Tamworth 1 Darlington 0 - Matchfacts

Goal: Christie (83, penalty low to the right after Purkiss had fouled Patterson) Bookings: Lee (42, foul), Walshaw (47, foul); Green (81, foul); Purkiss (83, foul) Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire) - not to blame for Darlington's performance and no complaints about the penalty decisions 7 Attendance: 977 Entertainment: 2/5 Tamworth (4-4-2): Hedge 6; Tait 7, Francis 7, Green 7, Barrow 6; Cain 7 (Smith 85), BRADLEY 7, McDonald 6, Mills 5 (Thomas 65, 6); Shariff 6 (Christie 58, 6), Patterson 7. Subs (not used): Collister (gk), St Aimie Darlington (4-3-3): 6 Russell: Did everything asked of him without fuss, though unable to pull-off another penalty save; 5 Purkiss: Conceded the late penalty from which Tamworth scored the only goal 6 Miller: Made his obligatory timely tackle and kept occupied by sprightly striker Kyle Patterson 6 Lee: Solid defending from one of the few players Cooper was satisified with 5 G Taylor: Tried his luck at goal early in second half with an optimistic effort during a rare forward run; 5 Chandler: Pushed further forward, with Atkinson sitting deeper, but unable to kick-start the midfield 5 Atkinson: Used as the anchorman in midfield. Like his team-mates, unable to get a grip on the game 5 K Taylor: Went missing for lengthy spells as Darlington's midfield was overrun; 4 Bowman: Should have scored early on and then sacrificed for Bridge- Wilkinson before half-time 4 Hatch: Unusually for the striker he won very little aerially and substituted midway through second half 6 Walshaw: Cooper was happy with his contribution, but he is still to test an opposition's keeper Subs: Bridge-Wilkinson (for Bowman 38): Sent on in the hope of inspiring, but struggled to make an impact 6 McReady (for Chandler 61): Saw the ball infrequently after replacing Chandler in offensively-minded change 6 Smith (for Hatch 71) (not used) Pocklington (gk), Campbell Man of the match DANIEL Bradley - Darlington were unable to stop the quick-footed midfielder from skipping past challenges and creating chances

Source: Northern_Echo