Darlington have their sights on causing another upset today after outplaying title-chasing Cardiff at Feethams on Saturday.

Yes, that's true. The word 'outplayed' has been rarely used this season when describing the Quakers - it's sometimes been the other way round - but they fully deserved to win. And there's no reason why they can't cause second-placed Brighton damage at the Withdean Stadium today.

Darlington's transformation over the last two months has been incredible. They were relegation fodder after the defeat at Barnet, and were clearly on the slide.

But several factors have changed their course, including the introduction of new players, and the appointment of Mick Tait as assistant manager.

The pair have formed a good partnership, and the players have responded well.

Remember when Chesterfield came to town in January and won 3-0? Quakers were bad that day, and were trampled on by a much stronger team.

But on Saturday, when Cardiff, especially with the antics of striker Leo Fortune-West, tried to muscle their way to victory early on, the Quakers battled back, and certainly were no "Mickey Mouse" outfit as Cardiff chairman Sam Hamman suggested afterwards.

They are now eleven points above bottom-club Halifax, who have just six games left.

But manager Gary Bennett still won't accept that his side is safe.

He said: "We've got one foot on the safety ladder.

"Only when it's mathematically impossible for us to be relegated, then I'll say we're safe.

"We knew we were going to be in for a tough game against Cardiff, and we told the lads that they would have to battle and match Cardiff early in the game.

"And after they did that, then they were able to get the ball down, and play the way we want to.

"We scored two very good goals in the first half, and I thought we were quite comfortable in the second half. Having Andy Collett back in the team was a great advantage, because he came and got the ball from long throws and corners.

"Last Tuesday's win against Shrewsbury was massive for us, because then it enabled the players to go on the field and enjoy the game, instead of going on the field under pressure to get the three if we had lost that game.

"We look forward to every game and they can't come quick enough now. ."

Not many people would argue with the result, even the Cardiff fans, who gave their former striker John Williams a warm ovation when he was subbed near the end.

Cardiff went for the quick kill, but Quakers didn't buckle as they would have done earlier in the season.

Andy Legg went close with a free-kick early in the game, but Quakers took the lead after 11 minutes.

The Cardiff defence, under pressure from Glenn Naylor, made a mess of a header into the box by Williams from Alex Jeannin's free-kick, and the ball ran back to Williams, who skipped past a defender and drilled the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Cardiff should have equalised two minutes later when Paul Brayson ran through, but the former Newcastle player screwed his shot wide.

After the rampaging Williams pulled another effort across the face of goal, Quakers went further ahead after 28 minutes.

Richard Hodgson showed a brilliant piece of skill in rounding one defender and nutmegging another in a tight corner.

He then pulled the ball back for Glenn Naylor to sidefoot his 14th goal of the season from a couple of yards.

Cardiff missed their chances to get back into the game. Scott Young miskicked six yards out with the goal at his mercy, then Collett pulled off a superb save to deny Brayson at close quarters.

Cardiff sent on an extra forward in Robert Earnshaw in the second half, but they created fewer chances than they did in the first.

Quakers refused to budge, with each individual defending well. Hodgson missed from ten yards out, while Mark Kilty spooned another chance over the top.

But those misses were forgiven by the fans - after all, it is some time since they played like this.