chriswoods51
- Aug 11, 2022
- 2 min read

PREVIEW | Eastleigh (A)

Updated: Aug 12, 2022

THE DETAILS

Eastleigh vs Wealdstone

Vanarama National League

Silverlake Stadium

15:00 kick off, Saturday 13th August

TICKETS

Tickets can be bought on Eastleigh's ticketing website in advance for £15 for adults, £10 concessions, £5 students and £2 under 16s. Tickets can also be bought on the gate, however, please note that adult, concession and student prices rise by £5 on the gate, so we strongly advise Stones fans that you book in advance and save yourself some money!

THE CONTEXT

Wealdstone’s first National League away match of the season is a trip down to Hampshire to face Eastleigh. The Spitfires were just edged out 2-1 at title favourites Wrexham on the opening day, so they will be looking to get off the mark on Saturday, looking to improve on their 19th placed finish last season. It was all change at the Silverlake Stadium over the summer, with former Havant manager Lee Bradbury dismantling the squad and bringing in several new faces, including former Stones loanee George Langston, as well as Ouss Cisse, Charlie Carter, Aaron Martin and Tristan Abrahams.

WHAT WAS SAID? Stuart Maynard: "Winning games of football breeds confidence, the biggest thing from Saturday was that we won and that we deserved to win. We've beaten Bromley who for me will be right up there in the mix, it's a great win and builds us confidence to take into the Eastleigh game this weekend."

TEAM NEWS

Alex Dyer serves the last match from a suspension picked up at the back end of last season. Rhys Browne, Jaydn Mundle-Smith, Lewis Kinsella, Sam Howes and David Sesay all recovered from pre-season knocks and featured in the opening day win over Bromley. Sam Habergham was the only doubt after missing Saturday's win but he's been back in training this week leaving Stones boss Stuart Maynard a near-full squad to choose from.

ONE TO WATCH

Full-back Vincent Harper signed for the Spitfires from Chippenham Town in early September 2021, and immediately made an impact in Hampshire, making 35 appearances and consistently being the standout in a below-par Eastleigh team. Aged 21, Harper will be looking to kick on even more this season and follow a pathway that has seen several Eastleigh players make their mark in the EFL, such as Ben House, Joe Tomlinson and Rob Atkinson.

DID YOU KNOW?

Eastleigh’s nickname, ‘the Spitfires’, comes from the famous Spitfire aeroplane being built in nearby Southampton and first flown from Eastleigh Aerodrome (now Southampton Airport). There is a replica Spitfire on a roundabout as you enter the airport.

FORM GUIDE

Stones:

Bromley (H) 3-2 W - (Olomola, Browne, Cook)

Chelmsford City (H) 0-3 L

Billericay Town (A) 1-5 W - (Napa, Olomola, Allarakhia, Ferguson, Kretzschmar)

Bedford Town (A) 1-4 W - (Trialist, Kretzschmar 2, Hutchinson)

QPR (H) 2-8 L - (Ferguson, Trialist)

Eastleigh:

Wrexham (A) 2-1 L - (Langston)

Hungerford Town (H) 2-1 W - (Abrahams, OG)

Southampton B (H) 2-2 D - (Abrahams, Rutherford)

Brighton U23s (H) 2-1 W - (Martin, Abrahams)