Tonbridge midfielder Lewis Gard is proving to be even better than Jay Saunders thought.

Boss Saunders knew he’d landed a class player after signing Gard from Southend over the summer.

But since working with him, he’s realised exactly how good he is.

The 22-year-old capped an outstanding performance with the final goal as Angels beat Dulwich 3-1 for their first win on their new 3G pitch on Saturday.

“Gardy’s quality,” said Saunders. “I knew how good he was but, until you’re working regularly with someone, you don’t realise just how good they are.

“What’s pleased me is how quickly he’s adjusted to the level.

“He’s played League 1, League 2 and National League and he had a spell on loan in the Isthmian North last year, so he’s played most levels now.

“He’s got real quality and class, he can see a pass and I was pleased to see him score because I said to him the other day you haven’t got a goal in you, just messing about.

“He’s willing to do the other side of the game as well, he runs himself into the ground. He came off on Saturday just through sheer tiredness where he’d done so much work off the ball.

“If it wasn’t for injuries, he wouldn’t be at this level.

“We’ve had to play him deeper than I’d have liked, because of injuries, but with James Taylor back on Saturday, we were able to get him further forward.

“He won the player-of-the-month for August, which was fully deserved, and there’s more to come from him.”

Taylor’s return was a boost for injury-hit Tonbridge, who ended a run of three defeats with their win over Dulwich.

“He’s one of those players who goes about his business,” said Saunders. “He does stuff people maybe don’t notice. He breaks up play and does the simple things well.

“There’s a difference between doing the simple things and doing them effectively.

“We can put James in there and you don’t have to worry about his position, you know he’s going to do the job.

“He takes information on board and it’s a big plus to get him back.”

TQ Addy and Louis Collins were the other scorers against Dulwich, with victory moving Tonbridge up to 10th in National League South.

“We played well,” said Saunders.

“We were down to the bare bones, the team picked itself bar a couple of positions.

“It was a good performance and it’s nice to get that first win at home and show the supporters what we’re capable of. We didn’t take all our chances but we scored at the right times.

"I'm pleased for Louis as well. He had a really good game at Dover and then we had to play him deeper and he's been working really hard without getting his rewards."

Saunders’ side are at third-placed Worthing this Saturday and host Farnborough on Tuesday night.

Worthing were promoted as Isthmian Premier champions and are a club Saunders knows well from playing against them while Margate manager.

“Worthing are a good side,” he said. "I said they’d be right up there this season.

“I’ve known Adam (Hinshelwood, manager) for a few years. He’s had the nucleus of a good side and he’s added to it each year.

“That’s what you want, you want the nucleus and then you can cherry-pick two, three or four you want to add.

"They’ve got a way of playing, they all know their jobs and they’ve got good players.

"It’s certainly been a hard place to go over the last few years but I’m looking forward to it.

“There’ll be a decent crowd and I’m pleased we got that win against Dulwich to give us confidence."