Full-time: Harrogate RA 1 Darlington 5

Focus was expected to be on Nathan Cartman and his reunion with his former Harrogate RA team-mates, the Darlington striker playing against the club for whom he scored 36 goals this season before leaving last month.

Instead, it was Terry Galbraith who took the limelight by bagging a hat-trick as Darlington enjoyed a Valentine’s Day romp in North Yorkshire.

While Quakers took the points that keep them top of the table, a beaming Galbraith left with the match ball after his first treble in senior football.

“I’ve got the lads to sign it, happy days,” he said. I’ll probably get a stand for it.

“Winning the league two years ago was good, but that was a different sort of feeling. This is up there, but it’s different because it’s a personal achievement.

“We always say that the next game is the hardest, but on Harrogate’s run of form we would’ve been happy to win 1-0. To win 5-1, we’ve blown them away.

“We controlled the game. Once we get the first goal we can be rampant and get three or four more goals and you saw that today.”

Victory takes Quakers’ tally against Harrogate to 12 having beaten them 7-1 at Heritage Park, but that night a semi-retired reserve keeper came off the bench. Saturday, however, was one of Darlington’s best performances of the season.

A tight first half in which they shaded the chances ended 1-0 thanks to Nelson Mota, before a second period of one-way traffic as Darlington demolished a side with a fine home record.

Salford City and Northwich Victoria, second and third in the table, have each lost at Station View this season, while Spennymoor Town drew. Railway had not lost their 12 previous home fixtures in all competitions, yet Quakers swept aside the play-off chasers.

“It was one of the strongest performances of the season, there’s no doubt about that,” said Darlington manager Martin Gray.

“We took control and the more goals we scored, the more confident we looked. We kept the ball and dominated.

“We weren’t going to dominate from the start. It’s very hard to dominate away from home for the full game, but we had a few chances in the first half.

“It’s nice to win convincingly against a team with that sort of record near the play-offs. They’ll be up there for the rest of the season.”

Mota’s strike from the edge of the box after being teed up by Galbraith gave Darlington the lead on 36 minutes after good work by Stephen Thompson and debutant right-back Andrew Cartwright.

He has joined on month’s loan from Sunderland and acquitted himself well in a much-changed defence. While left-back Ian Watson returned from injury, Liam Hatch stepped in just before kick-off when Chris Hunter suffered a recurrence of an ankle problem.

Unlike his previous start, Hatch excelled, forming a solid partnership with Gary Brown.

Gray said “Liam was excellent. Hopefully he’s learned from what happened at St Neots when he was sent off early on. I said to him before the game ‘you’re playing now, make sure you don’t let the team down, do a job for us’.

“He got through it well, especially considering he’s not been playing recently, and him and Browny did very well.”

Five minutes into the second period Galbraith had his first goal. Graeme Armstrong laid the ball off, and although the midfielder struck his effort powerfully, Railway keeper goalkeeper Tom Goodwin should’ve done better than to fumble the ball into the net.

Darlington got stronger, playing smart football despite the uneven surface.

On his big day, little came off for Cartman, and moments after being replaced by substitute David Dowson it became 3-0 when Armstrong executed a calm left-foot finish after receiving Thompson’s pass.

Armstrong now has 19 goals, but the day belonged to Galbraith. He made it 4-0 on 80 minutes, firing across the keeper after a Leon Scott pass, and he completed his treble by sliding home at the far post after Thompson had played him in.

Galbraith even missed a chance for a fourth. Another strike would’ve been timely given that the game was played a day after the 25-year anniversary of David Cork’s four-goal haul against Boston United in the GM Vauxhall Conference.

However, the last word went to Harrogate’s Fatlum Ibrahimi, the midfielder letting fly from 25 yards to deny Darlington a 15th clean sheet.

Having won their last three games and scoring 13 in the process, defeat at Salford a fortnight ago has been quickly forgotten.

They remain level on points with Quakers, but have played three games more.

Galbraith added: “We’ve just to concentrate on one game at a time, but we’re in a strong position and it’s up to us now.

“You always forget about the last game when you win the next one, but this performance today has sent a message out to the rest of the league.”

Goals: Mota (36, 0-1), Galbraith (50, 0-2), Armstrong (65, 0-3), Galbraith (80, 0-4), Galbraith (83, 0-5); Ibrahimi (89, 1-5)

Bookings: N/A

Referee: Andrew Smith 8

Attendance: 899

Harrogate RA (4-4-2): Goodwin 4; Armstrong 5, Heath 5, Morgan 5 (Coates 70, 6), Manning 4 (Hunter 58, 5); Mycoe 6, IBRAHIMI 6, Thirkwell 6, Youhill 5; Farquharson 5, Yates 5. Subs (not used): Kidd, Hickey, Ashforth

Darlington (4-4-2): Jameson 7; Cartwright 7, Brown 7, Hatch 8, Watson 7; Mota 7 (Scott 69, 7), Portas 8 (Cocks 81), GALBRAITH 9, Thompson 7; Armstrong 8, Cartman 6 (Dowson 63, 6). Sub (not used): Bell (gk)

MAN OF THE MATCH

TERRY Galbraith – Scored three and set up the Mota’s goal