Floodlight football is due to return to the Stanmore Stadium on Tuesday evening when Erith Town entertain Deal Town in a rearranged Isthmian League South East Division encounter.

It will be the Dockers’ third league and cup match in March, and the second of four consecutive league home games as they look to move away from the bottom four. Last Tuesday they visited a Leyton Orient side that included several first team players in the London Senior Cup. Erith conceded in the sixth minute but were well in the game until the O’s scored a second midway through the second period. There was no further goalscoring and they bowed out with a lot of credit.

Then, on Saturday, Calum McGeehan and Aaron Jeffery’s side hosted Sevenoaks Town. Carlos Richards put the Dockers ahead in the fourteenth minute but Warren Mfula levelled ten minutes before half time. There was no further scoring and the spoils were shared. The point gained moved them three points clear of the bottom four with two games in hand.

This will also be Deal’s third game of the month. They started by slamming East Grinstead nine-nil with seven goals in the second half. Ash Miller scored a hat-trick, Josh Strouts a brace, and Ben Chapman, Callum Davies, Alfie Foster, and James Fielding scored a goal apiece.

Steve King’s side then hosted AFC Croydon on Saturday and were beaten two-one to put a dent in their play-off ambitions. Jamie Kennedy put the hosts ahead in the nineteenth minute but Josh Williams levelled eight minutes later before scoring a last minute winner. That left the Hoops five points adrift of the top five.

There have already been two meetings between the two clubs at Erith’s stadium in Thamesmead this season. In the Isuzu FA Trophy, Chapman put the visitors ahead but Manny Oluwasemo levelled from the spot in the second period and the match went to penalties. James Tomkin was the hero, saving three and converting his own as Deal won four-three.

Then it was the Dockers turn to progress when they met in the Velocity Cup. Albie O’Mara-Knapp put them ahead in the third minute, however a brace by Miller either side of half time, the first from the spot, put the visitors in control. Jerome Jayaguru levelled midway through the second period and Tom O’Connor scored the winner for Erith with eleven minutes remaining.

Despite the two teams having already met twice this season, it will be their first battle in the league this season with the return fixture scheduled for eleven days later.