New signing Dean Grant made an instant impact as Lydd beat Sutton Athletic 3-0 at the Lindsey Field on Saturday.

Striker Grant scored just five minutes into his debut after joining from Southern Counties East rivals Hollands & Blair.

Robbie Dolan doubled the Lydders’ lead in the second half and Luke Burdon, back from a knee injury, added the third.

Lydd see Grant as a safe bet for goals as they look to challenge for a Premier Division play-off place.

“He’s had a great start to the season at Hollands & Blair,” said Lydd joint-boss James Rogers.

“He got 10 goals in 11 games there so we’re pleased to have him and I’m sure he’ll add to what we’ve got up there.

“He plays on the shoulder, he’s strong, he holds the ball up well and he scores goals.

“We’ve got competition for places all over our team now and we’re looking pretty strong. We want to keep pushing.”

Lydd, whose weekend win moved them up to 12th, will need their squad as they play catch-up in the league.

They have multiple games in hand on the sides above them, including six on leaders Glebe and five on Faversham, Erith Town and Whitstable in the play-off places.

Lydd host Bearsted this Saturday (3pm) and visit Hollands & Blair on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Rogers said: “We’ve got a lot of games to catch up on.

“We’re five and six behind some teams, which is crazy.

“I don’t get the fixture list, to be honest, but it is what it is.

“We’re playing catch-up which is difficult sometimes mentally.

“There’s going to be quite a few Tuesday nights coming up now but we’ve got the squad to cope with it.

“We’ve got a big squad, we’ve got a lot of players out on dual-reg we could get back when we feel we need to, so we’re in a pretty good position.”