HE found the net 13 times in 22 games for Darlington this season, but no strike was as important as the one against Chorley in January: the £20,000 goal.

It was a game that would never have been played had Quakers supporters not cleared the pitch of snow that morning, answering the club’s call to arms as they often do.

Styche celebrated his goal by jumping into a mound of snow beside the pitch, as did team-mate Gary Brown, and their antics won the Non-League Challenge, an online competition ran by Marathon Bet to find the best celebration this season.

As well as the £20,000 also included in the prize is a friendly to be played at Blackwell Meadows against a Premier League XI, who will include Richard Dunne, Chris Waddle, Emile Heskey and Kieron Dyer.

Yesterday George Boateng and Julio Arca, two players with North-East pedigree, were added to the squad, so there will be plenty of autographs signed and selfies taken when the game is played on Sunday, July 29, but the charismatic Styche will be just as popular among Quakers supporters as the Premier League players.

He has not looked back since scoring twice on his debut in November after manager Tommy Wright brought him in from Tamworth, and winning the Non-League Challenge underlined his hero status.

“I was absolutely buzzing when I heard the news,” he said. “I was buzzing after all the effort that went into it because it wasn’t just a case of me doing a celebration – the fans cleared the pitch from 7am to get the game on in the first place, then someone on Twitter asked me to do the celebration.

“But obviously to do that I would need to sore, and then I did so I was able to do it.

“It’s mad how everything aligned, it was almost like fate.

“The club is fan-owned so everyone pulls together, and by doing that it has produced this unbelievable result. It’s just not the £20,000, the game could generate just as much if not more.”

He laughs off the suggestion that he and Brown should receive a cut of the money, and says: “We won’t get a penny, but if we did you’d also have to pay every supporter who cleared the snow and then voted online.

“The fans come together whenever something needs to be done. The club launched the Boost the Budget and the fans came forward for it, and they paid for the stand too, they’re phenomenal.”

Boost the Budget, an initiative by the Darlington FC Supporters group aimed at raising £80,000 in six weeks to supplement Wright’s squad building, actually topped £85,000, highlighting the dedication of Darlington's fans.

It came months after a stand was opened at Blackwell, costing £150,000 and also financed by fans.

Styche added: “No disrespect to the personnel that were here before, but there’s been a change of manager and ethos within the club and everything seems to be on an upward curve, hopefully it will continue into next season.

“The £20,000 win is another example of how committed they are to the club, it’s a good place to be.”

Styche had scored ten times in 14 appearances this season for Tamworth, meaning he ended the campaign on 23 goals in 36 matches, quite a record considering neither of his teams were involved in the promotion race.

Although training to be an accountant, Styche had not keep track of his impressive numbers.

“I wasn’t even sure how many I’ve scored because I haven’t counted for quite a while, but it is something I usually do,” he said.

“Scoring is all the result of me playing regularly and I’m happy here. When I signed Tommy said people would warm to me and I’d like to think that they have.

“I’m really happy playing for Darlington and as settled as I was at Forest Green. I loved my time at Tamworth, but in terms of feeling settled at a club this is the best I’ve felt since Forest Green, so I’m in a good place.”

Those comments will be well received by Darlington fans, as it would not be a surprise if the striker is wanted elsewhere this summer given his number of goals.

“You can never say never in football, but the reason I came to Darlington in the first place was Tommy and I’m really happy here,” added Styche.

“We’ve got a really close relationship, as well as my manager we’re friends off the pitch as well. We’ve known each other since I was about 22 at Forest Green, he knows me as a person as a player and he’s shown his commitment to me by giving me the captaincy.

“I always say that if you’re happy off the pitch then you’ll be happy on it. The reason I’m happy is down to Tommy, and the lads have accepted me with open arms.”