Darlington manager Martin Gray says that Monday’s magnificent 1-0 win at Blyth was psychologically very important.

The win, Quakers’ seventh on the road this season, kept them in fifth place and was only the leaders’ second home defeat in the league this season.

“I knew how important it was that we won,” said MG. “I hadn’t said much before the game about it, I didn’t want to put pressure on the players, but it was crucial that we won so that the gap is down to nine points between us and Blyth.

“If it had gone to 15 points it would have put a different slant on things, and psychologically it would have been different.

“I don’t know if it was the best performance of the season, but it’s up there.

“We were playing against a really top team who are deservedly top of the table. You can see why they’ve done well this season, they are very hard to break down.

“To go there and take three points in the way that we did was fantastic.

“Blyth made two or three goal-line clearances. We had good quality in wide areas and on another day it could have been 2-0 or 3-0 at half-time.”

MG made sure that the players were prepared as best as possible.

“We trained on Sunday for this game, just to try and prepare properly and get one or two things sorted out. They’re a fantastic bunch of players to work with and when you ask them to do things they do it. As well as Sunday, we’d trained on several other occasions in the last few weeks. When games have been postponed, we’ve organised training sessions or friendlies.

“I always ask my team to shows that effort and energy. That’s two big performances in a row, against Hyde and Blyth, and Monday was a huge win for us, it’s important that we kick on now.

Lee Gaskell’s ninth goal of the season, a superb strike from an acute angle, decided the game.

“It’s one he will want to watch time and time again. I didn’t know whether he was going to drill the ball across or try to pass, but he let one go and it was a great strike.

“His performance was very good, as it was against Hyde too. His build-up was good, so was his energy. He had one chance and took it, what more could you ask for from a forward?”

MG was delighted with the number of Darlington fans who attended the game – estimates put the number of visiting fans at around 1,000 – and the noise they generated inside the stadium.

“The fans have been desperate to watch us play over the festive period. There was huge noise from them when we came out.

“It’s so important that we have that support, it’s infectious and it’s something the players still talk about.

“We’ve sent the fans home happy after beating the team that are top of the league home and away. It’s a big, big scalp.”