Source: Northern_Echo
Confident Quakers on road to victory
After taking so long to record the first away win of last season, Darlington aim to get off the mark at the second attempt today at Tamworth.[LNB] Encouraged by the impressive showing in a 0-0 draw at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, Mark Cooper's men hope for a continuation of the form they showed at Highbury.[LNB] The division's big-spenders, title favourites according to the bookies, were, for spells, second best to Darlington, whose high-tempo approach rattled the hosts, especially before the break.[LNB] Three days earlier, Quakers beat Braintree despite a less than convincing performance, which is also how last season started - a home win and a midweek draw.[LNB] A year ago they followed that up with an away draw four days later, at Kettering, and it was not until the trip to table-topping AFC Wimbledon at the end of October that Cooper's side collected three points on the road.[LNB] That was the ninth league away match, and Darlington cannot afford a repeat this season.[LNB] They won five away games last season and in the top half of the table only York City enjoyed less success.[LNB] But Cooper, going back to one of his former clubs today, warned: "It would be nice to get the first away win on Saturday, but nothing is ever given to you and Tamworth will be tough. It's a tight ground so the crowd are close to you, and that's how they get results.[LNB] "But if we are going to be towards the top of the table then we've got to go to these sorts of places and get a result.[LNB] "Without being respectful to Tamworth, who had a good result the other night, we've got to go there and get a win.[LNB] "Marcus Law, their manager, has a tough job on his hands, but knowing how thorough he is, he will do a good job there and will give us a tough game."[LNB] Should Darlington repeat their performance of Tuesday then they should taste victory today, though Cooper has a selection dilemma on his hands.[LNB] He rested Marc Bridge-Wilkinson at Fleetwood and although the play-maker is available for action today, Ryan Bowman did well as the right-sided forward as Quakers switched to 4-3-3.[LNB] No matter what personnel or tactics Cooper opts for, he wants more of the same at The Lamb.[LNB] He said: "If I'd been watching us on Tuesday, as a neutral, I would have said 'I tell you what, Darlington aren't bad'.[LNB] "I've told the players that if they play with that tempo every week they will finish in the play-offs. If they don't, then they won't.[LNB] "If I had the answer to guarantee them to play like that every week then I wouldn't be here.[LNB] "The evidence is there for the players to see for themselves. Play like they did last Saturday and you saw what happened, but on Tuesday we came up with a much-improved performance."[LNB] The only complaint on Tuesday was Darlington's failure to take advantage of the positions they found themselves in the final third.[LNB] Fleetwood threw men forward in the closing stages, hitting the crossbar and drawing an eye-catching save from Quakers keeper Sam Russell.[LNB] It was the sort of scenario which saw Quakers crumble last season, one such example being the match in January at Tamworth, who grabbed a last-minute equaliser.[LNB] "I think we would have lost Tuesday's game last season," added Cooper. "The way it was going towards the end, we would have lost last season, but we got bodies in the way and the keeper did his job. That's what he's there for, he's expected to make those saves and if he hadn't saved it he'd have had me to answer to.[LNB] "But that only happened because we hadn't scored. We have got to be better in the final third with the final pass. Had we scored when we were on top we would've gone on to win, but I'd have taken a point before we went there, so I'm not complaining.[LNB] "If you look at Fleetwood's bench, they have players there that were all important players in their respective teams last season: Magno Viera, Keith Briggs, Richard Brodie and Gareth Seddon.[LNB] "They would get into any team, so any team that goes to Fleetwood and gets a result has done well. They will definitely be towards the top of the table."[LNB] Tamworth finished 19th last season and have begun this campaign like Quakers, with a draw and a victory.[LNB]
