Source: Northern_Echo
Darlington 1 Lincoln City 1
Darlington were dealt a cruel blow when they conceded an equalising goal seven minutes into injury time against Lincoln City last night. Steve Staunton's side were on course for a second successive three-point haul thanks to Gary Dempsey's first half goal at The Northern Echo Arena. With Cheltenham losing, his strike looked like leaving Darlington nine points from safety, but Danny Hone's late goal stunned Quakers. Rather than reflect on two points dropped, however, Staunton was quick to point out the positives. He said: It's disappointing because we were worthy of three points as we were the better side and on a difficult pitch played the better football. You could see what the equaliser meant to Lincoln because they knew they were in big trouble. But that's two unbeaten games in a row for the first time this season, plus Macclesfield and Cheltenham both both lost. There were plenty of positives, I'll take that performance all day long because we looked dangerous. A second goal for us would've killed the game off but I can't fault the players because they were magnificent. Although Darlington led for the majority of the game, Chris Sutton's Lincoln initially looked livelier. Impressive midfielder Chris Herd, on loan from Aston Villa, had two off-target efforts, heavyweight striker Delroy Facey had a go from outside the area and Paul Connor tested Quakers keeper Shane Redmond. Darlington hit back with a flurry of similar opportunities but were unable to make them count. Stuart Giddings had a volley saved and Gareth Waite saw a deflected effort stopped by the keeper, while Tadhg Purcell mis-hit a volley after connecting with Simon Madden's right-wing cross. The game hit a scrappy patch, but suddenly came a goal from nowhere with Darlington taking the lead. Dempsey strode forward through the centre of the pitch and unleashed a low 20- yard strike that keeper Rob Burch appeared to have covered. But he fumbled it over the line to hand the Irish midfielder his first for the club. It was a sloppy piece of goalkeeping, but Burch received no sympathy from Quakers who were so close to making it 2-0 within 60 seconds, Waite going wide with a firm header. Referee Andy Haines had enjoyed a trouble-free first half, but he was in the spotlight after the break. He peppered the half with a series of baffling decisions with Staunton and his assistant, the normally calm Kevin Richardson, both clearly irate. Within seconds of the half commencing Haines waved play on when Imps defender Adam Watts wrestled Mor Diop to the ground inside the penalty area. Then the lenient official took no action despite Purcell being sent to the ground by Herd's high foot. A slip in Darlington's defence allowed winger Brian Gilmour a one-on-one opportunity, but Ian Miller got back in time with a superb tackle. With three points against a team placed fifth-bottom at stake, the final ten minutes was a test of Quakers' character but Josh Gray should have killed the game off. First the sub scuffed a chance in front of goal, then latched onto a superbly weighted Jeff Smith pass, however, he dwelled and the chance was gone. Redmond made a one-handed save from Connor when Quakers were under the cosh in the dying seconds before the fourth official indicated there would be five minutes of injury time. However, Haines played seven minutes and after Redmond had punched clear a free-kick Hone lobbed the Darlington keeper. It was a dramatic but heartbreaking end to match that Darlington deserved much more than a draw from. Staunton was reluctant to talk about Haines, saying only: I don't know where referees get the time from. We had it at Rotherham and again tonight. I'm not going to go there. Matchfacts Goals: Dempsey (38, 1-0); Hone (90, 1-1) Bookings: Kerr (18, foul); Purcell (45, foul); Herd (49, foul), Hone (75, foul); Waite (81, foul) Referee: Andy Haines (Sunderland) 5 Attendance: 1,697 Entertainment: DARLINGTON (4-4-2): Redmond 6; Madden 7, MILLER 8, White 7, Giddings 7; J Smith 6 (Mulligan 89), Waite 7, Dempsey 7, Purcell 6, Main 7 (Deane 90), Diop 5 (Gray 62, 5). Subs (not used): Liversedge (gk), Byrne, G Smith, Groves LINCOLN CITY (4-4-2): Burch 5; Hone 7, Watts 7, Swaibu 7, Anderson 6; Houghton 5 (Lennon 72), Kerr 6, HERD 7, Gilmour 6; Facey 3 (John- Lewis 53), Connor 7. Subs (not used): Musselwhite (gk), Oakes, Clarke, Gordon, Keltie MAN OF THE MATCH IAN Miller defended valiantly