Hawks boss Paul Doswell ‘bewildered’ by low crowds ahead of admission costs being slashed for weekend visit of Braintree

Despite currently being second in the National League South - and the second highest scorers in the sixth tier of English football - Hawks’ average attendance has dropped alarmingly.

In Doswell’s first season at Westleigh Park, 2019/20, Hawks averaged 1,398 for NLS matches at home. Not once, prior to the pandemic ending the regular league season in early March, did they attract a crowd below 1,000.

This season, despite having been in the leading group all term, they are averaging 958 (19 per cent down on last season’s 1,177 average) and have only recorded three four-figure crowds - against Ebbsfleet (1,251), Farnborough (1,235) and Worthing (1,132) - from 12 games.

A December home game against title rivals Dartford failed to attract even 800 fans - in 2019/20 midweek home games against Dorking and Weymouth saw crowds of around 1,500.

In a post-lockdown landscape where local non-league crowds have risen - throughout the Wessex League and at Gosport Borough, for example - Hawks have, somehow, bucked the trend.

On Boxing Day, Hawks’ crowd for Eastbourne Borough’s visit was 964 - a figure beaten at the same ground 24 hours later for a Wessex League game (three divisions lower in the pyramid) between Moneyfields and AFC Portchester (1,1012).

Now, in a bid to boost the gate for this weekend’s home NLS fixture with Braintree, Hawks have slashed matchday admission costs.

The normal £15 adult matchday admission has been reduced to just £5 - cheaper than local Wessex League matches.

With Pompey away on Saturday, Doswell is hoping some Fratton Park regulars not travelling to Tottenham in the FA Cup will take advantage of the cheap tickets at Westleigh Park.

And if such deals cannot woo back the missing fans who used to visit the club more regularly, he is concerned as to how far up the non-league pyramid Hawks can realistically go.

‘If our crowds don’t improve we will struggle to maintain even our current level of team and investment,’ Doswell told The News.

‘The crowds have been disappointing and I really don’t know why, I’m scratching my head to try and understand it.

‘I don’t know what more we can do. This is basically a call to arms.

‘At other clubs I’ve been to they’ve installed a 3G pitch and their gates have doubled. Ours have gone from 1,300-1,400 in my first season to a core of around 700.

‘We have tried every initiative we can think of and this one (charging adults £5) is a loss leader.

‘It’s a worry. At the end of the day it’s not fair on the chairman (Derek Pope) and Stuart (Munro, CEO). It’s not sustainable and that’s a concern moving forward.’

Doswell stated: ‘I want to make it clear I’m not complaining at the 700 core fans we’ve got - they are Havant through and through.

‘Our away support is amazing - we’ve got an amazing core support who love the club - but at home it’s been like a morgue at times. I’ll probably get criticised for that, but it’s a fact.

‘We’ve probably got a paying core of 700 who will come if we’re good or bad, but when we’re good you expect others to come along as well…

‘We are playing attacking football, we have scored a lot of 5s, 4s and 3s this season, if we win our two games in hand we go top, and it’s cheap to get in, it’s not expensive. I don’t see what else we can do. It’s a case of ‘answers on a postcard’ please. It’s just a sense of bewilderment.’

Hawks possess the only unbeaten away league record in the top seven tiers of English football, and only Notts County have gained more away points and scored more away goals than Doswell’s men.

At home, it’s been a different story, Hawks having lost their last three in the league at Westleigh and five of their last eight. But only three NLS clubs have scored more home goals than their 26 in 13 fixtures.

Goals have been guaranteed – the club haven’t had a single 0-0 draw in 24 NLS games in 2022/23.

Though Hawks’ adult matchday admission can be viewed as steep at £15, there are a variety of offers available.

An early bird adult season ticket worked out at just £7.80 per league game, and anyone buying a Flexleigh ticket can purchase two adult tickets at £10 each for every NLS fixture, AND bring two under-16s for free.

Hawks have also started selling half-season tickets, covering the last 11 home league games - starting with the Boxing Day fixture with Eastbourne. That works out at just £6.81 per game for an adult, £5.90 for concessions and £2.72 for students. Undoubtedly great value for the sixth tier. They’ve sold 11 so far.

‘I wouldn’t say I’m jealous, but envious is another good work to use when we had 900 on Boxing Day and Moneyfields v Portchester had 1,100 at our ground the following day,’ Doswell remarked.

‘It’s a bit of a mystery but it needs to improve and quickly.’

Elsewhere in the sixth tier, there were some large attendances over the Christmas and new year period.

In the NLS, Dartford’s home game with fellow title hopefuls Ebbsfleet attracted a league seasonal best 3.386 to Princes Park on New Year’s Day. That was after 2,905 had seen the same teams play at Ebbsfleet on Boxing Day.

In the NL North, Kidderminster, Scarborough and Chester all welcomed crowds of over 3,000 over the holiday period.