Southampton’s youngsters turn their attentions to the Hampshire Senior Cup on Monday, visiting National League side Eastleigh in the semi-finals.
THE MATCH
Eastleigh vs Saints
Hampshire Senior Cup Semi-Final
Silverlake Stadium
Monday 9th March
7.45pm (GMT)
Tickets are available online or through the ticket office on Monday night, see below for details.
Dave Horseman’s side will be looking to the Senior Cup as a bit of rest bite from their recent tough run in Premier League 2, having been defeated by second placed Leciester City at Staplewood last time out.
Ché Adams gave Saints the lead after 24 minutes before a strong Foxes side equalised and went ahead before the break, eventually running out 3-1 winners as they continued their title push.
Eastleigh have similarly been on the wrong end of results domestically, but showed signs their fortunes were changing with a late win at Chorley on Tuesday night.
Having gone behind early on, Tyrone Barnett’s double – the second in the 94th minute – secured a vital three points for Ben Strevens’ side.
The Spitfires have fielded sides with a mixture of youth and first team experience in previous Senior Cup rounds and are expecting to follow suit on Monday night.
LAST MEETING
Saints and Eastleigh met as recently as July at the Silverlake, with the Under-23s side coming out as 1-0 winners against an experience Spitfires side.
Dan N’Lundulu got the winner during the second half as Saints’ youngsters continued their preparation for the new PL2 season this summer.
The Saints side that featured that evening included the likes of Harry Lewis, Callum Slattery and Tom O’Connor, watched on by current coach Dave Horseman from the stands.
Eastleigh's side had a mixture of first team regulars and youthful prospects, with Scott Rendell, Cavaghn Miley and Sam Smart all featuring.
MANAGER’S NOTES
Under-23s coach Dave Horseman reflected on the recent form saying: “There were loads of positives but our mistakes have been punished every time.
“Playing Leicester, I thought the intensity of our performance was excellent. We tried to be a bit more ball orientated. There were some good examples but plenty to work on still.
“It’s going to be a really tough game, the first game I watched with Saints was the Eastleigh friendly in the summer and I thought they were really good.
“They’ve got players who have played league football, they’re full time. Hopefully there’ll be a bit of a crowd there, this is why the Hampshire Senior Cup is so good for our development.
“It’s an opportunity and it’s a must win game. I think it will be a really, really tough game against a Conference team which are playing at a really high level for our young lads, but one we’re looking forward to.”
TICKETS
The game is not segregated with home and away fans mixed. Only the North stand terrace and west stands seats will be open. Please note seats are unreserved and are on a first come first serve basis.
Turnstiles 3 + 4 will be open from 6pm allowing access to the Sherwoods Downstairs bar. No tickets will be sold on the turnstile and are only available from the ticket office. The Hangar bar is open from 5pm and is outside the ground.
Car park is free of charge and is on a first come first serve basis after 6pm.
Adult tickets are priced at £5 with concessions (60+ & U18’s) priced at £3.
Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office or online here:
Buy tickets online
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