SALISBURY'S former Saints and Pompey left-back Andy Cook is keeping his fingers crossed for a trial game with AFC Bournemouth Reserves this week.

Whites manager Geoff Butler has recommended the Romsey-based 30-year-old to Cherries boss Mel Machin even though Cook was the only plus point to come out of Saturday's calamitous 2-1 Dr Martens League Premier Division defeat by Clevedon.

"Every game we get from Andy is a bonus, but the lad is looking to play in the Football League again," said Butler. "Everything positive against Clevedon stemmed from him, but our overall performance has left me completely flat. After playing some good football in the first half, we managed to lose to a very average side."

Whites took the lead from a sweet 32nd-minute move - Neil Housley's cross flicked on by Chalk to little Tyronne Bowers whose brave header cost him two minutes of treatment after colliding with a defender.

But toothless Salisbury failed miserably to capitalise on some enterprising wide play by Cook and new boy Tommy McMenemy and they were punished on 56 minutes when Ian Savage failed to mark his man for a near-post corner and the ball was flicked on for Matthew Coupe to stab through a packed area.

Salisbury pressed the self-destruct button seven minutes from time when substitute Danny Rofe's back pass put John Simpkins under pressure and, though the keeper did well to deny Tony Cook, the ball was squared back from the byeline by Matt Rawlins for Cook to tap in.

Grantham gained their first victory of the season over a very poor Havant & Waterlooville side in a wind-wrecked Premier Division basement battle.

H&W had first advantage of the conditions and squandered two or three early chances, but it was Grantham who snatched a 29th-minute lead when Tim Hambley was penalised on the edge of his area and Jim Neil netted a bending drive from 20 yards.

With the wind in their favour after the break, Grantham struck again with caretaker manager Matt Carmichael heading back across goal for David Gwither to volley home from two yards.

Grantham's 2-0 triumph hoists them off the foot of the table and leaves H&W still uncomfortably perched fifth from bottom.

Newport kept the pressure on the Eastern Division's top two with a hard-fought 1-0 win over VS Rugby at St George's Park.

In a match littered with bookings and played in driving rain, the Islanders clinched the all-important goal on the hour when defender Steve Riley headed home a Karl Lis cross.

Newport could have had more but Ashley Wright was twice denied and substitute Ashkan Karimzadeh hit the post.

"I was pleased with the win because Rugby are a hard, physical side who came to frustrate us," said manager Tony Mount.

Bashley failed to inspire against second-from-bottom Baldock but managed to scrape a point in a dour 1-1 Eastern Division draw.

With Phil Andrews still missing through injury, Bash survived a close shave from Baldock's David Pratt before Wade Elliott nipped in to intercept John Rattle's short back pass and fire the Foresters ahead.

That lead evaporated on 63 minutes when Dak Lee shot home the equaliser from the edge of the area. Bottom-of-the-table Fleet surrendered a 2-0 lead in an unlucky 3-2 home defeat by Hastings. Sitting pretty on two Matt Miller goals at half-time, the North Hampshire side lost Nathan Fealey and Mark Frampton through injury before Hastings swept back to take the points through Paul Jones (2) and Terry White.

Basingstoke Town suffered their worst defeat for two years when hammered 4-0 by Ryman League Premier Division top-dogs Dagenham & Redbridge at the Camrose Ground.

Sorry Stoke were two goals down in the opening 15 minutes. First the defence failed to clear a bouncing ball in the six-yard box and Danny Shipp buried it. Then a terrible misjudgement by new goalkeeper Glen Knight from Welling United handed them a second from a hopeful 40-yard shot by Jeff Woolsey.

Shipp bagged the third with a 30-yard deflected effort just before half-time and Tim Cole headed Dagenham's fourth from a 47th- minute corner.

Although Basingstoke had forced 12 corners in the first half and played reasonably well, there was no sign of second-half spark from a side now deep in trouble three off the foot of the table.

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