A year ago when Darlington were chasing promotion and were well clear of fourth place, their biggest danger was complacency.

That costly run of just two wins in the last 12 matches may be proves the point, but Quakers are at the same crossroads again.

This morning, they are six places and five points above relegation after a run of just one defeat in nine matches - unthinkable after the disaster at Barnet in early February.

Torquay are two wins behind Quakers with just eight games remaining while Quakers have games in hand on all but one of the clubs below them.

The worst thing they can do now is think they have done the hard work.

They might still have nine games left, but four of those are against teams in the current top seven, and Easter has Cardiff and Brighton in store, which makes the next three matches particularly important.

Quakers again showed they have the bottle to beat the drop after coming back from a goal down thanks to Glenn Naylor's first penalty in four years.

There wasn't much in the way of entertainment for the fans, but they appreciated the amount of commitment and effort which the players displayed after three players limped off with injuries.

And at this stage of the season, such battling qualities are needed to avoid relegation. Quakers have them now, whereas they didn't six weeks ago when they slumped at Barnet.

Manager Gary Bennett said: "It was a hard-earned point.

"The players showed the same spirit which they've had over the last few matches to come back from a goal down and get a point.

"I thought we went a goal down against the run of play but the players displayed their character again and they were disappointed not to win it.

"Leyton Orient defended well. We couldn't get free in their box, and our failure to score again wasn't all down to us not playing well enough.

"But without doubt, that was a game we would have lost two months ago.

"We need to keep it going, and make sure that we don't lose games. We're not looking at the scenario of the games in hand, we want to make sure that the quicker we get the points, the better. We mustn't become complacent."

Bennett was forced into one change before the game when he brought in Adam Reed for the injured David Brightwell, but he also left Clint Marcelle out and recalled Richard Hodgson alongside John Williams.

Hodgson showed plenty of good touches and lifted the crowd every time he had the ball, but he had little opportunity to repeat his superb goal at Exeter in midweek.

Quakers had the edge on possession early in the game, with Steve Harper blazing wide from the edge of the area.

But Orient nearly opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Wim Walschaerts broke down the right, and crossed to the far post where John Martin volleyed wide.

However, Mark Kilty nearly scored his first senior goal when his ten-yard header was touched on to the bar by Scott Barrett.

Orient took the lead on 30 minutes from their second corner of the game, sloppily conceded by Harper. Martin floated the ball to the far post where Chris Tate - who was lucky the referee didn't see him lash out at Adam Reed in an incident after he'd already been shown a yellow - nodded the ball down for Dean Smith to glance over the line.

Quakers nearly levelled after 37 minutes when Craig Liddle powered in a shot from an acute angle, but Barrett beat the ball away.

Mark Ford, who was clearly in pain, limped off with an ankle injury and was replaced by Paul Campbell after 38 minutes.

Quakers deservedly levelled after 42 minutes. Harper miskicked on the corner of the Orient six-yard box but managed to keep control of the ball, and as he forced his way along the goalline, he was tripped by Sasha Opinel, the referee Howard Webb having no hesitation in giving a penalty.

With no recognised penalty taker on the field, Glenn Naylor took the responsibility, and confidently placed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner for his first league success from the spot since he scored a hat-trick at Colchester four years ago.

The second half started with another injury, Frenchman Jean-Michel Cau, the 40th player to be used by Quakers in the league this season, coming on to a warm welcome for John Williams.

Campbell missed a good chance for the winner after 57 minutes, when he and Naylor tangled over a Phil Brumwell cross. The ball looped into the air, and Campbell headed weakly at Barrett.

Orient had a good spell in which they had four chances, the best falling to KK Opara, who sidefooted into Peter Keen's hands from no more than a few yards.

Read more about the Quakers here.