Cole Stockton admits it was a relief to grab his first goal of the season on Tuesday evening, and is hoping that can be the catalyst for him to push on in the second half of the campaign.
The striker got in on the act in the midweek penalty shootout defeat to Lincoln in the Papa Johns Trophy, scoring with a well-executed, first-time finish from inside the penalty area. Reflecting on that goal and how he feels the season has gone so far, Stockton admits it has been a long time coming.
"For a centre-forward, it's the best feeling to score goals," he said.
"You get judged on goals, and it's always nice to get that first one and get running. From my perspective, it has been a long time coming and it's been a frustrating season for me so far, but that happens in football. You shouldn't get too low with the lows or too high with the highs, and you've just got to keep your head down and get through the challenging moments.
"Especially on the back of last season, it's made me even hungrier to try and push on even more, and there's no reason why I can't."
With the Shrimps now not back in action until a week on Friday when Exeter head to the Mazuma Stadium, Stockton is hoping he and his team mates can take belief and confidence form recent performances.
"We know where we are in the league, but I think some performances deserved more," he said.
"We created a number of chances in the league game against Lincoln and then again in the cup game on Tuesday night. I think we've put on some good displays, and there is still a long way to go this season. So long as we keep applying ourselves in the right way for every game, then I think we'll have a very good chance of closing that gap."
