Marcus Dinanga happy to go the extra mile during loan spell with Dartford from National League Altrincham
05:00, 07 February 2022
updated: 09:32, 07 February 2022
New Dartford forward Marcus Dinanga is going the extra mile to help reignite their promotion push.
Dinanga scored twice in Saturday's 4-2 derby win over Welling in National League South, a third successive win for the Darts.
The 24-year-old is based in Birmingham but travels down with fellow loanee Kory Roberts and admits that goals will make the long journey worthwhile.
"It's two hours and 40 minutes, sometimes three hours with a bit of traffic, but it's worth it when you score goals and get results," said Dinanga, who is on loan from Altrincham.
"I've known Kory since we were young. I spoke to him before I signed and we got it sorted. We used to play against each other when I was at Burton and he was with Walsall. He's a good lad, and it makes it much easier."
Dinanga impressed on his Dartford debut against Ebbsfleet, deployed in an unfamiliar withdrawn role to help thwart the attacking threat of Fleet's Tobi Adebayo-Rowling.
But he played as a central striker alongside Jake Robinson against Welling and felt he had to deliver.
"I felt a bit of pressure for some reason," he added. "It was my second game and I needed to show the gaffer what I was all about. I'm happy for the team to get the three points.
"We didn't panic after conceding the goals, the mentality was strong and we knew that we were going to come back and win the game. We said in the changing room at half-time that we've got another two more gears to go up.
"Sometimes I like playing down the right so I can cut in and shoot as well, I spoke to George Porter and said we'd swap every five minutes so I managed to get myself another goal."
The Ebbsfleet game was particularly tough for Dinanga, who had a brief spell on loan at Kidderminster after falling down the pecking order at National League Altrincham.
"It was a tough game," he reflected. "Obviously the gaffer asked me to do a job and it involved a lot of defending in that game.
"Fair play to Ebbsfleet, they played good football and they made me work! I hadn't played 90 minutes since November so coming back and playing that game was tough for me but I'm getting back to speed again."
The aim is simple for Dinanga and with Darts boss Steve King a long-time admirer from his goalscoring spells at AFC Telford, he's hoping it can prove a fruitful combination.
"The Welling game has boosted my confidence and hopefully I can push on and score more goals," said Dinanga.
"Hopefully this is a happy place for me. That's what it is, a bit of trust from the gaffer and to believe in me. I know I can score goals and that's what I showed.
"So far from the two games, they play more football in National South. There's not too much difference, maybe in the North it is more physical."
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