IT was inevitable that highly-rated defender Joey Hutchinson would succeed Barry Conlon as Darlington's most sought-after star.

Brought to the club by Gary Bennett in 2001 in a £60,000 deal from York City, Conlon soon established himself as one of the stand-out strikers in the lower reaches of the Football League and a firm favourite among the fans.

Conlon scored 42 goals in three seasons with Quakers, before joining Barnsley on a Bosman free transfer in the summer.

Tomorrow night Hutchinson will be handed the task of taming Conlon, as Quakers face Paul Hart's side in the first round of the Carling Cup.

"I'm looking forward to the game, especially with Baz coming back," said Hutchinson.

"He'll be desperate to do well against his old club and I'm sure he'll be making it very difficult for us.

"It should be interesting because he knows our strengths and weaknesses just as much as we know his."

A number of clubs are keeping close tabs on Middlesbrough-born Hutchinson, who joined Quakers on a free from Birmingham City a year ago. In January, David Hodgson rebuffed an approach from League One outfit, Swindon.

And while Hutchinson has made no secret of his desire to remain in his native North-East after becoming a father for the first time in March, the Teessider can understand the reasons behind Conlon's decision to move to Oakwell.

"When a player has the opportunity to make a step up in their career you can understand their reasons for moving," said Hutchinson.

"Baz did well for us and he's earned that chance to play at a higher level."

Since Conlon agreed terms with Barnsley in May, Hodgson's summer-long search for a replacement has so far failed to bear fruit, with no fewer than 12 on-trial strikers passing through the Williamson Motors Stadium doors.

However, Hutchinson is confident that it will only be a matter of time before Hodgson finally gets his man.

"We've had plenty of trialists in but unfortunately the gaffer hasn't been able to find one who would be right for the team," said Hutchinson. "Hopefully when we come out of administration we might have a better chance of bringing a quality striker in.

"I'm sure the gaffer has plenty of players in mind and I think it will only be a matter of time before he brings someone in.

"I can understand the fans' frustration but they just have to be patient. We need them to stick behind us, especially in home games."

Even without the added incentive of putting one over his former club, Conlon will go into tomorrow night's first round clash in the best frame of mind after opening his account for the Tykes in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Walsall.

However, Hutchinson believes Quakers have a bigger point to prove after Saturday's disappointing home defeat to Bristol Rovers. He said: "We have to put Saturday behind us and focus on Barnsley.

"It's a big game and hopefully, if we get the right result, it will set us up nicely for the Chester game.

"We've taken plenty of plusses from the Bristol game and if we continue to play like that then I'm sure our results will pick up."

Hutchinson and Craig Liddle appeared to have done enough to earn Quakers their second clean sheet of the season until Junior Agogo found enough space to squeeze the ball past Sam Russell in the 78th minute.

"It was a very disappointing result when you look at the way we played," said Hutchinson. "I think we deserved at least a point. They were pretty lucky with the goal because it just bobbled past Sam (Russell). We aren't getting that bit of good fortune at the moment.

"Over the 90 minutes we had a lot more chances than they've had. We put plenty of crosses into the box but couldn't find someone to get on the end of them. It had to drop and didn't."

And Hutchinson believes Quakers had at least two good claims for a penalty at the weekend. He said: "I don't think the referee had the best of games.

"One of their lads blocked my shot with his hand and from where I was standing Matt was fouled a couple of times in the box."

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