FORMER Dell boy Kevin Gibbens proved a snip at £2,000 as he inspired Eastleigh to a 6-2 home hammering of Hastings United.

After Eastleigh had failed to agree a price for Gibbens with his old club Basingstoke Town, the fee was settled by tribunal late last week and Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell was highly satisfied with the outcome.

While Basingstoke valued the 23-year-old at £5,000, Eastleigh were prepared to pay only a tenth of that officially, although Doswell did suggest upping it to £1,500 in a private chat with Stoke boss Ernie Howe.

Doswell said: "Ernie wasn't interested in £1,500, so we stopped negotiating at that point. I'm more than happy with the outcome of the tribunal. Kevin was outstanding against Hastings and, as Ernie himself said: 'Where can you get a player of Kevin Gibbens' quality for £2,000?'

Gibbens even managed to get his name on the scoresheet on Saturday, but the hero in that department was former Bashley and Salisbury marksman Paul Sales, pictured right, who plundered a rare headed hat-trick.

Sales had already had three headers saved by the keeper when Lee Bright's mistake invited Chris Honey to give Hastings a shock lead with their first attack of the game.

But Sales (2), Gibbens and Robbie Matthews put Eastleigh 4-1 up at the break and, with Sales and Hughes adding to the tally, it looked like the perfect end to a perfect day.

But there was a late blight on proceedings when Eastleigh's giant goalkeeper Colin Matthews was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident and Mitchell Sherwood converted the resulting penalty.

"I'm going to do an Arsene Wenger here and say I didn't see it, but the linesman flagged and Col was sent off," said Doswell.

Substitute Danny Gibbons gave new Bashley boss John Robson a timely reminder of what he's capable of in Saturday's last-gasp 1-0 home win over Burgess Hill Town.

The former Newport IoW striker has been dropped to the bench in recent games to accommodate new signing Michael Jackson, but his winner six minutes into stoppage time brightened up an otherwise dull New Forest afternoon.

The late breakthrough came when Jackson flicked goalkeeper David Elm's clearance into the path of Craig Davis. The Bash skipper unleashed a shot on the turn which Burgess Hill keeper Ronan Cunningham could only touch onto the post and super sub Gibbons netted the rebound from two yards.

"It wasn't a good match, but Danny scoring for us was the highlight," said Robson, reflecting on his first league game in charge. With Gary Connolly not fit enough to start and Richard Gillespie limping off with a bruised heel midway through the first half, Robson's injury list is getting longer.

To bolster his threadbare squad, he has signed midfielder Mark Clothier from his old club AFC Totton. Clothier, who went on as a late sub on Saturday on the right side of midfield, has also played for Robson at Alton and Winchester City and as a 16-year-old for the Hampshire youth side.

Salisbury City target Shaun Hale earned Fleet Town a welcome 1-0 win at Rothwell.

The left-sided Army midfielder, subject of a notice of approach by Salisbury, netted his sixth goal of the season to make it seven points banked from the last three games for the improving north Hampshire club.

Skipper Craig Anstey, back after injury and suspension, supplied the far-post cross from the right for Hale to volley home on the hour.

It was no more than Fleet deserved after going close in the first half when Hale's free-kick hit the post and bounced back just beyond the reach of former Saints Academy striker Shea Saunders, who has just signed a two-year contract at Calthorpe Park.