Hythe appear to have some player on their hands in summer signing Shad Ngandu.

Midfielder Ngandu marked his full debut with a first-half double - including a penalty - as the Cannons won 2-0 at Corinthian in their Isthmian South East opener on Saturday.

The ex-Aveley man was recommended by Alex Akrofi, Watt’s former Maidstone team-mate, and hasn’t disappointed, despite training only once after joining late in pre-season.

“You could see the quality he has as soon as he walked through the door,” said Watt, whose side are at Raynes Park Vale in the FA Cup preliminary round this Saturday.

“If we get him up to speed, he’ll be a good player for us moving forward.

“He was fantastic on Saturday, he could have had a hat-trick in the first half.

“He’s a great ball-carrier, he’s got good quality on the ball and, playing in Isthmian North, he’s always been known as a double-figures central midfield goalscorer.

“He scores, he creates, he’s a great character, he ticks all the boxes and I’m delighted we convinced him to join us.

“I hope he’s going to enjoy it and do what he did on Saturday on a regular basis.”

Hythe showed both sides to their game in making a winning start to the league campaign.

Watt’s men impressed as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes before weathering second-half pressure as Corinthian tried in vain to mount a comeback.

“We showed both sides of our game, at a really tough place to go,” said Watt. “First half, we were really good with the ball going forward and could have been out of sight.

“Second half, they put us under a lot of pressure but we were resolute when we needed to be, they only had one shot on target and I’m not even sure it was on target but Aaron (Lee-Wharton, keeper) saved it.

“It came to a point in the second half where we had to play our way out of trouble or have a good old-fashioned fight to win the game.

“That’s what I said at the drinks break, the game’s turned out as we thought it would, you’ve got to fight now, win your battles, defend your box with everything you’ve got.

“You’ve done the work to win the game in the first half, not it’s about not conceding.

“Every question they asked, we answered, and even though they put us under pressure, I was never worried about conceding.

“They never cut us open at any stage. We looked exciting going forward in the first half and really solid in the second.

“Maybe a lot of teams thought that would be an easy three points for Corinthian but we’ve sent out a little message that you’ll have to work harder to get your three points off Hythe this year.”