On a miserably wet night, Erith Town hosted Erith and Belvedere in a true Southern Counties East Football League derby.

Coming into the game, the visitors were top of the league and the hosts sat third giving extra spice to the local rivalry.

Lewis Chambers had the first goal attempt for the visitors when his long-range shot was struck straight down the throat of Dockers goalkeeper Mackenzie Foley. Tyrell Richardson-Brown then tried to clip it home from a tight angle, but Foley stood up to save.

In the seventeenth minute the Deres went ahead. George Monger found Danny Lear and he turned and shot cleanly into the bottom corner.

Jason Goodchild had an opportunity to equalise when evading his marker but his header from Jerome Jayaguru’s cross went wide.

Tunde Aderonmu missed a chance for the visitors when he tried to square it where a shot might have been the better option. Then James Miles sent in a long free kick that found Ryan Mahal, but he was unable to keep his shot down as he stretched to reach it.

Jerome Wade attempted a bicycle kick and hit it cleanly enough, but straight into the arms of Foley before Richardson-Brown cut in and shot but Mahal made a vital block. It came out to Monger, however he curled the follow up over.

Immediately after the interval, a defensive error let in Aderonmu, however his shot drifted wide of the far post. He got in behind again from Richardson-Brown’s pass shortly after, but Foley did superbly to nick it away with his left foot as the Deres’ striker tried to round him.

Lear thought that he was in for his second, but Foley was pole axed as he got himself in the way of his powerful close-range effort. Moments later, the Dockers were reduced to ten when petulance got the better of substitute Odedoyin and he threw the ball at Aderonmu five minutes after coming on.

Nathan Palmer tried his luck with a long range shot that Foley held well as the weather conditions worsened and both sides continued to put their bodies on the line as they showed their desire.

As the game moved into the closing stages Jamie Humphris tried his luck from out wide against his former club before Nathan Palmer’s deflected shot was saved easily at the other end.

George Purcell finished the contest three minutes into stoppage time when he exchanged passes with Nathan Palmer before firing past a helpless Foley.

Although a further five minutes were played, the Dockers were unable to fashion another opportunity and the visitors extended their lead at the top of the league.

Erith Town: Foley, Melconian, Trueman (Maisey 90+2), Goodchild, Mahal, Ash, Jayaguru (Odedoyin 53), Miles (Nosike 84), Callender (Taylor 62), Eldridge (Chalker 62), Humphris.

Goal scorers: None

Yellow cards: Goodchild

Red card: Odedoyin (58)

Erith and Belvedere: Molloy, R. Palmer, Morrison, Wade, Johnson, Strachan, Richardson-Brown (Miles 90+5), Chambers, Aderonmu (Purcell 60), Lear (Walker 89), Monger (N. Palmer 64).

Unused subs: Ryan.

Goal scorers: Lear (17), Purcell (90+3)

Yellow cards: Wade

Referee: Richard Joss

Assistants: Joshua Reid and Jack Heath

Attendance: 172