Neil Cugley knew he was getting a reliable goalscorer when he signed Ian Draycott last summer – and the Folkestone manager continues to reap a rich dividend.

The 26-year-old former Leatherhead forward took his tally for the season in all competitions to 35 with a double strike in Saturday’s 5-2 home win over Guernsey, which also left Draycott in joint pole position for the Ryman League Division 1 South Golden Boot award.

He has scored 27 goals in the league, the same as South Park’s Chris Smith, who saw close up what he is up against when Draycott scored with a superb volley in Invicta’s 6-0 victory over the Reigate club last Thursday.

It was a strike that delighted Cugley, who said: “That’s what I like about him. There he was, having a pretty quiet game by his standards and then he comes up with something like that!

“He was still working hard for the team and is such a lovely guy – one of the nicest I’ve ever known in the game.”

Also on target in Invicta’s last two matches has been 20-year-old Jordan Wright, who has now scored an invaluable 13 goals from midfield.

But Cugley remains wary of targeting a runners-up finish for his side, even though Saturday’s victory moved Invicta to within two points of second-placed Faversham.

Cugley said: “There are still 10 games to go and we’ve got to play teams like Redhill and East Grinstead, who are fighting for their lives, plus a derby with Hythe. We also face (runaway leaders) Burgess Hill, so we’ve got a tough run-in.”

Folkestone were in action at Redhill on Tuesday night before travelling to Worthing on Saturday and Cugley is hoping Jon Pilbeam and James Everitt will both be back in his squad at the weekend.

Pilbeam was rated as only 50-50 for the Redhill game with a shoulder injury, while Everitt was unavailable because of work.