Hampton & Richmond Borough joint boss Paul Barry is a happy man on two fronts following Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over East Thurrock United.
 

Joe Turner’s solitary strike not only ended a run of three consecutive defeats, it also opened a 14-point gap between the Beavers and the Ryman Premier League drop zone, much to Barry’s relief.
 

“Prior to Tuesday, we were looking over our shoulder at the relegation places and getting fearful that we might be dragged in,” he said.

“But the points gap is probably enough, we may need two or three more wins to be absolutely certain, but I think we’re safe.
 

“We have 10 games left, and that is a lot of opportunities to get those wins.”
 

He added: “We had lost our way recently, and there is no denying it coincided with Charlie Moone’s goals drying up.
 

“We’ve relied on Charlie too much, but we have the talent in Dave Tarpey and Belal Aite-Ouakrim to get more goals, we just need to work out how to do it.
 

“We also need to get more goals from midfield, we’ve only got eight or so this season and most of those have come from Joe Turner.”
 

Barry will be without the injured Karle Carder (knee) for this weekend’s trip to Grays Athletic.