Floodlit football returns to the Acclaim Handling Community Stadium when Erith and Belvedere host Bearsted in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division on Wednesday evening.

Currently in seventh place in the table, the Deres are only adrift of the play-off zone on goal difference. The visitors are two places higher, also on thirty-eight points, but have played four matches fewer. 

On Saturday, the young Deres (average age under twenty-two) had a good away win at Hythe Town. Tom Borders took home the match ball after putting Erith ahead in the fifteenth minute, scoring a second four minutes into the second half, and completing his hat-trick with two minutes remaining. That gave them a second consecutive win following a two-one win at Kennington.

It will be the first game for Bearsted for eighteen days as they have been adversely affected by the continual rain, and have suffered four consecutive home and away postponements, three in the league and one in the Challenge Cup.

Their last outing was a home game against Chislehurst Glebe when they were beaten four-one. They were two down at half time before Jake Embery pulled one back immediately after the restart. Any hopes that they may have had of a comeback were dashed when the Foxes scored twice more. That extended the Bears win-less streak to five league and cup games. They are still without a victory in 2026.

When Bearsted hosted the Deres in October, they enjoyed a convincing victory despite going behind to a Rob Strachan goal in the eight minute. Jarred Trespaderne equalised six minutes later before Luka Radojevic and Embery put them in control before half time. An own goal in the second half rounded off a good afternoon for the Bears.  

Both teams will be monitoring the weather in the knowledge that the Deres would leapfrog their visitors with a win, but that any other result will keep the Bears well placed in the race for promotion.