Manager Derek Hares has been singing the praises of Deal striker Connor Coyne.

The in-form forward bagged a hat-trick as Deal won 3-0 at Crowborough on Saturday to boost their chances of a top-four finish in the Southern Counties East Premier Division.

He added a brace in their 5-2 home win over Bearsted, taking his tally to seven in his last four matches, as he claimed his 100th goal for the club in the process at the Charles Sports Ground.

And he’s got 12 in total now this term despite only starting 14 times.

“Connor has done well for us in the last few weeks,” Hares enthused.

“He took his first goal very well on Saturday. The second was a bit of a scramble but he was there to finish it off. Then the third was a penalty, which he put away.

“He had not been in the side but he has come in and taken his chance very well.

“Connor has always been a good player, he’s a difficult lad to mark. We’ve just had a lot of competition for the forward places this season.

“But Connor has come in and done well. He’s a big part of our team.”

Hares was delighted with their display at Crowborough, adding: “I thought we played really well on Saturday.

“It was probably one of our best performances of the season.

“We controlled the game, didn’t look like losing and scored the goals at the right times. They were not a bad side, to be fair.

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“Their home record has been very good so to go there and win 3-0 - with another clean sheet - is always nice. Our defensive record is very good this season.”

It was the 16th time in all competitions this season that Deal have kept a clean sheet.

There was no clean sheet on Tuesday against Bearsted, although substitute Ben Cardwell, Alfie Foster and Ben Chapman were also on target for the Hoops, as well as two-goal Coyne, with Deal welcoming goal-scoring midfielder Billy Munday back from suspension.

Deal visit third-placed Glebe this Saturday and then face second-placed Sheppey at home on Tuesday night.

Hares’ men will host Sheppey again next month in the quarter-final of the Challenge Cup on Tuesday, March 8.

“Overall, it’s been a brilliant season,” Hares reflected.

“The lads have done brilliantly but there is still a long way to go. We just need to keep going.”

The games keep coming, and they don’t get much tougher than the next two matches against sides above Deal in the table.

But they’ve already beaten Glebe at home, and were unlucky not to knock them out of the Kent Senior Trophy last month.

“It’s all on the day,” noted Hares.

“You need a little bit of luck in those games and you need to play very well.

“But we are more than capable of doing that. They’re games I’m looking forward to.”

The Hoops also welcomed back striker Sam Wilson (family commitments) for their match against Bearsted.