Lewes admit there is no room for error in their bid for promotion.

Skipper Dave Hemsley led his men to a 26-5 derby defeat of Brighton to keep them in the thick of a four-team race for London Three South East honours.

Two tries in a four-minute spell late in the first half saw off the Waterhall outfit and left Lewes on cruise control for much of the second period.

More of the same, though, will be required in the battle to keep pace with Chichester, Maidstone and Dartfordians.

One team goes up automatically with the runners-up heading to a play-off and the odds must be good that at least one Sussex team will make the cut.

Hemsley knows what is required.

He said: "We've set our target to win the rest of our league games.

"What happens then is up to everyone else. As long as we do our bit we'll be happy with that."

Patience has been a virtue for Lewes over the last few years as they have allowed a clutch of talented youngsters to develop.

The rewards are now being reaped to such an extent that Hemsley believes even if they miss out this year, they can mount a serious title bid next winter.

They had to be patient on Saturday too as rock bottom Brighton played with plenty of pride.

Scrum half Matt Sole's sharp close range finish after a rolling maul was answered by Darren Pettie's 50-yard interception score and for a while Brighton's dogged defence gave them a foothold in the Stanley Turner Ground mud.

Free-running centre Scott Patto changed all that, finishing a counter attack, then making the initial break which led to a jet-heeled finish by wing Sean Taylor.

Dave Tyrell goaled all three first half scores but was off target when lock Ben Wood finished another driving lineout after the break.

Hemsley enjoyed the first period. He said: "There was some great stuff, some good tries and some good handling from the backs.

"They seemed to lose that in the second half but they were difficult handling conditions.

"I'm pleased though. The lineout was good, the scrum wasn't bad and it's starting to come together."

Brighton, notably centre James Lewis, ran hard and straight but it takes more than that to outwit defences at this level.

Scrum half Julian Hutchings, a survivor of their title-winning side of 2000 and skipper on Saturday, admitted: "We're obviously short of players.

"We have been getting better but you get into a losing mentality. Just look at our results."

Chichester remain well placed for a third successive promotion after their 30-21 win over Maidstone, whose challenge appears to be fading.

Paul Butt, Alex Knight-Barnard and Eddie Armah scored tries, Richard Johnson added a late drop goal and Nick Stanton's boot did the rest.

Bognor felt they should have done the top sides a favour by winning at Dartfordians.

Instead, they let chances slip away and went down 25-22 to the leaders.

Skipper Karl Flynn said: "It's disappointing to play so well and come away with nothing."

Rudi Upton, Tom Spurle and Phil Hastings scored tries for Bognor with Rob Parry adding two conversions and a drop goal.