Liam Mandeville revealed his stunning free-kick on Saturday was down to a moment of inspiration.
Mandeville scored the winner against the Mariners in the third minute, curling in a right-footed free-kick into the top left corner of James McKeown’s goal.
“The free-kick wasn’t planned, I think I was supposed to slip the ball into Tommy Rowe and he would have a shot, but he said if the pass was not on just to have a go,” he said.
“So from that moment I was always going to have a shot and thankfully it went in and it gave us a great start to the game.”
It was a perfect start to the game for Darren Ferguson’s men who were looking to bounce back from the disappointment of losing to title rivals Plymouth Argyle last time
Mandeville struck a penalty against the foot of a post in the final moments of the game at Home Park, but the 19-year-old is not concerned about stepping up to the spot in the future.
“It was not really on my mind, I think it would have been different if the keeper would have saved it but it was my mistake to be honest and I am still confident that I can score penalties,” he said.
“Promotion is everything to the team and we are on course for that, we have hit our target of two points a game.”
The academy graduate, who won the EFL Young Player of the Month award for November, has seven goals in his last six appearances in Sky Bet League Two, which included a double against Leyton Orient.