Quickfire Hamlet stay on top

Dan Bolwell had given Eastbourne a surprise lead four minutes before half-time but the floodgates opened after Erhun Oztumer (pictured) set up the equaliser for Nyren Clunis in the 54th minute. Ellis Green then provided goals for Clunis and Danny Carr before Oztumer completed the spree. Eastbourne consoled themselves with a 77th-minute Matt Crabb penalty.

Maidstone held on to second place with a 2-0 home win over Herne Bay in front of another bumper crowd. Stones had Shaun Welford sent off before half-time but Alex Flisher put them ahead on the hour and Tom Mills made sure deep into added time.

Dave Cook hit a hat-trick in Hythe’s 4-1 victory at Merstham which kept them in third place. His 12th-minute opener was answered by Dean Gunner in the 29th minute but a pair of Cook headers either side of half-time put Hythe in command and Brendon Cass added a fourth.

Sittingbourne moved into fourth place with a 3-0 victory at Crawley Down, who dropped to fifth. The crucial moments came just before half-time: Nick Davis gave the visitors a 44th-minute lead and the home side were reduced to ten men a minute later when Steve Sargent was sent off. Ryan Golding doubled the lead in the 55th minute and Joe Taylor added the third 20 minutes from time.

This division has yielded 76 away victories this season, six of them on Saturday, while home sides have won only 63. One of several clubs with much better records on the road are Leatherhead, who maintained that with a 2-0 victory at bottom club Walton Casuals. Tommy Hutchings put them ahead after 13 minutes but was sent off ten minutes before half-time. Casuals could not make the most of the extra man and Tom Bradbrook clinched it with three minutes left.

Tom Chapman gave Ramsgate a fluke 21st-minute lead at home to Walton & Hersham when an attempted clearance hit him and flew into the net. Victor Kiri’s header levelled matters before the interval and Graeme Purdy won it for the Swans with an 83rd-minute penalty after he had been fouled.

Only one of Faversham’s six league victories has come on home turf and they went down 2-0 to visiting Chipstead. Joe Nwoko put Chips ahead on 33 minutes, Shane Graham added another on 66 and Chips later missed a penalty.

It was the same scoreline in the battle of the strugglers at Whitstable, where Corinthian-Casuals took the lead with a 49th-minute header by Joe Hicks and doubled it through Dave Hodges midway through the half. After the game Whitstable announced that former Gillingham star Nicky Southall, who joined them in the summer, is their new player-manager.

Worthing’s second home win of the season lifted them to seventh place, a tribute to their away record. An own goal by Jordan Wilson, who turned Steve Metcalf’s cross past keeper Darren Behcet in the 20th minute, set them on their way to a 2-0 victory over Tooting. The visitors had Ryan Adams sent off in the 89th minute for a foul on Chris O’Flaherty, who took revenge with the clinching goal in added time.

Billy Medlock netted a hat-trick as Horsham beat Three Bridges 4-1 in their derby at Gorings Mead. He had already hit the bar with a free-kick before opening his account in the 27th minute. Scott Tipper added another before the interval and Medlock struck twice in the first nine minutes of the second half. Dan Millard netted a late consolation goal for Bridges and Tim Rivers almost pulled another one back, hitting a post in added time.

Folkestone dominated their home game with Burgess Hill but could score only once, a 50th-minute header by Richard Atkins, and were left frustrated when Darren Budd’s 87th-minute corner curled into the net to make it 1-1.