Source: Northern_Echo
Shrewsbury Town 0 Darlington 2
Shrewsbury Town 0 Darlington 2 WHEN Darlington appoint their next manager this week, it might be for the best if he is not immediately handed a dvd of Quakers' latest match, for it would surely only lead to confusion. As the new man will be taking over a team on the verge of relegation he would no doubt be stunned to see footage of Darlington performing like promotion-chasers. Because on Saturday they played like a team in the top half of the table, making playoff chasing Shrewsbury Town look like relegation fodder. The Shrews actually did a good impression of Quakers in recent weeks. The last weeks of Steve Staunton's tenure saw Darlington fail to win any of their previous ten games, losing eight in the process, but on Saturday they played with freedom typical of a team playing under a caretaker manager. That they did not have a certain Irishman bawling at them from the sidelines every 30 seconds can only have helped. Under the temporary leadership of Craig Liddle and Neil Maddison, Darlington were spirited, defensively resolute and fluid in attack. Goals came from leading scorer Tadhg Purcell after eight minutes and Mor Diop late on to seal a thoroughly deserved victory that offers encouragement. Of course, a dvd of the match will not be necessary if Staunton's successor were in the stands. Liddle was not sure who of note, if anyone, was present at the Prostar Stadium though the latest name linked is former Grimsby and Yeovil boss Russell Slade. Hopefully the new manager will have watched and he will now be pretty keen to work with that group of players I think, said Liddle who reiterated his desire to continue coaching the youth team. Whoever comes in as manager you always get a reaction for two or three games. When Steve came in he got that reaction because he got a couple of good results early on and I'm pretty sure the next manager will get the same but he's definitely got something to work with. I'm 100 per cent certain I don't want the job. I really enjoyed today and myself and Maddo are really proud of what the boys have done for us. If there was someone in the stands watching today they should have taken a lot of positives from the game. As well as Slade, Gary Johnson, Mark Cooper and Simon Davey remain in the frame. Johnson, yesterday linked with Peterborough, says he does not want to rush into his his next job. He said: I'm looking for a club which matches the challenges that I have set for myself. I'm having a look at what's around. I don't want to rush into anything. It could be a case that I wait until the end of the season and see what happens then. At the moment, I'm willing to listen to what clubs have to say to me and I'm keeping my options open. Cooper, meanwhile, who watched the defeat to Aldershot last week and has been interviewed for the vacant job admitted: I'm keen to get back in football as soon as possible with a League or Non-League club. I've had a bit of time out and to be honest, I don't know what to do with myself. I love being on the training pitch and, frankly, I'm bored.'' All four candidates could conceivably also be linked with replacing under pressure Shrewsbury boss Paul Simpson. His team has lost their last four matches and on Saturday frustrated supporters booed their own team. They are the only team in the division to have lost to both second-bottom Grimsby and Darlington who have now done the double over the Shropshire side, a prospect that was likely from an early stage on Saturday. Josh Gray's worth continues to increase and it was from his cross that came Purcell's eighth goal in 15 games, bundling home at the second attempt. Gray came close to goal himself with three long-range strikes before the break in a first half in which Quakers repeatedly carved open the hosts but were rarely threatened themselves. When their well-organised defence was breached, keeper Shane Redmond did well to save from Jamie Cureton, Dave Hibbert headed over under pressure from Andrew Milne and Kevin McIntyre had shot deflected wide. On numerous occasions since January Darlington have thrown away leads and they must have feared the worst when Gary Smith missed a golden chance on the hour. After collecting a Purcell back-heel, Smith side-stepped keeper David Button but rolled his effort wide of goal. A flying Redmond save to deny McIntyre aside, Darlington remained untroubled and late on Diop added a matchclinching second following a counter-attack. Impressive build-up between substitute Mark Convery and Purcell ended in Diop tapping home his first league strike to secure Darlington's second away win. However, with relegation only weeks away, points have taken secondary importance to pride and Liddle pressed home that point. He said: I said to them it's now about can you look at yourself in the mirror at the end of a game, can you look at your team-mates and know you've done your best. The ability is there but sometimes you need a little bit more than that to get you through games and they showed today that they've got that. I'm extremely proud of them all because from 1-11 they were magnificent. The back four were magnificent but it was a team effort. It started up front and we defended as a team, even the two substitutes who came on for us did a job, and I'm really proud of them all. Match facts Goals: 0-1: Purcell (8, blasted high into net from close-range after collecting Gray's left-wing cross) 0-2: Diop (87, evaded two defenders to tap-in following pass from Purcell) Bookings: Arnison (35, time wasting); Dunfield (61, foul), Leslie (78, foul) Referee: David Phillips (Sussex) Gave Darlington very little and booking for Arnison was harsh 5 Attendance: 5,081 Entertainment: SHREWSBURY TOWN (4-3-1-2): Button 6; Holden 4, Cansdell-Sherriff 6, Langmead 6, Skarz 5; Dunfield 5, Murray 5 (Leslie 56), McINTYRE 6; Cureton 5 (L Neal 70); Robinson 5, Hibbert 5. Subs (not used): C Neal (gk), Coughlan, Bright, van den Broek, Simpson. DARLINGTON (4-4-2): 6 Redmond: Little to do but an excellent save from McIntyre at 1-0 was crucial; 7 Arnison: Proving that Staunton should never have frozen him out of the action 8 White: Coasted through the game and appeared to be back to his best 7 Miller: Kept a close eye on Hibbert who saw little of the ball 6 Milne: Occasional moments of concern but played his part in a rare clean sheet; 7 Moore: His electric pace effortlessly took him past the opposition full-back 7 G Smith: A second half miss could have proved costly but did not spoil a solid display 6 Dempsey: Nothing elaborate, just effective passing to keep things moving 7 Gray: Did not make as big an impact offensively after the break, but Shrews could not stop him in first half; 8 PURCELL: An assist and an eighth goal in 15 games from the Irish goal machine 7 Diop: Deserved his goal as reward for a hard-working 90 minutes. Subs: Convery (for Gray 83) Mulligan (for Moore 86) (not used): Liversedge (gk), Groves, Madden, Main MAN OF THE MATCH TADHG Purcell Darlington desperately need to extend his contract.