Undoubtedly the greatest footballing comeback of 2005 was Liverpool's Champions League victory in May, and Darlington waited until their last game of the year for their own phoenix from the flames.

A mid-season League Two fixture may not contrast favourably with European football's showpiece event, but the sheer elation in the Darlington ranks after such a remarkable fightback meant it might just as well have been the European Cup Final.

When Liverpool turned a 3-0 half-time defect into their fifth European Cup last May, they proved in football almost anything is possible. By Saturday's interval at Sincil Bank it looked as though ten-man Quakers needed a miracle.

David Hodgson's side were 2-0 behind and, after Akpo Sodje's red card, were down to ten men. For the first 30 minutes Darlington might as well have been playing with two men such was their shambolic display - easily their worst half hour of the season.

But, after Hodgson's brave tactical switch at the break - to 3-4-2 with the dropped Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu coming on and Brian Close playing as the only central defender - Quakers suddenly turned a dismal display into one of their best of 2005.

Ndumbu-Nsungu led the recovery by setting up Tresor Kandol's first for the club and scoring an impressive leveller with a turn and volley from 12 yards. It will have raised the eyebrows of those taking an interest in the striker whose contract expires on Wednesday.

Lincoln's trademark long throws and well rehearsed corner routines caused Darlington problems from the beginning as the hosts bombarded Quakers but Hodgson says he remained optimistic.

"We never really got started in the first half; we were at sixes and sevens to a certain extent," he admitted.

"Lincoln are a set-play team, they are a direct, they play it long and are clinical from set-plays. We were 2-0 down from set-plays because we were not organised quickly enough, but believe me the lads know about Lincoln's set-plays because we told them often enough.

"But even at 2-0 I felt we would get a goal and we would get back into the game. At 2-0 with 11 men we might have been a little more cautious, but with ten we just had to go for it.

"We had to make what you might call either stupid or brave decisions at half-time but there was no point holding on at 2-0, we had to try and do something to get back into the game.

"So we changed it around and it paid off. It was a fantastic performance but we should have won it with Carlos Logan missing a chance late on."

Winning looked unlikely from an early stage as Darlington were on the backfoot, especially at set-pieces with debutant keeper David Knight called upon to gather a free kick and seconds later City's Jeff Hughes hit the side-netting.

Knight was soon in action again, parrying Marvin Robinson's low 20-yard shot and then taking the ball off the striker's head when he was about to head home.

The inevitable Lincoln goal came on 17 minutes when the flat-footed Tresor Kandol allowed Gareth McAuley to blast home after a rehearsed Jamie McCombe flick on at a corner.

Two minutes later it was 2-0, also from a set-piece. This time Robinson scored at the second attempt after a long Lincoln throw into Darlington's penalty area.

And City didn't stop there. Luke Foster was unlucky with a long-range shot and the same player then called a busy Knight into action.

With Darlington's passing wasteful, the defence's only outlet was long balls to Sodje but it came straight back at them for yet more Lincoln possession.

Eventually Lincoln settled for just the two goals, allowing Darlington into the contest without creating clear chances aside from a Shelton Martis header which went over from Brian Close's free kick.

In the first minute of injury time Sodje allowed frustration to get the better of him and a late lunge on Foster resulted in a red card and a three-match ban that will begin today unless Quakers lodge an appeal.

At 2-0 and down to ten men, it was seemingly a case of damage limitation for Darlington but Hodgson, with nothing to lose, switched his formation and as a result Quakers were as good in the second half as they were bad in the first.

In the first 12 minutes of the second period they created four scoring opportunities - more than the entire first half - with Matt Clarke going close with a glancing header and then Neil Wainwright hitting the post.

Kandol missed two chances created by the trickery and pace of Ndumbu-Nsungu who then fired over when he had more time, but in the 64th minute Kandol finally scored his first for Darlington. Jonjo Dickman raced through the middle and Ndumbu-Nsungu, with three defenders close by, crossed to the former Dagenham striker to fire home.

The goal gave Quakers the impetus they needed and five minutes later they were level. Clark Keltie headed into the area where Ndumbu-Nsungu chested, turned and volleyed in from ten yards - an excellent goal befitting an unlikely comeback.

"Ten men, we've only got ten men," sang the Darlington fans as Lincoln attempted to retake the lead but having fought so hard to equalise, Quakers held firm for the final 20 minutes with the defence, especially Knight, excellent.

Just as in the final seconds of May's Champions League Final when Jerzy Dudek made a great double save, Knight stuck to the script by denying first a long-range shot from Dean Keates and then Richard Logan from the rebound.

There was even time for Darlington to mount a counter-attack with Logan one-on-one with the keeper but his shot was deflected wide - an injury time winner really would have made for a miracle ending.

Score: Lincoln City 2 - 2 Darlington.