TOMMY TAYLOR hopes Darlington have a “turned a corner” with back-to-back victories, and is keen to see his side take their strong home form on the road with them when they travel to Chorley this weekend.

Having claimed a 3-0 win over AFC Telford at the start of the month, Quakers moved into the top half of the National League North table when they followed up that victory with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Hereford last weekend.

After failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their opening six league games, Darlington have suddenly produced two in a row, a defensive improvement that has been a major factor in their improved points return.

Taylor’s man-of-the-match performance was a key component of last weekend’s win, and after a shaky start to the season, the goalkeeper is hoping he and his team-mates are now back on the right track.

“It’s two clean sheets in a row, and I think the lads have turned a bit of a corner,” said Taylor. “It’s nice to get a bit of momentum, and we’re going to take that into the next game and hopefully get another. Hopefully, we can really kick on now. We need to go away to Chorley at the weekend now and get a bit of momentum going. We’ve had a couple of good results at home, but now we need to keep it going with a win away as well.”

The arrival of Danny Ellis from Farsley Celtic has coincided with Darlington’s improved defensive record, with the experienced centre-half having bolstered a backline that was shipping soft goals in the early weeks of the season. Ellis is something of a no-nonsense central defender, winning headers and sticking close to the opposition centre-forwards, and his commanding presence has had a positive effect on the rest of the back four.

“Everything seems a lot more calm and collected back there,” agreed Taylor. “He’s (Ellis) obviously an experienced head, and he’s comfortable with the ball at his feet. He’s going to win all his headers, so I’ve just got to make sure I’m there if he ever does slip up and do my job.”

Taylor did that last weekend, making a crucial save in each half to ensure Hereford were unable to score.

“That’s what I’m there for,” said the shot-stopper. “If the ball drops to someone, I’ll back myself to save."