One factor behind Darlington's solid start to the season has been the form of talented young goalkeeper Sam Russell.

His impressive work between the sticks against Grimsby Town was as vital in the opening-day 1-0 victory as Ian Clark's winning goal.

Although Quakers' defence denied him the opportunity of making as many stunning stops during the midweek trip to Yeovil, Russell further enhanced his reputation with a couple of no-nonsense saves that breeds confidence among supporters and teammates.

He stood no chance of saving the Glovers' precisely-hit opener which, after two-and-a-half years, became the first time he's had to pick the ball out of the net while in Darlington colours - a single appearance while on loan from Middlesbrough in December 2002 saw a clean sheet at home to Torquay.

In the meantime, he played ten games in a loan spell with Scunthorpe, but, after being released from Boro without making a first-team appearance, he switched to the Quakers.

And that was partly due to a glowing reference from Darlington favourite Andy Collett, now the club's goalkeeping coach after he was forced to retire through injury last season.

Against Grimsby, four saves caught the eye as the 21-year-old set about making the No 1 jersey his own, metaphorically speaking at least.

Darlington's No 1 in the squad is Michael Price, who last season stepped into the void left by Collett.

Although Price, 21, is now having to spending time on the bench while hoping to replace Russell, Collett has praise for both keepers and says the competition for places can only help the team.

At 6ft, Russell is the same height as Collett, but three inches shorter than Price.

The pair played equal amounts in pre-season and Collett said: "The manager has chosen Sam and it's up to Michael to push him all the way to get his place back.

"He played over 30 games last season so he's now got to show the manager that he's worth a place. In any position on the pitch you need at least two people competing for it and it's no different with a goalkeeper.

"It's going to be interesting to see who the manger picks throughout the season.

"Although Sam has a fair bit of talent he was at Middlesbrough, a club that wanted only goalkeepers who are 6ft 3in and above.

"Obviously a good, tall goalkeeper is better than a good, small goalkeeper but Sam has a lot of attributes. He trained with us at the end of last season and when I was asked by the club what I thought of him I said he's definitely one we should sign.

"He's got a slight build but we're working on that. In this division you've got to have a bit more physical strength because every centre forward is 6ft 3in and they will come and smash goalkeepers.

"That's something I noticed when I signed for the club and I only came down one division, so I made a conscious effort to build myself up."

Had Collett not endured such bad luck with injuries Russell could have been left on the bench at Kidderminster today - it would have been the 30-year-old running out at Aggborough if he hadn't succumbed to a shoulder injury which brought a premature end to his career.

He explained: "I needed an operation on my left shoulder and to reconstruct it would have meant having a sling on for nine months, having pins and all sorts of plates inserted and at the end of that the chances of being fit to train every day and play matches was less than ten per cent.

"There wasn't really a choice to be made.

"The specialist said I would have to pack in. I didn't have to consider was it going to be worth going through with it as the decision was taken out of my hands."

Collett's playing days came to a close after an injury sustained in a friendly at Gretna. He made 146 Darlington appearances - and there's one in particular which will stand the test of time.

All 6,107 present at Feethams on March 10, 2001, to see the Darlington v Hartlepool derby will never forget the heroics of man who single-handedly saved Quakers from a crushing defeat to their local rivals.

If it wasn't for Collett the scoreline would have been embarrassing for the hosts.

As well as a broken finger, suffered while making another wonder save from a Kevin Henderson overhead kick, Collett also collected a ten out of ten mark in the following Monday's The Northern Echo - the first time since fellow custodian Mark Prudhoe did the same after a Pool v Quakers clash in 1991.

But modest Collett says he's never even watched the match video, preferring the memories instead.

He said: "The biggest highlight and the biggest disappointment was playing at Wembley with Darlington, but the one that everyone remembers is the Hartlepool game.

"It was one of those magical games that happens every so often and I was lucky enough to have one. That's the one the fans, especially the Hartlepool fans, will remember me for.

"My dad has it on tape but I'm not one for looking back. If ever my daughter asks if I was any good I'll stick that on but I've never watched it - I was there myself so I know what happened!''

Something to be expected of anyone who consistently performs well, Collett enjoyed a warm relationship with the Feethams' fans, demonstrated in full when he was presented with an award on his retirement.

He said: "I'd love to say a big thank you to all of them that supported me because I had good banter with the crowd and if I had a bad game, rather than stick the knife in, there'd be fans trying to cheer you up, which is something you appreciate.

"I received an outstanding contribution award, but I never made a speech at the time and wish now that I had said a few words to thank them because they were great.

"I'm going to miss playing in front of them.