Source: Northern_Echo
Cooper demanding more from his strikers
Darlington boss Mark Cooper last night admitted his strike force had failed to fire in the opening three games of the Blue Square Bet Premier season.[LNB] Quakers entertain Grimsby Town, the club they were relegated alongside last season, at The Northern Echo Arena tonight.[LNB] The Mariners finished 14 points ahead of Darlington last term and, like tonight's opponents, have since brought in a number of players with Football League experience in an attempt to make an instant return.[LNB] They travel to the North- East after a surprise 2-1 home loss to Hayes & Yeading, and will take on a Quakers side that has struggled in front of goal this season.[LNB] They were held 0-0 at Kettering on Saturday when clear scoring chances were at a premium, as they have been in the three games so far.[LNB] But Cooper is confident Darlington will come good and said: I've said before that we've not really clicked yet going forward. On Saturday we played 4-4-2, people have been saying we should use that formation, but I don't think we created as many chances as we have been making.[LNB] We've got Tommy Wright and Liam Hatch and you would say that they would be a potent attacking force. But they're not firing.[LNB] We've worked on crossing and movement but it takes time. We are trying to play a little bit more football.[LNB] But I am confident with the forwards we have, including Chris Senior and Richard Offiong, that we are going to score goals.[LNB] Cooper is considering making a small number of changes for what will be Quakers' fourth game in 12 days during a demanding start to the season.[LNB] By the end of the first month of the campaign they will have played six matches in 17 days.[LNB] Cooper said: They look fit enough to me and they looked fit in pre-season.[LNB] But there is maybe a chance we could change things on Tuesday to get some fresh legs in because the lads that have played all three games have played them in a short space of time.[LNB] Grimsby have signed some awfully good players for the level that we're at, although they had a bad result on Saturday I'm sure that will make them even more determined to bounce back on Tuesday.[LNB] Quakers hold a good recent record against the Mariners, losing only one of the last 12, last April's 2-0 defeat at the Arena.[LNB] In that game Darlington striker Wright made a substitute appearance for Grimsby in the closing stages, and he hopes to shake off an ankle injury in time to play this evening.[LNB]
