Margate boss Steve Watt praised his players for providing an object lesson in game management during the second half of Saturday's 2-0 home win over bottom club Burgess Hill Town.

Watt said he always felt bottom club Hill were a better side than their place in the table suggested, but two goals inside the opening 28 minutes put Gate on the way to a seventh straight win in the Bostik Premier.

Frannie Collin scored the first on 16 minutes with a superb curling free-kick from 25 yards and top scorer Jordan Chiedozie added the second when his cross-shot took a big deflection.

Watt admitted he would have liked to have scored a few more goals but said the only thing that mattered was securing another win. The result moved the Blues clear in second spot, two points ahead of Dulwich Hamlet, who drew 1-1 with Enfield.

The Gate boss explained: "I thought it was a comfortable afternoon, we did the work we needed to do in the first half.

"The game was dead and buried at half-time, I just said to the guys it's about managing the game, (because) we've got a big match Tuesday night (away to Leiston who beat leaders Billericay 3-1 on Saturday).

"I thought we managed the second half really well, I thought they (Burgess Hill) came out and played better, played well and we had to tweak our shape a couple of times, but we just saw the game out.

"We wanted another clean sheet, we wanted to just manage the game and I thought we did that well in the second half.

"I think we should have had at least two more (goals), we had good opportunities, but the pleasing thing for me was another clean sheet."

Margate's victory stretched their impressive unbeaten sequence to 11 matches. During that run they have recorded seven shut outs, including one in each of the last three matches.

The Blues have conceded just one goal in six games and Watt hailed the contribution of centre-half Liam Friend, who again wore the captain's armband in the absence of the suspended James Rogers.

He said: "Liam's not missed a (league) game. He's a player you don't often speak about, he's a player who's ever present, his leadership on the pitch now and his performances have been fantastic.

"He came to us from Folkestone where he had a fantastic career and I think he's grown as the season has gone on.

"It can often be difficult when you're a player that has been used to one set-up, one way, coming into a brand new set-up.

"It doesn't always work but being the man 'Friendy' is and the attitude he has he's been an absolute pleasure for us to work with.

"He deserves a massive amount of credit for how good we've been defensively, certainly."