After a crazy 3-3 down at the Silverlake Stadium both sides will have one eye on the FA Cup third round with a potential tie up against EFL Championship side Brentford on the cards. The Hampshire club forced a replay in the dying minutes through Mikael Mandron when it looked like The Shaymen would head into the third round for the first time in our history after sailing into a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to go.
We take a look at 10 more things about Eastleigh that you may not already know prior to reading this article…
1) Eastleigh were formerly known as ‘Swaythling Athletic Football Club’ when they were founded in 1946, before changing it to their current name ‘Eastleigh F.C.’ in 1980.
2) Eastleigh were one of the clubs, with AFC Totton being the other, in the2011/2012 Hampshire Senior Cup final which featured in the first live testing of the goal-line technology – Eastleigh won the game 2-0 taking home the silverware.
3) The scoreboard at Eastleigh was West Ham United’s old scoreboard which they had the Boleyn Ground up until this season when they moved to the London Stadium.
4) The East Terrace stand was purchased from Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club and transported to Silverlake. Although only a few steps high, it is covered and has a capacity of 1,250.
5) The Hampshire club are called ‘The Spitfires’ due to the Spitfire aeroplane being built in neighbouring Southampton, with its maiden flight being from Eastleigh Aerodrome – now known as Southampton Airport.
6) Eastleigh’s finish of seventh in last season’s National League Premier was their highest ever finish as a football club, narrowly missing out on a play-off spot.
7) Going back two years to 2014, Eastleigh were compared to Chelsea with their season ticket pricing -The cheapest day out at Chelsea (ticket, pie, tea, programme and a replica shirt for a new fan) would cost £107.50. For that price, you can get a season ticket at National League side side Eastleigh.
8) The National League side are currently in the processof erecting of a two storey building to provide a clubhouse, education room and a shop at ground floor and an executive club, a board room and a police surveillance on the first floor following removal of two porta cabins.
9) The Spitfires are a professional club, joining the likes of Forest Green Rovers and Tranmere Rovers in the National League. There are still a number of semi-professional clubs Premier within the division e.g. Solihull Moors and Bromley.
10) New manager Martin Allen is The Spitfires’ third manager in the space of five months, after Chris Todd and Ronnie Moore.
Read more posts by Kelly Gilchrist
;
