Paul Ruddy set St Leonards on their way to an impressive win at home to Whitehawk.
Ruddy opened the scoring with a header from a corner on 26 minutes and Dave Flemming doubled the advantage early in the second half with a volley from a Dean Thomas cross.
Craig Bunch pulled one back but Saints held on.
Home boss Gary Bowyer said: "We are up to third and we want to be in front of the pack. We don't want to be hanging around in this league, we want to go straight back up."
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