DARLINGTON may have preserved their unbeaten run in pre-season but manager Mick Tait was far from happy after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Barrow.

Quakers completed their preparations for the new season with a less than convincing display against the Unibond League outfit, who included former Quakers duo Michael Oliver and Steve Gaughan in their squad.

And Tait, who fielded his strongest possible line-up in preparation for Saturday's Third Division curtain raiser at Hull City, refused to make any excuses.

"I thought our performance was awful and probably the worst in pre-season," fumed Tait.

"The only good to come out of it was the amount of chances we created in the second half.

"We looked very sloppy and our work-rate was very disappointing."

Both goals came in the first half with Neil Campbell's strike after half an hour cancelling out Danny Mellanby's 17th-minute opener.

Mellanby was substituted at half-time with a recurrence of a rib injury although Tait remains confident the 24-year-old will be available to face the Tigers.

"He took a knock on exactly the same place as before but he should be OK," said Tait.

The Quakers boss will this week make a decision on French trialist Fabian Bossy as well as running the rule over former Ipswich defender Erdem Artun.

The duo both started at Tolker Street and Tait could include them in tomorrow's practice match at Whitby Town.

It was Turkish-born Artun who almost restored the lead for Quakers midway through the second half when he crashed an effort off the crossbar, while at the other end Oliver came within inches of finding the net when he flicked Campbell's cut back just wide.

Barry Conlon and Mark Sheeran both came close for Quakers but it was Barrow substitute Gavin Knight who almost stole it at the death when he headed wide.

Darlington: Price, Artun, Valentine, Liddle, Clarke, Bossy (McGurk 59min), Nicholls, Keltie, Maddison, Conlon, Mellanby (Sheeran 45min) Subs (not used): Clark.

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