DARLINGTON this evening head to York City for an early season match-up between two teams with their sights set firmly on promotion and each go into the contest in good form.

Probably more so Quakers having won all three games so far, though both clubs had high-scoring wins at the weekend.

York recorded their second win, thumping Bradford Park Avenue 5-0 with four goals coming before the break, while Martin Gray’s team are flying, Saturday’s 4-1 win over Alfreton taking their tally to ten in the first week of the season.

“We’ve had a great start to the season, but that’s all it is. Now it is about being focused on the next game – one game at a time,” said Gray.

“It’s nice to win your first three games, what we’ve got to do now is try and get a run going, some momentum.

“We’ve set our standards, and it’s up to use now to maintain them.”

Gray says he has a fully fit squad to choose from, but York boss Gary Mills will be without striker Jon Parkin due to a calf strain, which meant he was also unavailable on Saturday when Michael Rankine deputised.

Parkin sustained the injury last Tuesday during York’s 2-0 win at Blyth Spartans, a game Gray attended, York having lost their opening game of the season 1-0 to Telford at Bootham Crescent.

This evening is the first time Quakers have travelled to Bootham since September 2011, a 2-2 draw with James Walshaw and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson scoring, with their financial implosion coming later in the campaign, Darlington since clawing their way back up the leagues while York have tumbled.

“It is a big step compared to where we were five years ago,” admitted Gray.

“They’ve all been tough games so far this season. Salford and Alfreton are both full-time, but these are the games that we want, this is why we’ve wanted progress and to win promotions.”

Unsurprisingly Gray has been sticking with the same starting XI that has started the season so well, the first time he has not made any changes in the first three games of a campaign.

“The lads that are starting are doing very well, but the reason the lads are putting in strong performances is because the squad is strong,” he said. “It’s your job as a manager to try and get as much out of your players, to keep them at a high level.”

David Ferguson, playing at left-midfield, is among those who has been in top form, already on three goals for the campaign and he was involved in teeing up team-mates for two strikes on Saturday.

Signed from Shildon midway through last season, he is bound to grab the attention of clubs higher up should he continue such form, though Gray did not wish to countenance the prospect.

Gray said: “He’s been good. He’s not a natural left-winger, he’s a full-back or wing-back, but he gets us up the pitch.

“His decision-making is good and he put one or two great balls into the box today. He’s got three goals too, he’s got good composure and he’s a player we want to continue working with.”

On the other wing, Josh Gillies, also has three goals so far, including two on Saturday, and admits he was eager to make it a hat-trick.

“I’ve never had a hat-trick before, so every time I got it I was just trying to shoot,” he admitted.

“I was being a bit greedy, but you don’t get too many chances so I was just trying to get the matchball.”

Gillies was at Gateshead when Mills was manager there, and the winger added: “He’s a good manager and I know York like to play football. We’ll have to be right at it to get a result down there.

“It’s our biggest game so far, it’s probably the biggest game in the league to play away to York. They’re a massive club and shouldn’t be in this league, but we’ll go there to compete and give them a game.”

Mills returned to York for his second spell in the hot seat midway through last season, but was unable to prevent a second successive relegation.

“We had a great crowd for our first game and Darlo might bring a few down, because it’s not a million miles away for them to travel and they’ve started the season well,” he told the York Press.

“We’ll have a few local derbies this season and we didn’t get too many in the other league, so it’s all set up for a big game on a nice summer’s evening.

“I know what I need to know about Darlington.

“They’ve got a few good players who have played for me and they’ll be one of the teams who will be there or thereabouts, as they’ve shown by winning their first three games. They’ll want to come to York and show that they’re the team to beat this season, but we’ve got to show our fans we can bounce back at home, having lost our first game to Telford and make sure that teams coming to play us know they won’t be in for an easy time.”