Having spent the 1951–52 season in the fourth team, and beginning the 1952–53 in the third eleven, Rayment made his first-team debut on 20 September 1952, at the age of 17, in a 4–1 defeat away to Liverpool.
[1] By the start of the 1954–55 season, new manager Bob Dennison reportedly had "great hopes" of the club's youngsters, Rayment included,[6] but his engineering employer sacked him for losing too much time to his football commitments.
[1] In the inaugural season of the League Cup competition, Rayment made a significant contribution to Darlington reaching the third round, and coming close to taking First Division Bolton Wanderers to a replay.
[10] In the next round they beat First Division club West Ham United 3–2: Rayment scored the second and debutant Lance Robson, then a dental student, the winner.
[11] In front of a club record attendance of 21,023,[12] Rayment opened the scoring after 16 minutes of the third round, against Bolton, with what the Guardian's reporter called "a terrific shot", but the First Division side, with England international Nat Lofthouse at centre forward, came back to win 2–1 in the last seconds of the match.