Darlington took another step towards league safety with a deserved victory over Scunthorpe at Feethams on Saturday.

Striker John Williams struck in each half and despite pulling a goal back late on, the visitors rarely looked like getting anything from a game in which the Quakers took by the scruff of the neck from the start.

The home side signalled their intentions early on and Glenn Naylor almost opened the scoring only to be denied by the heroics of Tom Evans in the Scunthorpe goal.

Evans then turned hero to villain when the alert Williams spotted the shot-stopper off his line and coolly lob from the right.

Evans was again at fault for the Quakers' second.

A speculative ball over the top fell in the path of Williams who spotted the visiting keeper hurtling from his area and Williams, from fully 40 yards, placed the ball over Evans to double the home sides advantage.

The visitors looked to Spaniard Alex Calvo Garcia for inspiration and he headed his side back into the game with little over five minutes remaining but it was too little, too late as the Quakers held on to clinch a vital three points.