Halfway to Wembley (From The Northern Echo)

Halfway to Wembley

9:12pm Saturday 10th May 2008

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DARLINGTON are halfway to Wembley after beating Rochdale 2-1 in a dramatic play-off semi-final first leg.

In one of the best matches ever seen at Darlington's stadium, the Quakers came through in battling fashion to give themselves a real chance of reaching the Division Two play-off final.

Jason Kennedy, on loan from Middlesbrough, gave Darlington a deserved half-time lead with a superbly taken goal on 28 minutes. An exquisite first touch was followed by a curling strike into the top corner.

But Rochdale looked the better team in the second half and put Quakers under intense pressure. The visitors' reward came when Chris Dagnall, who had struck the bar when clean through in the first half, scored with a deflected shot.

It looked like Quakers would do well to hold on for a draw but substitute Ian Miller climbed well to score a 90th minute winner and send the home fans delirious.

Darlington were given a standing ovation by the 8,000-plus crowd for display in which they gave their all.

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