Darlington striker Danny Mellanby is relishing a regular run in the first-team after his two-goal blast helped secure a 2-2 draw with Exeter City at the weekend.

The 23-year-old admits he has not had the best of times in his battle to overcome a debilitating back injury but after taking his tally to four goals in three games it seems as though the boy from Bishop Auckland is ready to put his injury nightmare behind him and stake his claim for a permanent place alongside Barry Conlon. "It's great to be back in the team and scoring again," said Mellanby.

"It's been very difficult being out for so long and it's just nice to be back and involved again. I was very pleased to have got a couple of goals but it would have been better if we'd got the three points."

Mellanby's second half brace had appeared to put Quakers in the driving seat only for Exeter to equalise with 20 minutes left.

And while Mellanby will have been happy with his own contribution he was far from content with the outcome of the game.

"We're all pretty disappointed with the result," he said. "We dominated the second half so it was really disappointing not to get the three points.

"We didn't play well in the first half and we knew we had to show a bit more passion and commitment and that's what we did in the second half.

"It was disappointing not to hold on to our lead and even after they equalised we had chances to win the game."

Mellanby expects Wednesday night's visit to fellow strugglers Boston to be a similar proposition.

"You could see that Exeter have everything to fight for and the game at Boston will be no different," said Mellanby.

"We looked a lot more confident in the second half and hopefully we can take that into the Boston game.

"They're struggling as well so it's important that we go there and look for the three points."

Read more about the Quakers here.