THE hunt for a new Bashley manager could finally come to fruition tonight when the two candidates meet the club committee.

Poole Town boss Pete Moore and ex-Bash manager Barry Blankley are still the front-runners, but caretaker manager/chairman Derek Binns said: "We need to talk to the prospective people and do a bit of fine tuning."

Binns's Midas Touch in temporary charge finally wore off on Saturday when Bashley were beaten 2-1 at home by Erith & Belvedere in the Dr Martens Eastern Division.

It put an end to their proud run of seven home games without defeat and, with other results going against them, plonked them back to the foot of the table.

Bashley got off to the ideal start when the quick-thinking Matt Jones lofted a free-kick over the Erith wall while it was still being organised. The goalkeeper got a hand to the ball but could not stop Jones's fifth goal in nine games.

Bash should have had more, but Stuart Cooper had a shot saved and Michael Jackson controlled a high ball into the area before firing against the post.

Erith hit back with a controversial penalty awarded for an innocuous challenge by Ali Simpson. Darren Adams, the player supposedly fouled, sent Ollie Rastall the wrong way from the spot.

Bashley were still recovering from the shock when Richard Vercesi shot against the post from a lightning Erith raid, but Bashley could have regained the lead through Jackson or Stuart Hussey before Erith bagged a 72nd-minute second from Glenn Billinness.

Said Binns: "It was a good performance by us, but we didn't take our chances. Erith had three and scored two, whereas we had about 20 and scored one. We didn't get the rub of the green."

Dissatisfied Havant & Waterlooville boss Mick Jenkins is threatening a clear-out after Hawks' Conference ambitions were jolted by a 2-0 home defeat by Tamworth at Westleigh Park.

Coming on top of losses to Crawley and Kettering, it means the former league leaders have failed to live with any of the current Premier Division top-three.

And having ploughed around half a million pounds into ground improvements, they are in no mood to settle for second best on the playing front.

The fiercely ambitious Jenkins growled: "We didn't perform at all against Tamworth and showed very little enthusiasm for what was a top-of-the-table clash. We've come up against each of the top sides and failed on every occasion. The time is ripe for a clear-out."

Hawks were struggling from the moment player/co-manager Liam Daish put them behind with a bizarre own goal after ten minutes.

He was pressured into a back pass by Tamworth's Darren Roberts and it trickled past legendary Pompey keeper Alan Knight, who was making his home debut.

Knight limped off with a leg injury at half-time and was replaced by fit-again number one Paul Nicholls. There was a 12-minute stoppage when floodlights over one side of the ground failed to come one and, once play had resumed, Hawks briefly looked the brighter side.

But Tamworth's overall superiority was never in question and they scored again 20 minutes from time when Mark Turner volleyed home amid a goalmouth scramble.

H&W's squad strengthening has already started with the arrival of former Chelsea centre-back David Lee from Australian outfit Parramatta Power.

The long-awaited return of striker Paul Sales after groin trouble sparked a much-improved performance by Premier table-proppers Salisbury at Hinckley.

Alas, though, the Whites were still pipped 2-1 by a side whose home record over the past year is second to none.

Whites boss Taffy Richardson was nevertheless delighted with the performance, saying proudly: "Our young guns showed what they're capable of. We played with a system and method but did not get what we deserved - all three points."

Salisbury made the early running but slipped behind to a 24th-minute super strike by Neil Cartwright before equalising two minutes later.

The mercurial Sales, who was involved all over the park, sent in a 30-yard lob which rattled off the crossbar for Ryan King to pounce on the rebound.

Cruelly, Whites fell behind again on 41 minutes when ex-Saint Andy Cook could not avoid deflecting a Scott Huckerby shot into the net.

But, despite that set-back, Hinckley were left hanging on as the spirited Whites dominated the second period with King, Sales, Graeme Mathie and Scott Griffin all unlucky not to score.