JOHN Coventry hailed Andy Pugh after the new signing marked his East Thurrock United debut with a brace of goals in the 3-1 victory over Bowers & Pitsea.

A Pugh double and Lewis Smith header ensured David Knight’s late effort was no more than a consolation for Bowers and allowed Rocks to overcome their neighbours in a local derby at Rookery Hill.

And Coventry was full of praise for Pugh, who came close to joining East Thurrock last term.

The Rocks boss said: “All of the players did well, particularly Andy Pugh.

“He gave us that little platform that we were missing and we have players that can play off him all day long.

“Andy is someone I know and I nearly took him on loan last year, but then he broke his leg.

“I knew what type of player we were lacking and sometimes it is really hard in non-league football to go out and get the type of player you want.

“When he became available, it was a no-brainer for me to bring him in.

“He made such a difference and is a great team player.

“His link-up play is superb and he has a great eye for goal as well.”

Pugh opened the scoring by curling into the bottom corner after being found by Mitch Gilbey.

And Pugh doubled his tally for the afternoon by deftly flicking a Danny Harris pass beyond Bowers goalkeeper Callum Chafer after the break.

Pugh missed the opportunity to complete his hat-trick as his late penalty was tipped onto the crossbar by Chafer, but Smith converted the rebound with a fine diving header.

Knight netted for Bowers in stoppage time to cut the deficit, but East Thurrock came out on top.

And Coventry was pleased to bounce back from two consecutive Isthmian Premier League defeats.

Coventry added: “You want to win, particularly in a local derby.

“We knew there would be a big crowd and we wanted to put a show on for them.

“I think we did that and some of our football was excellent.

“Bowers are good with their deliveries, which put you under pressure, so we had to defend well.”

The derby saw Bowers suffer their first ever Isthmian Premier League defeat.

Having romped home to the Isthmian North title last term, Bowers have made an encouraging start to the campaign.

But East Thurrock proved too strong for the newly-promoted side and Bowers assistant manager Frank Everett had no complaints.

Everett said: “On the balance of play, it was probably a fair result.

“I felt we caused them some problems, but we have no arguments.

“We’re disappointed but East Thurrock have an experienced team when you compare them to us at this level.

“I think they showed a bit more experience and it told in key moments of the game.”