It was back to the old routine for St Leonards as they crashed 2-0 to fellow strugglers Sittingbourne.
Despite starting well the Saints fell behind early on to a Bradley Spice goal, who held off his marker to score on the break.
New keeper Michael Lidbury was lucky to receive just a yellow card when he saved a shot with his hands outside the area. Des Boateng could have restored parity in the second half but sliced his shot from six yards before Tyrone King escaped the linesman's flag, charged through a two-man defence and beat the keeper for the second goal.
Jason Davy had a shot cleared off the line but heads went down and the game finished in Sittingbourne's favour.
Eastbourne Borough travelled to Fisher Athletic without the experienced Darren Baker, Matt Smart and Stuart Tuck and were beaten 2-0.
During the opening 15 minutes Borough defended in depth as Fisher dominated.
The home side took a 14th-minute lead when Steve Portway slotted home.
Borough got into the game and home keeper Morris Munden made a fine save to his right from a David Adams drive and Matt Allen hit a shot into the side netting.
Borough's approach play was tidy but they lacked a cutting edge in front of goal.
In the second period John Westcott had the ball in the net on 53 minutes but his effort was disallowed for offside.
Eastbourne continued to play attractive football and enjoyed the majority of possession but the good work disintegrated as they approached the Fisher 18-yard box.
On 74 minutes substitute Manning put the game beyond Borough's reach by hitting home a rebound after Paul Stark had saved well from Tostao Kwashi.
Stark was in good form in the Borough goal and Ben Austin showed the dedication and strength that was lacking from many of his colleagues.
Manager Garry Wilson was disappointed with the result and felt his side lacked the physical edge shown by their opponents. He said: "We played well at times but I didn't feel we were ever going to take advantage of all the good work as we approached the Fisher penalty area."
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