Eastleigh'S Paul Doswell looked easily the happier of the two managers at the Sparshatts Stadium last night - despite being on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline.

Doswell had reasons to be cheerful ahead of Eastleigh's debut season in the Nationwide Conference South.

"What good things came out of tonight's game? Well, a 2,589 crowd for a start!" he smiled. "That must be worth around £5,000-£6,000 which, for us, is fantastic. It was brilliant of Saints to bring such a strong team down."

It was in fact Eastleigh's record attendance, slightly improving on the 2,500 who descended on Ten Acres back in 1976 when Lawrie McMenemy's FA Cup winners unveiled the new floodlights.

And with entry just £5 for adults, they certainly got their money's worth.

For Saints fans it was their first real chance to see new arrival Dennis Wise at close quarters and to speculate on whether Francis Benali, who played the full game, could make a sensational comeback.

It was a big night too for Eastleigh's growing legion of fans who saw five new signings - goalkeeper Scott Tarr, defender Nick Burton, midfielder Steve Forbes and the little 'n' large front two of Neville Roach and James Taylor.

To cap it all there was the now familiar cameo appearance by Saints legend Matthew Le Tissier, who trotted on to rapturous applause wearing the Eastleigh No 7 shirt.

The longer the game went on, the more Saints' superior fitness told, but the non-leaguers were well pleased.

"We acquitted ourselves really well to be just 1-0 down at half-time and to have limited Saints to two or three chances," said Doswell. "It was our first friendly and it was all about fitness. The game will have done us good because we had to chase the ball a lot."

It was Eastleigh who forced the first real save on 25 minutes following some excellent work from the silky-skilled Roach and Taylor.

Former Basingstoke man Roach got the better of Benali, but the old Saints favourite managed to get back just in time as Taylor attempted to beat Paul Smith with a bending shot at his near post.

Taylor revealed: "Benali got back and fouled me. He clipped my ankle just as I went to shoot.

"It was a good performance by us. We've only been back in training two weeks but our fitness was good for an hour.

"Saints looked very sharp and I was surprised by the quality of player they brought here.

"Professional clubs often say they're going to bring a full side and then only half of them turn up."