ERITH and Belvedere remain second from bottom of the Southern League Eastern Division after yet another defeat on Saturday, this time away at Barton Rovers.

However, Deres battled hard and perhaps deserved to take at least a point against a side reduced to ten men with eight minutes to go, and if they continue to show this fighting spirit they could yet avoid relegation.

The opening 15 minutes passed off without much incident which would have suited the Deres, desperate for points after a poor run of form, just fine, especially given that their opponents are chasing promotion.

In the 18th minute, however, the away side's suspect defence was again exposed, as Gary Dowling's through pass enabled Paul Barnes to race clear, and he reached the ball a fraction ahead of Deres goalkeeper Glen Knight.

Seven minutes later some of Deres' ailing confidence was restored when Mark Duckett recorded his side's first shot on target, Barton goalkeeper Steve Graham reacting smartly to tip his free-kick over the bar.

From the resulting corner, the prolific Chris Dickson managed to bundle the ball home from close range, after the Barton defence had failed adequately to clear their lines.

One-all was how it remained until the break, but ten minutes after the restart Barton grabbed the winner through Ricky Case, who diverted Danny Kennoy's cross past Knight.

In the 82nd minute Barton lost Scott Hall when he received his second yellow card but, despite some creating half-chances, the Deres were unable to make him pay for his indiscretion.

Deres have now conceded 66 league goals this season, making theirs the most porous defence in the league.

The one positive to be drawn is that they have a game in hand on the two sides above them Great Wakering and Dartford and they play the latter this Saturday in a game that could decide both sides' end-of-season fate.