Hard work pays off for Folkestone Invicta joint-head coach Micheal Everitt and his side during 3-1 Isthmian Premier victory at Lewes; FA Cup trip to rivals Margate next up

Joint-boss Micheal Everitt was pleased to see the hard work on the training ground pay off during Folkestone’s Isthmian Premier victory at Lewes.

They inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Tony Russell’s outfit last weekend, just seven days after Lewes had eased past big-spending Southern Counties East Premier Division Faversham 4-0 in the FA Cup.

Goals from David Smith and Ibrahim Olutade put the visitors in command before Ira Jackson again came off the bench to score.

Everitt, who saw Lewes grab a consolation shortly after Jackson’s effort, said: “The third goal doesn’t look the best. But we worked on things last Tuesday.

“We got the front five in as an attacking unit and talked about the things we can improve and what we needed to do to make better decisions.

“To be fair, the third goal was a real example of what we’ve been working on and what we’ve been talking about.

“Credit to the players for implementing the plan and listening to what we wanted them to do.”

Smith’s goal was also only his second competitive one of the campaign.

“He now looks like he’s back somewhere near the form that got him to Bromley the first time he was here,” Everitt added.

Lewes proved no match for Folkestone on the day, with the Kent club now only a point behind them in the league table.

Everitt reflected: “I would say that it was a good all-round performance, everybody was a seven or eight out of 10. Everybody knew their job and what they had to do.

“We had a plan and we implemented that plan. I don’t think there was one player that stood out in particular, I thought it was a real collective effort.

“You have to have that when you play against the better sides in this league, otherwise you don’t get three points.

“I think it was a deserved win against