Source: Northern_Echo
Windass blunder costs Quakers
My missus has just had a go at me in the players lounge. She said she could have hit it harder with her stilettos on.
DEAN Windass post-match comment just about summed up his last-minute penalty, a woefully tame effort easily saved by the keeper that condemned his side to a 1-0 defeat.
Having spent most of the afternoon on the bench, watching Darlington fail to create any problems for Bury, the 40- year-old came on in the latter stages hoping to inspire an equaliser to Jordan Robertsons 60th minute header.
After fellow substitute Curtis Main was fouled by keeper Wayne Brown, with only seconds remaining along came Windass chance to become an instant hero.
Having taken penalties throughout his career, a memorable way to mark his Darlington home league debut awaited.
What happened next will stay in the memory but, unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.
Windass rolled the ball gently to the keeper as though he was having a pre-match kickabout with the mascot.
All Brown had to do was fall to his right, collect the ball and with it Burys first points of the season, leaving Darlington still looking for theirs.
The penalty was absolutely pathetic, hell say that himself,
said frustrated manager Colin Todd.
Todd was right. Although Windass added a few more colourful words too.
Asked if he had stubbed his toe when taking the kick, Windass said: No I didnt, it was just a crap penalty, thats all. An awful penalty.
I havent missed many. I dont know how many Ive taken, probably 40 or 50, and I mustve missed no more than two or three.
When I have missed I have taken the responsibility like I will for this one.
If Id scored 1-1 would have been a fair result. In the second half we had a bit more of a go after wed had a chat at half-time. But in the first half we didnt play as well as we did against Leeds.
In truth, Darlington played nowhere as well as they did against Leeds.
Last Mondays Carling Cup defeat saw Todds side push the League One promotionchasers hard and, understandably, Quakers stuck with the same starting XI.
But Saturdays display was disappointing against a Bury side that was not much better, especially during a drab first half.
David Dowson appeared to be tripped in the penalty area by Efe Sodje but referee Chris Sarginson was not interested, and he was similarly unmoved when Quakers keeper David Knight raced out of his penalty area to pole-axe Michael Jones. To Burys surprise Sarginson signalled for a Darlington goal kick.
Strikers Dowson and Lee Thorpe were starved of service as Quakers struggled to make an impact in the oppositions half, something that Todd was quick to point out.
He said: Our sharpness in possession wasnt good enough, we never retained the ball well enough in the oppositions half.
We have to learn to move the ball quicker and get in their half quicker. We had some spells of possession where we kept the ball but did not hurt them.
And the tempo was slow, really slow. We tried to get the tempo up in the second half, but being able to retain the ball and not making the right decisions was disappointing.
Im not going to make excuses.
We saw against Leeds that we have something, but we havent reached the same level. We have to be better than we have shown on this occasion.
The sides remained level until the 60th minute when Robertson, who joined on loan from Sheffield United on Friday, headed Bury ahead after meeting a precise David Worrall cross.
Quakers had been caught flat-footed as Robertson was allowed to ghost unnoticed into Darlingtons area, and he would have had another soon afterwards had Steve Foster not made a goal-line clearance.
Todd switched to 4-3-3 with Windass operating behind Main and Thorpe, and Darlington put the visitors under pressure, which appeared set to pay off in the last minute when Brown felled Main.
But Windass had not read the script, meaning Darlington go into tomorrow evenings home match with Crewe Alexandra still searching for their first points of the season.
COLIN Todd hopes to create competition within his squad after accusing some of his players of being complacent over their starting place.
Having extended the loans of Sunderlands Jamie Chandler and David Dowson until Christmas, the Quakers boss today aims to conclude a deal for two more loan players.
He hopes their arrival will spur on his current firstchoice XI and said: Chandler and Dowson staying is a boost for us because we need a squad of players to add competition.
At the moment I think theres one or two who take their position for granted so I have to change that.
I can bring loan players in and am waiting to hear back from clubs about a couple. Well probably find out on Monday.
Former Hartlepool goalkeeper Jan Budtz has been on trial with Quakers.
I have trained for a couple of weeks and it has gone well, Budtz said. They just have two young keepers at the club and I could certainly add some experience.
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Darlington have been drawn at home to Lincoln City in the Johnstones Paint Trophy. The tie will be played in week commencing August 31.
Match facts Goal: 0-1: Robertson (60mins, deft header after meeting Worralls right-wing cross)
Booking: Brown (90mins, foul)
Referee: Chris Sarginson (Staffordshire) - called the penalty correctly and handing Knight a let-off was his only surprising decision 7
Attendance: 2,310
