As Mick Tait continues to press forward his claim to succeed Tommy Taylor as Darlington manager you could forgive the caretaker boss from getting a little carried away with his in-form side. Tait is delighted with the progress of his players, having taken five points from his first three games in charge.

But Tait, who enjoyed a similar vein of form before being handed the managerial reins permanently at neighbours Hartlepool, believes he should be boasting a 100 per cent record.

"I'd like to have had three straight wins which I think we should have had," said Tait.

"I told the players not to be too despondent because we've drawn two home games.

"It was a very tough game, but I was pleased with the performance again. All we were lacking was the goals. Everybody's given 100 per cent and that is what I have asked of them.

"A little bit of quality around the box is what we needed.

"As we were taking the game to them it was as if they were just happy to come away with a point which made it very difficult."

It could have been a whole lot different had Imps skipper Paul Morgan not recovered so quickly to block Neil Wainwright's shot after the winger rounded 'keeper Alan Marriott.

Morgan's initial slip from Ryan Valentine's cross-field ball fell kindly to Wainwright, but Morgan scurried back to deny what looked a certain goal and Tait admitted the chance could have opened things up

"If that had gone in I think we could have went on to get three or four, but we didn't score and they carried on defending the way they were," said Tait.

"The danger in the end was losing it 1-0 because they could have hit us on the break as we were piling forward."

Tait made just one change from the side which drew with Scunthorpe four days earlier with Wainwright coming in for the injured Paul Campbell.

With Stuart Whitehead still struggling with a stomach problem Matt Clarke kept his place alongside skipper Craig Liddle.

There was still no place in the squad for Neil Maddison while Mark Ford was again named among the substitutes and Tait admitted it would have been difficult to leave out Ashley Nicholls and Clark Keltie after recent performances.

"They (Maddison and Ford) see what everybody else is seeing," said Tait.

"The two lads are outstanding each week and I don't think they can have any complaints.

"They're two good pros, they've taken it on the chin and they will train hard to try and get back in the side. That's all you want as a manager when players are fighting for a place in the team."

In a nervy opening both sides struggled to keep hold of the ball in slippery conditions and Quakers 'keeper Andy Collett was thankful to see his poor clearance fall to Liddle with just three minutes gone.

Morgan then came to his side's rescue when he glanced away Nicholls' cross with Barry Conlon ready to pounce. Keltie showed just why Tait has kept faith with the 19-year-old when he raced in from nowhere to close down Dean Cropper with an inch-perfect challenge.

Wainwright then found himself in acres of space as the Imps' midfield went walkabouts, but instead of using Conlon or Ian Clark, who were in better positions, the former Sunderland winger went for glory and scuffed his shot wide.

Conlon almost broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, but his flashing header was cleared off the line by Bimsom.

That chance seemed to liven things up, with Nicholls seeing his long-range effort deflected wide.

Right-wing back Mark Bailey was Lincoln's most inventive player in the first half although his influence on the game suffered a minor setback when he almost ended up in the pitchside burger bar after being wiped out by Hodgson. Hodgson was promptly booked for his troubles.

The 'most unpopular man in Feethams' award went to Cropper early in the second half when the striker went down holding his head after seeing Hodgson set off on an attack.

With the rules stating play must be brought to an instant halt where head injuries are concerned, referee Jones had no option but to hold back play, although Cropper's motive to prevent Hodgson from progressing failed to convince a less than impressed Quakers crowd.

It was the home side who looked the more threatening in the second half, although the Lincoln defence dealt well with anything being thrown at them.

Hodgson and Wainwright both looked busy on their respective flanks, but found the Lincoln wing-backs difficult to break down - and when they did they had giant defender Ben Futcher to deal with.

Defender Valentine showed what he can do at the other end of the pitch with a stinging drive which Marriott held well.

Keltie had a similar effort midway through the second half which Marriott was once again equal to.

Quakers continued to press forward in search of a goal, but it was Lincoln who came closest to snatching an undeserved win when Cropper's looping header almost caught Collett off-guard.

Result: Darlington 0 Lincoln City 0.

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