FEW sides would complain about going home from Belle Vue with a draw, but the point gained by Darlington was about as welcome as a surprise appearance by former chairman George Reynolds.

There was a time when 87 per-cent of fans were behind Reynolds and only a "small majority" (his words in the match programme last season) of supporters were hell-bent on dragging the club down.

But this morning, as the 120-year-old club stands on the verge of a rescue deal from the company which loaned Reynolds £4m to help him complete the Reynolds Arena last year, there is little doubt about how the vast majority of fans feel.

A club which saw its fortunes slump on the pitch, while Reynolds chose to concentrate on building the Arena named after him, is slowly but surely beginning to rise.

And the fact that David Hodgson ended up lamenting the loss of two points in an away day with the league leaders shows how far the Quakers have come.

Praise may be in short supply for Reynolds, but let's not forget it was he who buried the hatchet with Hodgson by bringing him back to the club in November. He has to be given some credit for that.

But on emerging from the Belle Vue boardroom to surprisingly take his seat in the stands on Saturday, the reception for the former chairman was as stormy as the windswept conditions.

And while Hodgson and assistant manager Martin Gray looked less than impressed with his arrival shortly before kick-off, Reynolds' appearance provided a good sound test for the visiting fans, who played their part in another fully-committed Quakers display.

Only the late intervention of substitute Adebayo Akinfenwa, just four minutes from time, denied Hodgson's men victory after Mark Convery's 59th minute strike.

"I was asked if I would settle for a draw and I said no because I genuinely believed that we are a better footballing side than them," said Hodgson.

"I know they're top but on current form we're equally as good. I'm disappointed that they nicked a goal in the end but that is something I have to accept.

"I thought we dealt with the conditions very well. I don't think we over-ran the ball too much going forward and the lads at the back were fantastic."

Despite moving up two places to 17th in the table, Macclesfield's 4-1 win at Kidderminster means Quakers are now just four points above the relegation zone.

And with the second-bottom Silkmen having a game in hand over Quakers, Hodgson was disappointed not to collect maximum points.

"It's a point in the right direction but it's also two points dropped," said Hodgson.

"We've got four games left at home and we need to take two or three wins from those."

With Joey Hutchinson outstanding on his return to the side, the Quakers defence stood firm after a wind-assisted first half barrage from Rovers.

Within the first 20 minutes, midfielder John Doolan had three long-range efforts charged down.

And when title-chasing Rovers did find a way through, they found Quakers' keeper Michael Price in fine form, tipping over John Melligan's drive.

Leo Fortune-West and Quakers fans go back a long way to the day when he accused them of racial abuse during his days with Gillingham, but the Rovers striker failed to silence the boos from the away enclosure, with Craig Liddle always in his shadow.

It wasn't until the 39th minute that the big striker escaped the attentions of Liddle down the left, but his angled shot was blocked by the covering Chris Hughes.

And minutes later, with half-time approaching, Price had to be at full stretch to tip Dave Mulligan's low effort around the post.

The former Leicester stopper obviously had a point to prove after he was at fault for two goals in the 4-3 defeat at home to Cambridge seven days earlier.

Rovers continued to look dangerous after the break, even against the wind, and Price was quick to react to Mark Albrighton's cross to the back post, coming out to save at the feet of Michael McIndoe.

But it was the visitors who took an unexpected lead with almost an hour on the clock.

The quick-thinking Craig Russell played the ball short to Convery from a corner and after taking a couple of touches into the box, he took full advantage of the swirling winds to curl his effort around Rovers keeper Andy Warrington and into the bottom corner of the net.

Almost immediately after the restart Rovers were unlucky not to draw level when Price tipped Albrighton's shot onto the post, before the same player fired over after a melee in the box.

Such was the gusting wind that Warrington almost conceded a corner from his own goal-kick as the ball hurtled its way back towards the corner flag and out for a throw-in.

Barry Conlon and Ryan Valentine both had chances to extend the lead, before Rovers - after a short spell of pressure - drew level with minutes of the game remaining.

Paul Green, on as a 83rd minute substitute, twisted and turned his way into the box before firing low at Price, whose save fell out to fellow sub, Akinfenwa, who tapped into the empty net.

The goal raised the roof as home fans sensed a late winner, but it was Quakers who should have gone away with the points when Russell sliced wide in injury time.

"If them teams below us have the same spirit as us it's going to be a long eight games," said Hodgson.

"Once again the lads have been magnificent. It wasn't easy but they've shown how well they can adapt and rise to the challenges.

"We have another difficult game against Torquay coming up and we need to take three points off them because it's mega tight at the bottom."

Result: Doncaster Rovers 1 Darlington 1.

Read more about the Quakers here.