Source: Northern_Echo
Darlington's good run continues
Darlington climbed a place to eighth with a 1-0 home win over a redoubtable Cambridge United today.[LNB] Darlington climbed a place to eighth with a 1-0 home win over a redoubtable Cambridge United today.[LNB] Quakers are now eight points off the play-offs with games in hand on the teams directly above them.[LNB] Today's visitors frustrated Mark Cooper's men for lengthy spells, but Darlington dominated possession and got what resulted in being the winning goal midway through the second half through Liam Hatch.[LNB] The goal had been coming as Darlington had upped the tempo after the break following a first half in which Quakers had started with a high tempo but failed to carve out a clear chance.[LNB] Hatch saw a downwards header saved by Simon Brown, a former Darlington keeper, but for all Quakers' territorial advantage they were unable to force the breakthrough and it as the shot-shy visitors who almost snatched the lead.[LNB] Darlington keeper Sam Russell had, not for the first time in recent weeks, been under-worked but in first half injury time his punch clear fell kindly to Cambridge's Adam Marriott who managed to put his effort wide despite having all of an empty to net to aim for.[LNB] He was to rue the miss as Darlington upped their attacking intend after the break with Ian Miller seeing a header go narrowly wide, before Brown was forced into a fine save to push away a curling 25-yard Marc Bridge-Wilkinson free-kick.[LNB] Chris Senior came off the bench just before the hour mark, replacing Michael Smith, and six minutes later he almost scored, only denied by Brown's legs after Hatch's pass from the right of the penalty area. [LNB] But Senior was involved when Quakers finally scored in the 67th minute. Aaron Brown's free-kick from near the halfway line was headed across goal by Dan Burn and although Brown pushed away Senior's header the ball went straight to Hatch who headed into an empty net.[LNB] The goal came after a free-kick awarded, for a foul on Hatch, one of the few decisions referee Darren Bond managed to call correctly during a poor display.[LNB] Bond, who achieved infamy with Darlington for controversially sending off Tommy Wright at Tamworth in January, awarded a succession of debatable free-kicks to Cambridge while handed out three yellow cards to Quakers but none to the visitors.[LNB] Soon after Hatch's goal Bridge-Wikinson whacked the top of the crossbar, from another of the rare free-kicks that Bond awarded to Darlington when Brian Saah pole-axed Paul Arnison on the edge of the penalty area.[LNB] But Bond returned to his baffling ways when he somehow failed to issue a red card, not even a yellow, when Cambridge right-back Kevin Roberts used an elbow to stop Gary Smith.[LNB] Despite Bond's performance, Darlington successfully closed out the remaining minutes to secure three points and maintain the momentum created by the club's good run.[LNB] They have now lost only one of their last 15 matches and hope to continue that form when they travel to Gateshead for a league meeting on Tuesday.[LNB] Goal: Hatch (67, 1-0)[LNB] Bookings: Hatch (6, handball), Senior (70, time wasting), Brown (86, foul)[LNB] Referee: Dave Bond (Burscough)[LNB] Attendance: 2,080 (182 visitors)[LNB] Darlington (4-1-2-1-2): Russell; Arnison, Miller, Burn, Brown; Chandler; Verma, G Smith; Bridge-Wilkinson; M Smith (Senior 59), Hatch. Subs (not used): St Louis-Hamilton (gk), Quinn, McReady, Wright[LNB] Cambridge United (4-4-2): Brown, Roberts, Saah, Partridge, Jennings; Ives (Patrick 87), Berry, Wellard, Walker (Thorpe 65); Wright, Marriott (Jeffers 75). Subs (not used): Naisbitt (gk), McAuley, Jeffers.[LNB]
