Darlington manager Mick Tait will be without midfielder Gary Pearson for a further three games following his sending off at York City on Tuesday night, writes Lee Hall.

The 26-year-old was shown a straight red card for his two-footed tackle on City's Darren Dunning in the 1-1 draw.

Pearson, who already serves a one-match ban at Torquay on Saturday after his dismissal against Carlisle, will now be unavailable for a further three matches following his second red card of the season.

The former Sheffield United trainee will miss the home games against Boston and Southend before serving the final game of his suspension at Mansfield.

And with a midfield place up for grabs for the long trip to Plainmoor on Saturday, duo Neil Maddison and Fabian Bossy will be vying for recalls.

Quakers were beaten 3-1 on their last visit to Devon and Tait is expecting a another tough test for his side as they look to extend their unbeaten run to four games.

"It's going to be a tough game, it always is down there," said Tait.

"It is a long way but we'll be doing all we can to get it right and hopefully we'll be able to get something down there."

Quakers picked up their first away point at Bootham Crescent on Tuesday and Tait believes if any progress is to be made this season, then they must improve their away form.

"We need to pick up away points. It's no good just winning at home," said Tait. "We've worked very hard in the last few weeks and as long as we keep that up we have every chance of picking up points."

* Glen Robson staked his claim for a place at Torquay at the weekend with a hat-trick as Darlington Reserves beat Bradford City 4-2 at the Reynolds Arena last night.

Ian Clark put Quakers ahead in the first half with a penalty before Robson grabbed three goals in reply to a City goal in the second half.

Darlington Reserves: Price, Smith, Maddison, Mason, Hughes, Bossy, Mellanby, Clark, Convery, Robson, Sheeran.

Read more about the Quakers here.