DARLINGTON made it 13 wins in a row and broke the 100 point barrier with a superb 7-2 win over Sunderland RCA.

A crowd of 1,275 saw the game at Heritage Park with goals from Stephen Thompson (3), David Dowson, Steven Johnson, Amar Purewal and Kerry Hedley.

A penalty from Jamie Clarke and a low finish from Gary Shaw gave RCA some hope earlier on, but Quakers turned on the style midway through the second half.

In their first Saturday home game since early November, Quakers came out firing and it didn’t take long before they had the lead.

Eight minutes had passed when RCA defender Adam McGuiness brought down Dowson and Thompson finished past Mark Forden with a powerful strike.

Quakers were firmly in control and Thompson could have scored a second when he cut inside and fired against the side-netting.

Such was the hosts’ early dominance RCA’s first real effort didn’t come until the 25th minute when former striker Jamie Clarke, who started the season at the club, headed wide.

Quakers doubled their lead on the half hour mark when Dowson fired a low shot past Forden after some good build up play involving Chris Emms and Amar Purewal.

It was looking like a routine afternoon for Darlington, but RCA pulled a goal back from the spot in the 33rd minute.

RCA caught Quakers on the break and after receiving the ball in an advanced position, Clarke was brought down by Gary Brown with referee Shaun Hudson pointing to the spot.

Despite attempts from the home fans to put off their former player, Clarke stepped up and kept his nerve to send his spot kick into the top right hand corner.

It offered Quakers a timely reminder that any loss of concentration and the visitors could punish them, but on the stroke of half time their two-goal lead was restored with a fantastic solo effort from Thompson.

The midfielder collected the ball on the left and took on two RCA defenders before cutting inside and curling a shot past Forden and into the far corner.

The third goal had come at the end of a ten minute spell in which Quakers had to play with ten men while Amar Purewal was off the field receiving treatment for a head injury.

Steven Johnson replaced Dowson at half time and the sub had a brilliant chance to score a fourth for Quakers, but Forden saved his header.

Quakers were desperate for victory, but they allowed RCA in for another goal when substitute Gary Shaw broke forward and went past Brown and Leon Scott before finishing past Bell.

Quakers needed another goal quickly and luckily their super sub produced the good once again. Johnson continues to make his name from the bench and he got Darlo’s fourth when he blasted into the roof of the net after the ball had fallen to him from a corner.

A fifth came for Quakers in the 78th minute and Thompson completed an excellent performance by sealing his hat-trick with a powerful finish.

Amar Purewal made it six moments later with a nice finish from a defence-splitting through ball from substitute Kerry Hedley.

Quakers saved the best for last, though, with Hedley scoring their seventh with a wonderful chip into the top corner from the byline.