Source: Northern_Echo
Windass wastes chance to earn Darlington a draw
DARLINGTON 0 BURY 1 Dean Windass wasted an opportunity to rescue a draw for Darlington by missing a last minute penalty at home to Bury.
Quakers made it three defeats in three games thanks to Jordan Robertson's second half header, but Windass will be left regretting his woeful penalty which was easily saved by keeper Wayne Brown.
After substitute Curtis Main had been felled by Brown, Windass took responsibility but passed a weak penalty straight at the keeper. In front of only 2,310 supporters, 330 of which had travelled from Bury, the miss means Darlington are still looking for their first win of the season.
They had kept the same team which did well against Leeds United in the League Cup, and that meant no place for Windass. Inside the opening 15 minutes both sides disputed decisions made referee Chris Sarginson.
Darlington's came in sixth minute when David Dowson appeared to be tripped in the penalty area by Efe Sodje.
But Sarginson played on, just as he did when Bury claimed Quakers keeper David Knight should have been punished for fouling Michael Jones.
Knight raced out of his penalty area to challenge Bury's left-winger, who was racing in on goal to meet a David Worrall pass, but appeared to be pole-axed 25 yards from goal by Darlington's number one.
To Quakers' relief, and Bury's surprise, Sarginson signalled for a Darlington kick, and the hosts escaped again two minutes later when Paul Scott lashed a shot over the bar when in space 12 yards out.
The Shakers had narrowly shaded the opening stages, although Darlington's central-defensive pair were both involved in scoring opportunities.
Miller was unable to get a connection on the ball after Gary Smith had swung over an accurate corner, then Jeff Smith's corner was headed powerfully at goal from close-range by Foster but keeper Wayne Brown was equal to it.
Foster's header proved to be Darlington's best chance of the half and the sides reached the break at 0-0, but not before Jones produced the most inaccurate shot of the season so far.
From closer to the edge of Quakers' penalty area, he lashed wide with a shot that rolled out for a throw-in on the far side of the pitch.
Shortly after the restart on loan Jamie Chandler chipped over the Bury bar following some neat passing around the visitors' penalty area, but there was precious little between the sides until the visitors took the lead after an hour.
Striker Jordan Robertson, who only joined on loan from Sheffield United on Friday, headed Bury ahead after meeting a precise Worrall ball into the penalty area that caught Quakers flat-footed.
Robertson was allowed to to ghost unnoticed into into Darlington's area to score, and he would have had another soon after had Foster not made a goal-line clearance.
Knight was again central to the action, he raced out of his penalty area in an attempt to shepherd the ball out of play but the former Middlesbrough trainee was unfortunate to see the ball bounce back into play off the corner flag straigh to Worrell.
He delivered a pass to the centrally-positioned Robertson and the striker placed his side-footed shot on target, but Foster was there to clear.
Soon after striker Lee Thorpe believed he had been tripped in the penalty area by Bury's by Ben Futcher but Sarginson was not interested.
With Bury now firmly on top they looked good for another goal, but Robertson missed a golden chance to make it 2-0. His header bounced off the ground and spun over the bar following Worrall's right-wing delivery to the far post.
Todd reacted to the visitors' ascendancy by changing formation to 4-3-3 and sending on both Mark Convery and Dean Windass.
But Bury remained largely untroubled by Quakers who were given a chance by Brown who spilled a cross under his own crossbar, but Thorpe was too slow to react.
But Darlington were, seemingly, handed a lifeline in the last minute when the keeper felled Main but Windass poked his penalty straight at Brown.
