COULD the sight of the old enemy inspire Aldershot into ending the alarming slump that is threatening to drop them back to mid-table obscurity?

The answer was no. The Camrose continues to be a fortress for Basingstoke who, on Tuesday, recorded their fifth win in six games on home turf against their arch Hampshire rivals.

Again, Aldershot could not be faulted for effort, but the spark has disappeared from their game and, despite the scoreline (the visitors only scored four minutes into injury time) this must have been Basingstoke's most comfortable win.

Aldershot lost only once in the league before Christmas. Now they have lost five times in eight games and their promotion prospects have disappeared as rapidly as have Arsenal's hopes of catching United.

It is hard to put a finger on where it has gone wrong for George Borg's side, but it all seemed to start with the defeat at Farnborough on Boxing Day.

Confidence can be a fleeting thing and Farnborough's superiority that day seemed to send waves of uncertainty through Aldershot, halting what promised to be an unstoppable march into the Conference.

Since then, the fortunes of the neighbouring clubs could not have been more different. While Aldershot have stuttered and stumbled, Farnborough have reeled off nine straight wins and currently head the table by 13 points.

Borg acknowledges that a lack of confidence is the root cause of Aldershot's decline.

"We were dominating the second half, then we give away a sloppy free-kick and they score," he said after the Basingstoke match. "The likes of Coll, Blake and Crossley should win those balls and, if they don't, Andy Pape should. But that's the way with our confidence at the moment. We go a goal down and then it's always a struggle."

Not co-incidentally, Basingstoke's breakthrough came shortly after Ollie Adedeji had been carried off injured – the victim of a late challenge by Rob Cook who was booked.

The club captain had been outstanding in Aldershot's central defence and the home team were quick to capitalise on his absence.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Dom Naylor's free-kick picked out Cook whose looping header came back off the crossbar and Cook followed in to score with a crashing volley.

Aldershot continued to force the pace, but it was all a bit frantic and Basingstoke, comfortably soaking up the pressure, looked more of a threat on the counter-attack.

They duly wrapped up the points with their second goal on 72 minutes. Cook's shot was blocked, but substitute Tim Sills' neat pass beat the offside trap and Sean Gorman flighted the ball into the top corner from 18 yards.

It was the former Godalming striker's 16th goal of the season.

A hard-fought, but dour first half had produced just one decent opening for each side.

Aldershot could have taken an early lead after some clever work on the left by Jason Chewins and a deft lay-off by Gary Abbott, but Stafford Brown's angled shot was dragged so wide that it went for a throw-in.

At the other end, Pape dived full length to divert Cook's ground shot for a corner.

Aldershot hinted at better things at the start of the second half, but even Abbott has lost his golden touch. When Lee Protheroe's free-kick found him unmarked for once, the veteran directed his header straight into Scott Tarr's arms.

Two minutes later, Basingstoke were in front and, thereafter, Aldershot were always chasing the game.

Even when Basingstoke were two up, Aldershot could have saved themselves.

Wayne Andrews, now in the action as a third striker, drilled in a raking cross from the right, only for Abbott to put his first-timer over the bar.

Then a Protheroe corner caused a scramble and Crossley managed to knock the ball over the top from very close in.

Aldershot finally showed their latent quality in injury time. Owen Coll's long ball was beautifully brought down by Browne who then tucked his shot inside the far post with no trouble at all.

These are heady times for Ernie Howe's Basingstoke. The former Farnham Town manager has steered his side above Aldershot into fourth place.

Some consolation for Aldershot was the performance of Lee Holsgrove, hastily recalled from Boreham Wood, where he has been on loan, following an injury to Richard Gell and the departure of Simon Ullathorne.

The lanky midfielder tackled hard, passed accurately and regularly turned up in the penalty area. He could play an important role as Aldershot attempt to pick up the pieces of their season.

Basingstoke: Tarr, Baker, Forbes, Bristow, Wilkinson, Naylor, Girdler (Sumner 83 mins), Cook, Mings (T Sills 67 mins), Gorman, Howes. Sub (not used) Lisk. Booked: Cook.

Aldershot: Pape, Blake, Chewins (Andrews 70 mins), Crossley, Adedeji (Coll 49 mins), Pye, Protheroe, Bentley, Abbott, Browne, Holsgrove. Sub (not used) Kuhl. Booked: Pye, Holsgrove.

Attendance: 1,160.

Referee: K Reynolds.