Wimborne’s frantic February fixture feast continues with the first ever visit of The Hawks. Havant Town and Waterlooville merged in 1998, winning the Southern League South Division in their first season. They joined the re-structured Conference South in 2004, and made it into the National League (Step 1) for the 2018-19 season. Last season they finished 23rd of 24 in National League South and were relegated. Shaun North was appointed manager in May 2024.
The Hawks started this league campaign with an unbeaten run of eight games. They currently sit one place outside the play-off places with a W12 D7 L8 GF 53 GA 35 record; on their travels away from Westleigh Park’s 3G their record is W3 D3 L6 – those three wins were at Poole (1-0) in October, Winchester (3-1) in November, and Chertsey (4-0) in December. Their five games in 2025 have all been close affairs: a 1-1 home draw with Dorchester, a 1-0 home loss to Merthyr, a 2-1 home victory over Poole, a 1-0 away loss to in-form Hungerford on Tuesday evening, and on Saturday a 2-3 loss at home to 5th-placed Walton & Hersham.
Ryan Seager is a prolific striker to keep an eye on: he’s netted 17 times in the league, including four of The Hawks’ five goals this year (the other was an own goal on Saturday). Harvey Bradbury is another with an eye for goal. There were a couple of familiar names to us on the bench for their game with Poole last month: goalkeeper / coach Alan Walker-Harris, and midfielder Kaya Tshaka.
The Hawks history makes fascinating reading, especially in FA competitions – it will be well worth reading in the matchday programme. In the FA Cup in 2007-08 they reached the Fourth Round and achieved national prominence by twice taking the lead at Anfield, only to finally succumb 5-2 to the mighty Reds. They’ve twice reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy – in 2002-03 and again in 2013-14 when they lost on aggregate to local rivals Gosport Borough. This season they reached Round Three of the Trophy before bowing out on penalties at National League Woking.
While The Hawks are flying high just below the play-off places, The Magpies are at the other end of the table hovering just above the relegation spots with a W8 D6 L12 GF 32 GA 43 record; at The Wyatt Homes Stadium it’s W6 D3 L4. Last Saturday saw a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Bracknell, but Tim’s team twice came from behind to bag a point at Hanwell on Tuesday with Matty Burrows and Jack Lovell scoring. Saturday’s game at Chertsey fell foul of the wet weather, which will mean another evening away trip later in the season.
The Magpies will relish the challenge of going wing-to-wing with The Hawks. Both teams will want to get a point or three from the game. It has all the ingredients of being a cracker which you won’t want to miss. So why not give that special person an early Valentine’s Day present and bring them along too. It’s forecast to be on the chilly side, so wrap up warm, and come on down to The Wyatt Homes Stadium to cheer on Tim’s team. After all, it’s what Tuesday evenings were made for.
There’s reasonable parking at the ground in Ainsley Road BH21 2FU, but if you do decide to travel by car and park on the nearby streets, please do so respectfully to our neighbours.
The Morebus no.13 runs along Leigh Road from and to The Square in the town centre with stops at the bottom of Parmiter Road, a five-minute stroll from the ground.
There is a bike park to the left of the players’ entrance.
Admission: adults £14, concessions £8, U18s £5, U13s £2.
Average att: 643
A packed printed programme will be on sale.
Weather forecast: cloudy; 5oC; 10% chance of rain.
