Source: Northern_Echo
Darlington 1 Lincoln City 1
Darlington were dealt a cruel blow when they conceded an equalising goal seven minutes into injury time against Lincoln City last night.[LNB] Steve Staunton's side were on course for a second successive three-point haul thanks to Gary Dempsey's first half goal at The Northern Echo Arena.[LNB] With Cheltenham losing, his strike looked like leaving Darlington nine points from safety, but Danny Hone's late goal stunned Quakers.[LNB] Rather than reflect on two points dropped, however, Staunton was quick to point out the positives.[LNB] He said: It's disappointing because we were worthy of three points as we were the better side and on a difficult pitch played the better football.[LNB] You could see what the equaliser meant to Lincoln because they knew they were in big trouble.[LNB] But that's two unbeaten games in a row for the first time this season, plus Macclesfield and Cheltenham both both lost.[LNB] There were plenty of positives, I'll take that performance all day long because we looked dangerous.[LNB] A second goal for us would've killed the game off but I can't fault the players because they were magnificent.[LNB] Although Darlington led for the majority of the game, Chris Sutton's Lincoln initially looked livelier.[LNB] Impressive midfielder Chris Herd, on loan from Aston Villa, had two off-target efforts, heavyweight striker Delroy Facey had a go from outside the area and Paul Connor tested Quakers keeper Shane Redmond.[LNB] Darlington hit back with a flurry of similar opportunities but were unable to make them count.[LNB] Stuart Giddings had a volley saved and Gareth Waite saw a deflected effort stopped by the keeper, while Tadhg Purcell mis-hit a volley after connecting with Simon Madden's right-wing cross.[LNB] The game hit a scrappy patch, but suddenly came a goal from nowhere with Darlington taking the lead.[LNB] Dempsey strode forward through the centre of the pitch and unleashed a low 20- yard strike that keeper Rob Burch appeared to have covered.[LNB] But he fumbled it over the line to hand the Irish midfielder his first for the club.[LNB] It was a sloppy piece of goalkeeping, but Burch received no sympathy from Quakers who were so close to making it 2-0 within 60 seconds, Waite going wide with a firm header.[LNB] Referee Andy Haines had enjoyed a trouble-free first half, but he was in the spotlight after the break.[LNB] He peppered the half with a series of baffling decisions with Staunton and his assistant, the normally calm Kevin Richardson, both clearly irate.[LNB] Within seconds of the half commencing Haines waved play on when Imps defender Adam Watts wrestled Mor Diop to the ground inside the penalty area.[LNB] Then the lenient official took no action despite Purcell being sent to the ground by Herd's high foot.[LNB] A slip in Darlington's defence allowed winger Brian Gilmour a one-on-one opportunity, but Ian Miller got back in time with a superb tackle.[LNB] With three points against a team placed fifth-bottom at stake, the final ten minutes was a test of Quakers' character but Josh Gray should have killed the game off.[LNB] First the sub scuffed a chance in front of goal, then latched onto a superbly weighted Jeff Smith pass, however, he dwelled and the chance was gone.[LNB] Redmond made a one-handed save from Connor when Quakers were under the cosh in the dying seconds before the fourth official indicated there would be five minutes of injury time.[LNB] However, Haines played seven minutes and after Redmond had punched clear a free-kick Hone lobbed the Darlington keeper.[LNB] It was a dramatic but heartbreaking end to match that Darlington deserved much more than a draw from.[LNB] Staunton was reluctant to talk about Haines, saying only: I don't know where referees get the time from. We had it at Rotherham and again tonight. I'm not going to go there.[LNB] Matchfacts Goals: Dempsey (38, 1-0); Hone (90, 1-1) Bookings: Kerr (18, foul); Purcell (45, foul); Herd (49, foul), Hone (75, foul); Waite (81, foul) Referee: Andy Haines (Sunderland) 5 Attendance: 1,697 Entertainment: [LNB] DARLINGTON (4-4-2): Redmond 6; Madden 7, MILLER 8, White 7, Giddings 7; J Smith 6 (Mulligan 89), Waite 7, Dempsey 7, Purcell 6, Main 7 (Deane 90), Diop 5 (Gray 62, 5). Subs (not used): Liversedge (gk), Byrne, G Smith, Groves[LNB] LINCOLN CITY (4-4-2): Burch 5; Hone 7, Watts 7, Swaibu 7, Anderson 6; Houghton 5 (Lennon 72), Kerr 6, HERD 7, Gilmour 6; Facey 3 (John- Lewis 53), Connor 7. Subs (not used): Musselwhite (gk), Oakes, Clarke, Gordon, Keltie[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH IAN Miller defended valiantly[LNB]
