Rakish Bingham scored Ebbsfleet’s first goal for 513 minutes on Saturday – and then admitted he had no idea the wait was that long!

The Fleet’s last goal came in the 3-2 National League defeat at Yeovil last month. They failed to score in their next five matches and it wasn’t until Bingham’s deflected strike found the net against Hartlepool at the weekend that the drought was over.

“Really? I was totally unaware, that’s a crazy stat,” responded striker Bingham.

“It’s something that never really got discussed at all, I’d be lying if I said it did.

“Praise to God, they all count and I wasn’t fussed about how it went in, as long as it did.

“It’s something to build on and will fill me with confidence, especially after getting three points.

“Hartlepool is an old stomping ground so it’s always nice to notch a goal against your old team.”

It’s been a tough start to the campaign for the Fleet, the success over Hartlepool was their first at the ninth attempt.

“We’ve had a very slow start to the season that we didn’t want,” added Bingham. “It wasn’t ideal for us because we know what we’re capable of.

“When things aren’t going for you but you know what you’re capable of as a team, it’s a bit like a scratch your head moment.

“The most important thing in football is never stay too high and never get too low, just keep going and do the right things, and you will get rewarded eventually.”

As he did last season after returning from a long-term Achilles injury, Bingham has been a catalyst in turning the team’s fortunes around.

Few can link up play between midfield and attack as well as Bingham and he’s been able to have a quick impact, despite missing a large chunk of pre-season.

“As a player, the older I’ve become – I’m going to be 31 in October – I’ve begun to realise the importance of pre-season and what it has to offer you,” explained Bingham.

“It puts you in good stead for the tough winter months and the rest of the season, the extra endurance if you like that pushes you on.

“I understand the importance of it so I was gutted to miss a lot of that, but these things happen. I’ve had to graft and do my best to get back.”

On playing three games in a week, Bingham added: “You’ve seen me in games with my hands on my knees and it’s tough, but it’s what I needed.

“It’s step by step, against Altrincham I played 60 minutes, last Tuesday was 75 minutes and then Hartlepool I’ve completed the game. The icing on the cake was I’ve scored the goal so I’m very happy.”

Bingham also spoke about the challenge in the opening pre-season match at Punjab United that saw him miss the start of the campaign.

Former boss Danny Searle criticised the challenge at the time, and since watching it back, and Bingham felt the same way.

“He was outspoken and I appreciated that at the time from him,” said Bingham. “I felt the exact same way, it wasn’t on and I didn’t feel like the tackle was needed.

“Nevertheless, tackles happen in football, injuries happen in football. For me it was important it was an impact injury rather than me breaking down which gave me a little bit of satisfaction knowing I’m still strong.

“I’ve bounced back from it, I just followed the rehab. I’d been in that situation before with the Achilles which was obviously a lot longer so I knew how to mentally programme myself and get through the challenges. I had no doubt I was going to be back and able to hit the ground running.”

It’s back-to-back clean sheets for the Fleet and a new era under manager Harry Watling, who built on the good work carried out by Josh Wright against Aldershot in midweek.

“It’s a new manager so the lads have to buy into it,” said Bingham. “We’ve been in this position already with Danny Searle last season, who was excellent for us.

“Now it’s about progressing, Tuesday’s performance was brilliant and we’ve kicked on as a team and we want to keep building. We’ve had two clean sheets in a row and long may it continue.

Report: Ebbsfleet 1-0 Hartlepool

“Wrighty’s personality, you can see he’s got leadership qualities and going into the dugout, it wasn’t any different. It felt like he was on the pitch with us.

“You saw how important he is for us on Saturday, he put a great shift in and helped us achieve our goal.”