Darlington's unbeaten start to the season was cruelly brought to an end by a late, late MK Dons goal on Saturday afternoon.

Quakers had remained unbeaten during their first six matches of the season and conceded just two goals, a run that had taken Dave Penney's side to the top of the table.

They appeared set to make it a magnificent seven games unbeaten, but in the 89th minute goal MK Dons defedner Drissa Diallo popped up to head and send Quakers to defeat.

A draw would have been a fair result as neither side had done enough to deserve all three points after what had been a dull encounter. The first half was a throughly drab with very little incident, especially in the MK Dons penalty area as Quakers rarely threatened.

Darlington keeper David Stockdale was similarly under-employed during the opening 45 minutes, although the hosts did see more of the ball and Quakers had Ian Miller to thank for a superb slide tackle to prevent Lloyd Dyer from shooting close to goal.

Miller did the same in the second half, again denying Dyer as the match upped the pace.

It could only have got better in after the break, and it did, but most controversial incident saw Darlington defender Alan White go into the referee's book after pushing Aaron Wilbraham in retaliation for an elbow he believed the striker aimed at him seconds earlier.

The referee Andy D'Urso did not see Wilbraham strike White, but did see White raise his hands and some referees would have shown more than just a yellow card.

However, although the goalmouth action increased, scoring chances remained at a premium.

Until the 89th minute when slack marking allowed Drissa Diallo to head home a long throw and thus bring and end to Quakers' unbeaten start to the season.

Watch the match highlights from Monday, September 24