Praise for Carlisle United's Joe Garner after goal milestone

The Blues frontman’s equaliser at Stevenage was his 150th goal in first-team football.

And Simpson said the remarkable record was a tribute to veteran Garner’s career-long appetite.

The 35-year-old’s late effort at the Lamex Stadium came some 16 years, six months and 27 days after his first goal in the senior game – also for Carlisle, against Yeovil Town on February 10, 2007.

Simpson said of Garner’s feat: “It shows that he’s got an incredible desire to score goals.

“There’s a lot of players, particularly now with modern-day players…they don’t see the value in scoring goals.

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“It is a massive part of it. If you’ve got that it doesn’t half give you a great career.

“To have scored 150 goals is a brilliant achievement, and hopefully there’s more to come.”

Garner heads home at Stevenage (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Garner’s second goal in successive United games after coming off the bench sent the travelling fans into jubilation at Stevenage.

His header, which was ruled to have crossed the line before home keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond clawed it back out, was the latest goal in a career which started at Blackburn Rovers and has seen scoring exploits for United in four spells plus Nottingham Forest, Scunthorpe United, Watford, Preston North End, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Wigan Athletic and Fleetwood Town.

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“That’s why we brought him into the club, because we wanted that sort of thing,” added Simpson after Saturday's 2-2 draw.

“Even when he wasn’t travelling with the squad the other week, when everybody started to wonder and I heard rumours there had been a row and all those sorts of rubbish things that go out…we hadn’t had a fall-out at all, I just felt it was right for other players on the bench.

“The last two games he’s come on and done a job.

“Listen, if he keeps coming off the bench and getting goals there’s a place for him.

“There’s a place in our 18 and we’ve got to make sure we keep him right, and hopefully the 150 is just the start of him going on even more.”