NATHAN CARTMAN’S goal in Darlington’s win on Monday evening can instigate a good run of form for the striker, hopes manager Martin Gray.

He came off the bench to net the last goal in a 5-1 win at New Mills, his third goal in 13 appearances for the club since joining from Harrogate RA in January.

He is now on 39 for the season, though he has not yet scored for Quakers with the regularity that made him so in demand while at Harrogate, Gray is backing the player to make his mark.

“I was delighted he got himself a goal because he’s been going so close over the last two or three weeks,” said Gray, who takes his promotion-chasing team to Warrington on Saturday.

“He was great when he came on, especially his movement, and he hit the post before he scored.

“I know he’d already scored two goals, but he’d been going so close to scoring a few times. Hopefully that goal will give him an injection of self-belief that he’s lacked lately.

“You don’t know score 40 goals in a season if you’re not a goalscorer. Get the ball in the box and the kid comes alive.”

Gray says Cartman’s team-mates are keen to see him succeed. Every outfield Darlington player rushed to congratulate the forward on his goal, a tap-in after good work by Stephen Thompson, which came having not scored in his previous five appearances.

“The lads love him and they’ve been just as desperate for him to score as anybody else has,” said Gray.

“He’s only human and if you give anyone a tough time it would affect their confidence. We’ve got to be patient. He’s come from a different club, a different environment and a different type of pressure. He’s got to learn what we’re about, we’ve got to learn about him, and I think he’s getting there.

“I’ve seen good signs in every game, but things haven’t been quite dropping for him, but on Monday it did and I think over time he’ll prove his worth to this football club because he’s going to be a big player for us.”

Meanwhile, Saturday’s meeting with Warrington will be the teams’ first since the opening day of the season, when their game at Heritage Park was abandoned following an injury to referee Danny Markham.

While Quakers wanted to continued, Warrington boss Shaun Reid insisted that his team could not play on. Quakers were leading at the time 2-0.

Evo-Stik League officials took a dim view of Warrington’s actions and awarded Darlington the three points, while fined his club £1,500 with £500 suspended until the end of the current season.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian this week about Darlington’s trip to Cheshire, Reid said: “They are trying to find a way back to the Football League and it’s something we are aiming for, to reach their heights.

“But there’s no love lost between me and Darlington, so if anyone wants to beat them it’s me.

“We will be going out full throttle. When Mr (Martin) Gray and his mob come over on Saturday we’ll be ready.”