Tamworth 1 Darlington 1

IF Darlington fall short in the season’s final reckoning, the points thrown away in the closing stages of games will have proved crucial in their downfall.

It has become a recurring theme this season and it cost them again at Tamworth.

Although never at their best, thanks to Liam Hatch they were leading 1-0 by the 90th minute, but by the end of injury-time Quakers had again conceded a late goal to draw 1-1.

Bath, Luton, Wrexham (twice) and now Tamworth have all benefited from Darlington’s failure to hold on to a lead in the final ten minutes, a failing that has collectively cost Quakers eight points.

However, whereas the previous collapses resulted in Mark Cooper bemoaning his own side’s fragility, on Saturday his ire was aimed at referee Darren Bond for his decision to send off Tommy Wright.

Two minutes after Hatch’s sixth goal of the season had put Darlington ahead midway through the second half, Bond flashed a red card at the substitute striker after he jumped for a high ball with Tamworth’s Tom Marshall.

Bond’s decision handed the momentum back to Tamworth who piled on the pressure and levelled.

Understandably, Cooper was livid and he sought a postmatch meeting with Bond and his assistants, showing the officials a replay of the incident on his laptop.

He said: “I showed the referee the DVD footage, but he’s 100 per cent convinced that Tommy elbowed their player in the face. It’s clear as crystal on the DVD, but the referee won’t have it.

“The assessor will have a look at it and usually they back the referee, but hopefully common sense will prevail.”

Wright will miss three games, starting with tomorrow evening’s home match with Mansfield Town, though Darlington will appeal.

Bond may have been unrepentant, but the incident hardly appeared clear.

In the few seconds after Bond blew his whistle there existed a momentary silence while bemused players and supporters awaited the outcome.

It was a mystery for a surreal couple of seconds.

Then Bond arrived on the scene brandishing his red card as though it was his favourite new toy on Christmas Day.

“I can’t for the life of me understand why he sent Tommy off,” added Cooper. “I accept that when one of your players is sent off it’s possible to be biased, but the referee was at least 40 yards away.

There were three players between him and the incident and the linesman was only five yards away.

“He didn’t bother speaking to the linesman, but the referee was 100 per cent certain that Tommy had hit their player in the face.

“Not one Tamworth player appealed and no supporters appealed. We thought we were getting a free-kick and all of a sudden he sends off Tommy.

“He was convinced he had got the decision right. But two minutes before the same soft curly-haired centre-back had gone down clutching his face and the referee had a word with Adam Quinn when it was Liam Hatch who was nearest to the defender.

“Once I’d explained to the ref that he’d got that one wrong he started stuttering a bit.

“The referee’s done his best for them. He gave them a penalty, he sent one of our lads off and we’ve been done in injury time.”

The penalty came in the first half, awarded after Gary Smith fouled Jason Bradley, but Sam Russell saved magnificently.

Quakers’ keeper dived to his left to push away Alex Rodman’s effort and that was typical of Russell’s excellent performance. He dealt with almost every cross of which there were many as Tamworth sought to make use of their physical forwards’ aerial strength.

“That’s what we pay him for, he’s there to make saves and he’s a good goalkeeper,”

said Cooper.

High balls were required on a mudbath of a pitch. Following freezing temperatures, the game passed a morning inspection, but the surface cut up badly, which did nothing to encourage football.

Quakers, kicking up the substantial slope before the break, found that completing consecutive passes much tougher than Tamworth who were the better side in the first 45 minutes.

But Darlington remained resolute with Russell on top of his game and the centre-back pairing of Ian Miller and Quinn winning their aerial duel against Bradley and Kyle Perry.

It was Marc Bridge-Wilkinson who came closest to scoring before the break, cracking a shot against the crossbar.

The attacking midfielder marked his return in the 64th minute, curling in a free-kick that Hatch headed past keeper Ross Atkins.

Then Bond’s intervention put Darlington under huge pressure for the final 25 minutes.

Just as it looked they had done enough, a low cross found Michael Wylde whose effort bounced past Russell to cruelly rob Quakers.

That it was a miss-hit effort on the end of a scuffed cross was typical of Darlington’s luck at The Lamb Ground.

A frustrated Cooper said: “Although we wanted the game played, it was a farce.

Nobody could keep their footing.

“If they had covered the pitch this week the game would have been a far better spectacle, but a combination of the conditions and the referee conspired against us.

“I’m convinced that if we’d had 11 men that we would have won.”

Match facts

Goals:

1-0: Hatch (63, deft header from a Bridge-Wilkinson free-kick);

1-1: Wylde (90, miss-hit his shot from inside the penalty area)

Bookings: G Smith (26, foul), Arnison (71, foul), Hatch (87, foul), Bridge- Wilkinson (90, foul); Perry (90, foul) Sending-off: Wright (65, violent conduct)

Referee: Darren Bond (Burscough) – Tamworth’s man of the match.

Awarded the hosts a penalty, gave their forwards freedom to barge into Sam Russell and wrongly sent off Tommy Wright 4

Attendance: 1,034

Entertainment: **

TAMWORTH (4-4-2): Arkins 5; Tait 6, Marshall 6, WYLDE 7, Barrow 6 (Kamara 85); Rodman 7, D Bradley 6, Mackenzie 6 (Sheridan 75), Thomas 7 (Yussuf 75); J Bradley 6, Perry 6.

Subs (not used): Mitchell, Lake-Gaskin

DARLINGTON (4-1-2-1-2):

8 Russell: Claimed almost every cross he came for, it was only Tamworth’s physical forwards who occasionally provided an obstruction;

6 Arnison: Had a tough task in containing Thomas who was a constant menace along Tamworth’s left-wing

8 ILLER: Won more than his fair share of aerial balls against a team keen on lumping the ball forward

8 Quinn: Helped ensure Tamworth’s threat of Perry and Bradley was minimised

6 Brown: Not a day for the marauding left-back to show his attacking capabilities;

6 Chandler: The playing surface probably had more affect on his team-mates as he threw himself into every challenge;

5 G Smith: Not a pitch for a midfielder who likes to be at the hub of the action

5 Verma: As the midfield was bypassed he disappeared for lengthy spells on the Tamworth mud;

6 Bridge-Wilkinson: Playing on a pitch that resembled a potato patch, it was not a day to show his best skills;

7 Hatch: Did not see much of goal, but he did not need to as he still managed to head home his sixth goal of the season

5 Modest: Did not make an impact due to lack of service and withdrawn at half-time

Subs:

Wright (for Modest 46): Had an opportunity to impress taken away from him by the referee 5

Taylor (for G Smith 69): Slotted in at right-back, with Arnison moving into midfield, as Cooper sought to close out the game 5

Main (for Arnison 90)

(not used): Moore, J Gray

MAN OF THE MATCH

IAN Miller – the captain led by example by being a tower of strength at the back during unrelenting pressure at the end of the game.