BARRY CONLON'S Darlington days may be numbered, but on Saturday fans proved that, in football, memories don't stretch very long in football.

So often the darling of the fans, and on countless occasions their saviour too, Conlon is a vital cog in the Darlington machine.

Supporters are a demanding bunch and in such difficult times, the weight of expectation has never been so heavy on Conlon's shoulders.

Even with 10 players around him, the big Dubliner is the man fans turn to in times of need. Unfair perhaps, but accurate.

Heading for his fifth game without a goal, Conlon was substituted with 15 minutes left. The game was goalless and frustration had begun to set in among the rain-sodden 5,689 crowd.

In a week in which the 25-year-old pledged his future to the club amid several failed bids for the striker, the ironic cheers which greeted his departure from the game left manager David Hodgson bewildered.

"I was extremely disappointed with the reception Barry Conlon got," said Hodgson. "Unfortunately, the fans are not aware that the lad has been off all week with tonsillitis.

"He rang me on Saturday morning to say that he could play.

"Barry Conlon is a very big part of this football club and when he starts scoring the goals, which he will do, this football club will be grateful for that.

"The fans sometimes expect a little bit too much in terms of goals from virtually every chance.

"Barry is as disappointed as anybody that he hasn't got any but I can say as long as that boy is at this football club hopefully he will be in that line-up."

Sheffield Wednesday and Macclesfield last week failed with bids for the striker, while Hartlepool, Rushden and Swansea are closely monitoring the situation after Hodgson admitted he may be forced to sell to ease the clubs poor financial situation.

"He's made it clear to the public that he wants to stick this out," said Hodgson.

"It might be I'm stupid, but when you've got five clubs wanting to buy the player, that's telling you he's a good player."

It was youngster Chris Hughes who showed the way, rifling home the all-important winner nine minutes from time, to take Quakers within a point of Southend, whose game at Bury was rained off.

With 17 games and 51 points still to play for there is still some way to go and a lot of hard work ahead for Hodgson and his players.

Don't shout it from the rooftops, but the signs are encouraging.

Not for the first time in recent weeks Quakers were quick out of the blocks, dominating their opponents to the extent of forcing eight corners in the first half hour.

But for all their hard work, it came to nothing in front of goal.

However, it was the visitors and debutant Grant Holt - signed from Sheffield Wednesday just 24 hours earlier - who recorded the first effort, rising above Joey Hutchinson to head over the bar.

Hodgson handed a second start to Mark Convery and, with eight minutes on the clock, the winger released Hughes down the right and his teasing cross was just inches away from the outstretched boot of Conlon.

Simon Grand replaced injured Dale captain Gareth Griffiths after just 20 minutes and the defender had to be alert to intercept Ian Clark's cross with Conlon lurking at the back post.

Like Conlon, Neil Wainwright's last goal came in December's 3-0 win over York. The former Sunderland man should have done better when - with plenty of space to exploit - he fired over from outside the box.

The ever-lively Hughes, brimming with confidence after an impressive first 45 minutes, almost produced something special when he cleared Neil Edwards' goal by inches with a sweet left-foot effort.

And shortly before his exit, Conlon's last contribution was to head straight at Edwards, who chose to fist away rather than collect.

In one last-ditch effort to take maximum points, Hodgson decided to push Matt Clarke into a three-man attack alongside substitute Mark Sheeran and Wainwright.

And after replacing Conlon with McGurk, the defender squandered the chance of the game moments after his introduction when he headed over Convery's free-kick.

By now, Hodgson must have sensed yet another one of those days; another one of those days without a goal.

There were desperate appeals for a penalty on 79 minutes when Clark's goalbound effort was charged down, albeit unwittingly, by the hand of Dale defender Wayne Evans.

However, two minutes later the deadlock was broken when Hughes drilled home another Clark teaser from the left.

The assist was enough for Clark, who proceeded to celebrate on his own in one corner as the rest of his teammates mobbed Hughes on the floor in the other.

"Now we've won that puts the onus on other teams to go out and win," said Hodgson.

"We had total control of the game and I think we fully deserved the win.

"We needed that win to repay the public for the support we've received over the last couple of weeks.

"Our future is in the hands of supporters. Without them this football club is nothing. I'm pleased we've won for them and hopefully we can go away from home next week and get something too."

Result: Darlington 1 Rochdale 0.

Read more about the Quakers here.