Friday night project

Eastleigh will experiment with Friday night football tomorrow in a bid to boost their average attendances. 

And in a bid to tempt even more fans to the Silverlake Stadium the club have halved admission prices for their Blue Square South clash against Dorchester Town. 

Instead of £10, adult tickets will cost just £5 for the game against the Magpies who are now managed by former Spitfires defender Ashley Vickers. 

Under-12s will be allowed in free. 

The Spitfires have also handed out about 300 complimentary tickets to local clubs in a bid to further boost the attendance. 

Explaining the switch, Eastleigh director of football Dave Malone said: “The game was originally moved to avoid another clash with Saints. 

“They were supposed to be at home on Saturday. 

“We had nine clashes with them this season, which never helps us, so we decided to move the game and Dorchester kindly agreed to change it to a Friday night. 

“There is so much football on during the week and the weekend but none on Friday. 

“Saints are now at Wembley on Sunday and we could have left it, but we want to experiment with Friday night football.” 

He added: “We are obviously hoping that fans go and watch Saints but it’s important for people to go and watch their local non-league clubs.” 

The initial response to Eastleigh’s efforts has been positive. 

“If half the people who say they are going to come turn up we will have a decent gate,” Malone said.