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BASINGSTOKE TOWN v EASTLEIGH FRIDAY 26th DECEMBER 2008 Blue Square South

Eastleigh 1-1 Thurrock

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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

Baird turns to former Hawk Sharp to boost options

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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 a

Player news: One in one out

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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

High five! Five straight league wins for flying Spitfires

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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 Broc

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

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

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- 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

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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 W

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

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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 the