Matt Le Tissier played for an hour on his Eastleigh debut last night, before admitting: "I've missed playing more than I thought."

Le Tissier helped Eastleigh win 3-0 against Newport (IOW) in the second round of the Hampshire Senior Cup.

And afterwards he said: "I probably have missed playing a little bit. It was nice to get back out there and get a feel of the ball again.

"It was most enjoyable, the lads played some decent football out there and it was good to be a part of it.

"The standard was better than I expected as well. The lads have played together for a little while now and you could see that in their play."

Le Tissier added: "There aren't any aches and pains at the moment but there probably will be tomorrow, when the rigor mortis sets in - I expect I'll spend most of the day in bed!

"I don't know when I'm going to be able to play next, I'll have to check my diary.

"My diary's a bit mad at the moment but midweek games are easier for me. We'll have to wait and see."

Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell said: "It's an open-ended arrangement. Matt's already indicated that he'll play half a dozen games or so."

A crowd that was officially recorded as 536, the club's biggest for at least five years, saw Eastleigh win thanks to two goals from Robbie Matthews either side of a Newport own goal.

And Doswell was delighted, saying: "I was a little concerned that the players would switch off because of all the attention surrounding Matt.

"But in the first half we played as well as anything I've seen at this level.

"Matt was surprised at how much he enjoyed it and the players certainly responded very well to having him in the side.

"We had TV cameras in the changing room and a lot of other media attention but the players have been used to having Matt around as he's already trained with us a few times.

"From 7pm we just talked football and they responded. David Asker and Robbie Matthews were two of our players who showed that Matt wasn't the only talent in an Eastleigh shirt."

The sending off of Martin Beck, Le Tissier's replacement, for a reckless 83rd-minute challenge and the smaller than expected crowd were the biggest disappointments of an otherwise satisfactory night at Ten Acres.

"The poor weather probably had quite a big effect on the size of the crowd, but there were at least 600 people there," added Doswell.

"There were a lot of people, sponsors for example, who were there as guests and wouldn't have been included in the official attendance."