MIDFIELDER Jonjo Dickman fears Darlington's season may have been decided by referee Mike Cowburn's decision not to award a second half penalty.

The Lancashire official waved away appeals for a spot-kick after Dickman appeared to be brought down in the box by Lincoln defender Kevin Sandwith.

And, after Quakers slipped out of the play-off zone following the goalless draw at Sincil Bank, Dickman believes Mr Cowburn's failure to award a penalty could prove costly.

He explained: "I managed to get a toe on to Clyde's (Wijnhard) flick-on and their lad has come across, tried to hook it away and caught me when I went past him. I thought it was a definite penalty.

"Those kind of decisions can make or break your season, especially at this stage because we needed to win today."

Northampton's 2-0 win at Chester means the Cobblers - with a two-goal advantage - replace Quakers in the final play-off spot.

"It's definitely not over, but the lads are disappointed we couldn't come here today and win," said Dickman. "It was in our own hands and now it could go down to goal difference.

"It's not ideal, but we have to make sure we do the job right this week and hopefully beat Cheltenham by as many goals as we can."

The 23-year-old believes the pressure is now on Northampton to beat relegated Kidderminster next weekend.

"Northampton have the easier game and they're expected to go on and win," said Dickman. "But it doesn't always work like that in this league and I'm sure Kidderminster will make it very difficult for them."

Dickman was full of praise for the 1,390 Quakers fans who made the trip for the crunch clash.

"The support was brilliant and you could hear them all the way through the game," he said. "They were a different class."

Dickman produced arguably his best display in a Quakers shirt since arriving from Sunderland on a free in March.

However, the Hexham-born midfielder still feels there is plenty of scope for improvement.

"I made some good runs, but I thought my final ball wasn't the best at times," admitted Dickman. "I don't think personal performances mean much if you don't win."

Read more about the Quakers here.