Dawson’s delight at last-gasp winner in crucial win for Scarborough Athletic at Matlock Town

Dawson applied the finishing touch to James Walshaw’s centre to seal a vital 2-1 win for Boro, their first league win since beating FC United of Manchester back in August.

“It was obviously a great feeling to pop up at the end and grab the winner in what was a big game for us,” said former Leeds United man Dawson.

“It was nice for Wally (Walshaw) to square it to me as he’d usually have a shot himself in that situation.

“I’d kept making runs into the box in the hope of getting a chance, so it was nice to get the goal so late on.”

Dawson admits he’s showing more of his potential in his second spell with Boro, having joined for a brief spell in 2018 when recovering from a long-term injury.

Boss John Deacey has hailed the performances of the diminutive midfielder, who has also turned out for Viking Stavanger in Norway and Rotherham United, and Dawson admits it’s a huge boost having the manager 100% behind him.

“Since I dropped into non- league football, only John Deacey has backed me 100% and had faith in me, and that’s huge for any player.

“I hope the fans are seeing more of what I’m about as a player this time around as I believe I am a different player to what I was last time I was at the club.

“It’s been tough at times this season because we’ve been really unlucky with injuries and probably deserved more in some of our games too, but hopefully this win can kick-start our season now and we go on a run of wins.

“We set the aim of getting into the play-offs this year and despite the start we’ve had putting some pressure on us, we can still achieve that if we can kick on now.”