Darlo return to action with win at Ossett Albion

Ossett Albion 0 – 2 Darlington

Ossett Albion v Darlo 14/15

Goals from Graeme Armstrong and Stephen Thompson saw the Quakers pick up a vital three points before next weekend’s trip to promotion rivals Salford.

Armstrong struck half-way through the first half with a left footed strike.

Thompson sealed the win in the second half with a left footed volley leaving the keeper no chance.

The win was sweetened for the Quakers with Salford City suffering a surprise defeat at Brighouse Town.

Martin Gray handed striker Nathan Cartman his debut for the club, as he partnered Armstrong up-front with David Dowson on the bench. Terry Galbraith was given the nod in centre-midfield ahead of Leon Scott, while Liam Hatch was on the bench.

The Quakers had chances early on with both Armstrong and Cartman wasting good opportunities.  Cartman thought he had given the Quakers the lead, however, his effort which would have gone down as an own goal, was disallowed for offside.

Thankfully though, the Quakers broke the deadlock when Armstrong smashed home a loose ball across the keeper with his left foot into the bottom corner.

Following the goal Albion had their best spell of the game as they got in behind the Darlington defence on a couple of occasions. One of which saw Pete Jameson made a brilliant 1v1 save to keep the score at 1-0.

The second half saw Dowson replace Armstrong and within minutes it was 2-0. After great build-up play down the right wing, a cross into the box was not fully cleared and Thompson took full advantage as he lashed home a volley into the net.

The Quakers took their foot off the gas with a two goal cushion and seemed happy to see the game out.

Jameson made another two high quality saves to preserve yet another clean sheet for the side with the best defensive record in the country.

Darlo nearly made it three, late on, when Cartman crossed for Galbraith, but he missed the ball completely when unmarked.

However, there will be no complaints from the players or the travelling fans, as Darlington put in a very professional display to grab a vital three points.

Man of the match for me was Alan White, yet again he showed his class as the back five once again kept out the opposition.

New signing Cartman may be disappointed not to have scored on his debut, however he did a lot of running, showed some nice touches and will score goals for us given the time, his record this season shows this.

It was good to see Thommo back on the score-sheet, hopefully it will give him a confidence boost going into next week.

The result was given even more significance an hour later, with Salford City losing away to Brighouse Town, 3-1, with the Ammies finishing a game with nine men for the second time this season. Northwich Victoria very nearly slipped up as well, however they scored a late winner at Prescot Cables.

The results mean we are now only three points behind both Salford and Northwich with five games in hand on both.

All eyes now turn to the crunch game at Salford City next week, where a positive result would be a huge step towards the title. Either way, though, we have put ourselves into such a position, where even a defeat next weekend would leave us in pole position to win the title and promotion!

Darlo team – Jameson(GK), Brown, Hunter, White, Watson, Thompson(Mota), Mitchell(Scott), Portas, Galbraith, Cartman, Armstrong(Dowson). Subs not used – Bell, Hatch

Darlo regain top spot with victory over Ossett Albion

Darlington 2 – 0 Ossett Albion

Goals from Amar Purewal and Alan White saw Darlington comfortably beat Ossett Albion and move back to the top of the league table.

Purewal tapped home on the stroke of half time after Captain Gary Brown had got in behind the defence.

White then sealed the points in the second half, heading home from a corner kick.

Both Stephen Thompson and Tom Portas returned to the starting line-up tonight, the injured Jordan Robinson and Tez Galbraith giving way. Goalkeeper Mark Bell  returned to the bench while Liam Hatch was not in the squad.

Struggling Ossett Albion came to frustrate and for the majority of the first half they did. Darlo were not at their best and struggled to create many clear cut chances.

Striker Graeme Armstrong went off injured inside the first 15 minutes after a clash of heads and was replaced by Tez Galbraith with Thompson moving up front to partner Purewal. It was substitute Galbraith who came closest to breaking the deadlock, but he couldn’t quite get enough on a Adam Mitchell cross.

Thompson was as lively as ever and had numerous efforts from outside the box, none of which really tested the Albion keeper. Thommo did miss a great chance with his head, but he could not get over the ball as he again failed to trouble the keeper.

All eyes were on the referee when the Albion goalkeeper handled the ball outside his box under pressure from Purewal. Fortunately for the visitors the referee was lenient and only gave him a yellow card.

The Quakers finally broke the deadlock just before the half time whistle after a little bit of fortune. A deflected through ball caught the away defence out and Brown found himself clear on goal. Brown kept his composure and laid the ball off to Purewal who tapped into the net from a few yards out to claim his ninth goal of the campaign.

Aside from an early scare, the second half saw Darlo retain control of the game. Ossett created their best chance when a cross found the visiting forward in acres of space, only for him to tamely volley wide. Soon after the game was put to bed, as centre back White scored his second goal of the week, again from a corner. Mitchell put the ball into the box, Purewal flicked it in on and White couldn’t miss at the back post.

White should have doubled his tally after following up an effort from a corner, however he put his shot wide from inside the six yard box.

The final portion of the game saw youngsters Adam Cocks and Lewis Scarr given a run out, as the game petered out with the Quakers being satisfied with a 2-0 win.

Overall tonight, it was far from our best performance compared to some in recent weeks. However a win is a win and the games are never easy when a visiting side come to Heritage Park with one plan of settling for a point.

Purewal will be pleased to have notched up another goal despite not having his best all round night.

The defence were rarely tested, but White and Hunter were as dominate as ever when required.

Pete Jameson had a couple of shaky moments in goal, but like the defence was not fully tested.

Anyway, six wins in a row, back to the top, another clean sheet and a good night all round for Darlington.We move onto an FA Trophy tie at the weekend, yet it is unclear what strength team we will put out.

Our next league game is at home to Burscough a week on Saturday.

Darlo v Ossett Albion Preview

Tonight Darlo host Ossett Albion at Heritage Park looking to regain top spot in the league table.

Salford City’s victory against Brighouse Town last night saw them move back to the top spot. However victory for the Quakers would see us go one point clear, before the league takes a mini break as the teams compete in the FA Trophy at the weekend.

It is amazing how quick everything can change at a football club, three weeks ago we had drawn away to Radcliffe Borough and our run of games without a win had grown to six.  Five games, five wins later and everything looks completely different.

While other sides around us do have games in hand, we have finally put together a good run of results which has placed us firmly back in the automatic promotion picture. The return of Amar Purewal has been a turning point, but it is remarkable how things have so drastically turned around in a short space of time.

Most fans will expect us to win tonight, however as we saw at home to Padiham no side will just simply give up (unless your Warrington Town).

Steven Thompson was on the bench on Saturday and may start tonight following his recent injury.

David Dowson has been warming up at recent games and he can’t be too far away from a return. Dowson, like Amar, could have a huge impact on the side once he is fit again.

Tom Portas was not involved at the weekend, however there were rumours he would have been in the squad.

The only person who is 100% out of the game is Jordan Robinson. The utility man suffered a serious injury at the weekend, as of yet there has been no statement saying how long he is expected to be out.

Tonight I am hopefully we will make it six wins in a row and if we play as we have done in recent weeks I am confident we will do. The main decision tonight for Martin Gray is who to bring into the starting line-up to replace Robinson. If fit, he could go with Thommo either wide or behind the strikers. The other option being bringing in young central midfielder Adam Cocks, who has performed quite well when he has been needed.

This is the team I would start with.

Jameson, White, Hunter, Brown, Watson, Mitchell, Galbraith, Scott, Thompson, Purewal, Armstrong

Prediction Darlo 4- 1 Ossett Albion