Ben Barnes believes Chichester's double dose of defeat could prove a key point in their promotion bid.

Having gone unbeaten in South Premier division two throughout the first half of the season, Chi opened the second half of the campaign with back-to-back losses last month.

Words were exchanged and since then they have won four matches on the trot, including an impressive 5-1 defeat of Gore Court on Saturday.

With both teams above them in the table losing at the weekend, Chichester have climbed back into the second promotion spot with five games remaining.

Player-coach Barnes, the former England and Great Britain international, believes those January defeats were what his team needed.

He said: "It was a good thing for us as I felt we were getting a little complacent.

"Sometimes you need a loss to make you perform and maybe that was the case with us.

"Some sides implode and go on a bad run, like Fareham last year who lost four on the trot, but we have shown some character.

"I have tried to remain level-headed about things. We are a young side, you can't be too hard on them.

"Those two losses were really good for us. It is now up to us to control the mental side of things for the last five games."

Chichester had to show plenty of character of Saturday as they trailed 1-0 to a useful Gore Court side until 20 minutes to go.

Jack Lerwill eventually equalised from open play and almost immediately Barnes put his side ahead with another field goal following a free-hit from Phil Ball.

Three more goals followed with Lerwill adding a second, defender Jon Weait also finding the net and Barnes adding his second of the game from a short corner.

Chichester missed out on promotion in agonising style last season when they lost to Brighton on the final day of the season, needing only a draw to stay up.

They play three of the bottom five sides in their next three games before finishing at home to current leaders Fareham and away to fifth-placed Slough. Barnes said: "With other sides beating each other, the losses we had haven't hurt us as much as they should have done.

"With five games to go we know it is in our control. If we win our games we will go up. But we must remember there are some good sides in this league and the bottom teams are fighting for their lives."

In division one, Brighton and Hove strengthened their promotion hopes with a 6-1 win away to City of Portsmouth.

With title favourites Ashford losing 4-3 at home to current leaders Bromley and Beckenham, Brighton moved level on points with the second-placed side.

With the top two still to play, their hopes of claiming the one promotion place to the National League remain realistic.

Greg Nicol continued his scoring spree against Portsmouth by notching all six goals.

The former South Africa international has now netted 18 goals in four games since joining last month.

Lewes had to settle for a 6-6 draw at home to Oxford University in a match where they were always ahead.

Will Champness scored a hat-trick of short corners for Lewes, who could not shake off their opponents.

Also on target were Martyn Stillman, Danny Poulsen and Marnix Achterberg.

Player-coach Luke Hurle said: "All these sides we have lost to or drawn with since Christmas we should have beaten.

"For periods we have played well and played teams off the pitch but then we have poor 15-20 minute spells. We are trying to reach a continuous level of play."

In the Kent/Sussex Regional League, Worthing scored three times in the final seven minutes to draw 5-5 away to Burnt Ash. Captain Bryan Lock scored a hattrick, including an equaliser with 30 seconds remaining, while brother Dan Lock and David Clayton also found the net. Eastbourne squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Sutton Valence. Dan Williams (two) and Angus Williams scored for Eastbourne but the Kent side netted three times in the final 12 minutes to snatch a point.