Source: Northern_Echo
Fleetwood Town 1 Darlington 0
Must do better. That would be the verdict on Darlington's stuttering season so far as they sit a disappointing 13th at the turn of the year.[LNB] Thirteen is also the number of points they are off the play-off positions so they have a great deal of improving to do in 2011 if they are to maintain any chance of returning to the Football League at the first attempt.[LNB] Losing their first game of the year, however, at Fleetwood Town on Saturday was hardly the ideal way to go about achieving their aim.[LNB] Must do better would also have been manager Mark Cooper's assessment at half-time. Though his choice of language will have been much more blunt after watching his team finish a comfortable second best during the first 45 minutes of 2011.[LNB] So disappointed was he, after the game the half-jokingly threatened to give a game to 'three or four fans'.[LNB] "We train hard but when you put a performance in like that for 45 minutes, it doesn't matter what formation you use or line-up you choose, if the players don't roll their sleeves up and run about I might as well ask three or four fans from behind the goal to play because I know they will put the effort in," he said.[LNB] "They've only got themselves to blame. When they go home tonight and look in the mirror and ask were they good enough, did they try hard enough then the answer is no.[LNB] "I can put up with people playing badly, you can get things wrong by people making mistakes if you try hard enough, but we didn't in the first half.[LNB] "We edged the second half, but I've told the players that they wasted the game with their first half performance. It was a game we could've got a result from, but we wasted 45 minutes."[LNB] Gaps at the back were exploited by the fifth-placed hosts while a one-dimensional attack, led by Liam Hatch who returned to the front line, was easily defended.[LNB] Hatch twice headed off target while midfielder Gary Smith shot narrowly wide but that was as good as it got before the break for a blunt attack which is clearly a cause for concern.[LNB] Having netted only 22 times in 21 games, Darlington are among the lowest scorers in the division - only four teams have scored less - so the recruitment of goalscorer is much-needed.[LNB] Cooper has tried to land Mansfield's Paul Connor while it is understood he has shown an interest in Hartlepool striker Adam Boyd though time is ticking as Jefferson Louis's loan from Gainsborough expires this weekend.[LNB] He started on Saturday but was only a peripheral figure in the first half during which the Cod Army took the lead on 20 minutes with Gareth Seddon tapping home from close-range.[LNB] The ball fell kindly, though Quakers keeper Sam Russell may be regretting not attempting to save James Milligan's curling free-kick which rebounded off the post.[LNB] Cooper, who switched Hatch back to defence after the break, was more concerned with his team's defending, saying: "It's a sad indictment of some of our lads that we have to put to out our centre-forward at centre-back to get a reaction.[LNB] "Everyone could see the difference once we put a dominant centre-back. If we're going to play Liam Hatch up front then it's obvious we need a centre-back which is what we're trying to get in."[LNB] For all of Cooper's grumbles, Darlington's defence, along with Fleetwood's, has the second best record in the division (only 18 goals conceded).[LNB] But the end of Danny Hone's loan means the arrival of a domineering centre-back has become as necessary as the need for a striker.[LNB] Notts County's Graeme Lee continues to be Cooper's number one target, but Kettering's John Dempster is also an option.[LNB] After the break there was a change of personnel and a marked improvement.[LNB] With Hatch going to centre-back, Ian Miller moved to right-back which allowed Chris Moore to play further forward and on came striker Curtis Main who soon gave the Fleetwood his first save of the day.[LNB] Whereas Russell was kept involved through the first 45, after the break he saw little of the action with Quakers pushing for a leveller.[LNB] They thought it had arrived when Louis directed a dipping shot that keeper Scott Davies did well to push over the bar, but for all of Darlington's possession they did not create enough chances.[LNB] In what was only their only second game since November 20, perhaps it was inevitable that Quakers would not be on top of their game.[LNB] However, Cooper was in no mood for such reasoning, saying: "I'm not going to let the lack of games be an excuse, we just didn't start properly, we didn't play.[LNB] "We stood off Fleetwood and they have some good players so if you do that they will hurt you.[LNB] "We weren't at it in the first half so we got beat."[LNB] Cooper will hope that Saturday's second half improvement will be matched by a similar improvement in the second part of the season, though only this time with something to show for their effort.[LNB] MATCHFACTS[LNB] Goal:[LNB] 1-0: Seddon (20, tapped home from-close range after ball had rebounded off the post)[LNB] Bookings: Hone (20, foul); Connors (73, foul); Wright (87, foul)[LNB] Referee: Peter Bankes (Liverpool) - A straightforward afternoon for the Merseyside official 8[LNB] Attendance: 1,432[LNB] Entertainment: **[LNB] Fleetwood Town (4-3-3): Davies 7; Beeley 6, Linwood 6, GREGAN 8, Brown 7; Milligan 7, Barry 6 (McGuire 69, 6), Worthington 6 (Connors 68, 5); Seddon 7, Vieira 6, Curtis 6 (Thorpe 83). Subs (not used): Hurst (gk), Wright[LNB] Darlington (4-4-1-1):[LNB] 6 Russell: Erred for the goal, but later pulled off a very impressive save to deny Vieira;[LNB] 6 Moore: Did a decent job at right-back, but looked more comfortable in his natural right-wing position after the break[LNB] 6 Miller: Fleetwood's lack of width gave him a more comfortable second half when he moved to right-back[LNB] 5 Hone: In the last game of his loan it was his foul that conceded the free-kick from which Fleetwood scored[LNB] 6 Brown: Got forward well and fired over one or two decent crosses[LNB] 5 Brough: Did not have a huge impact on proceedings and was subbed just after half-time[LNB] 6 Verma: Showed some nice touches but little he did made a substantial impact[LNB] 6 G Smith: Came close to scoring a equaliser, but the victim of a half-time tactical reshuffle[LNB] 7 Bridge-Wilkinson: Seemed to have a free role in which he popped up all over the pitch[LNB] 5 Louis: Couldn't get involved in the first half but unfortunate to score with a second half shot[LNB] 7 HATCH: Cooper wishes he had a Hatch clone so he could play him in defence and attack at the same time[LNB] Subs:[LNB] Main (for G Smith, 46): Aside from one chance soon after coming on, did little to test Fleetwood 5[LNB] J Gray (for Brough 51): Had plenty of touches but wasn't able to attack down the wing 5[LNB] Wright (for Moore 83)[LNB] (not used): Arnison, Chandler[LNB] Man of the match[LNB] SEAN Gregan - The defensive stalwart found Darlington's attack simple to deal with[LNB]
