Carshalton Athletic striker Austin Gacheru broke his barren spell in front of goal as the club got back to winning ways last Saturday.

Gacheru, who arrived from Chatham Town in November, grabbed the third in a 3-1 win over East Grinstead Town, as The Robins came from behind to register a seventh win from their past nine home fixtures.

The revival was sparked by Paris Hamilton-Downes’ first of the season, before Sean O’Toole continued his impressive campaign by putting Carshalton ahead just before the break, all of which meant the club moved up to 12th in the Ryman Division One South table.

“We made hard work of it during the first half and conceded a sloppy goal from a set-piece, but we dug in and showed character to get back into it,” said Gacheru.

“We were happy with result but even more so after the disappointment of losing to Horsham last time out.

“It’s important to regain momentum after suffering a stumble because our aim is to keep climbing up through this division.”

Gacheru, who scored in each of his first two appearances for Carshalton, had gone seven games without a goal before Saturday, but the striker revealed manager Rob Scantlebury had not placed any undue pressure onto his shoulders.

“I made eye contact with Matt Males who put the ball into a perfect area for me to attack and I felt relief as I celebrated,” he said.

Wimbledon Times:

Provider: Matt Males set up Austin Gacheru for his goal against East Grinstead Town

“All strikers go through droughts but you have to keep working hard for the team while waiting for chances to arrive.

“I thanked the boss for keeping faith because some would take you out the firing line. He just kept telling me to keep doing the right things and I’ll eventually get a reward.”

And the striker understands the importance of taking the encouraging home form on the road as Carshalton face five away games before the end of February.

“We enjoy playing at home, our crowd gets right behind us and the pitch allows us to play to our strengths, but of course we want to earn more points away from Colston Avenue too,” Gacheru said.

"We performed well at places like Burgess Hill, Worthing and Herne Bay but maybe lacked the rub of green in terms of final results.

"I’m particularly looking forward to visiting Corinthian Casuals and Guernsey during this run of away games but we'll be giving it our best at all times to ensure we build on our home form,” he added.

Carshalton travel to Corinthian Casuals this coming January 31 (kick-off 3pm).