A FEW f-words were uttered during a frustrating run of results that threatened Darlington’s play-off hopes. On Saturday two more came to the fore: Formation and finishing.

A tweak in tactics has brought about an upturn in fortunes, the weekend’s 2-1 win at Boston United moving Quakers up a place to seventh, thanks to a predatory instinct in the opposition’s penalty box and stoic defending around their own.

It was their first away win since October and only their third victory in 13 matches, results since the beginning of November having taken a downward turn, culminating in a calamitous 3-1 loss to Curzon Ashton three weeks ago.

But then came a switch to 4-3-3 and a big improvement at Chorley, whose goalkeeper, Ritchie Branagan, was man of the match in a 1-1 draw, though Darlington manager Martin Gray rued his team’s finishing that day, not for the first time.

At Boston, however, there was a second successive decent display.

Nathan Cartman and Dave Syers’ clinical finishing put Darlington 2-0 ahead at half-time, the second half seeing Quakers stand their ground amid sustained pressure, securing a first three-point haul at York Street since 1989.

“The difference today was that we had two chances and we took them,” said Gray.

“It was a fantastic finish from Syers. The ball is coming at him at speed and he’s done well to turn it into the goal, an outstanding finish.

“It was a good performance at what is a difficult place to come to and after a long journey.

“You get here and the pitch isn’t great at all. It can make a fool of you at times.”

Darlington selected an unchanged XI and until Boston changed their shape after the restart, Gray’s men were untroubled.

“We played the formation very well, stuck to the task and when the subs came on they made a contribution,” he said.

“The formation has improved us, that’s for sure. But we’ve still got work to do. We’re in with a great chance of being where we want to be.”

Top five is where they want to be, and though it is too early to say a corner has been turned, the signs are promising.

Albeit mid-table opposition, Boston beat play-off hopefuls Chorley last week and their heavily-sanded pitch was the archetypal leveller.

It necessitated balls pumped long from defence, no risks being taken on the Boston beach, and while scoring opportunities were few Quakers crafted two goals that underlined their set-piece prowess.

The first came after 14 minutes. Gary Brown’s long throw was flicked on by Kevin Burgess to the far post where the wily Cartman evaded his marker to tap in for his third goal in five games.

A simple manoeuvre executed perfectly, and the second goal came just before the break after a free-kick.

Won and taken by David Ferguson, an attempted Boston clearance bounced off Burgess’ back into Syers’ path and he tucked home his sixth goal in Quakers colours.

“We were kicking up the slope in the first half and were 2-0 up at half-time, which was deserved,” said Gray.

“It was a really strong first-half performance and I was delighted with that.

“We had a couple of chances within the first 15 minutes of the second half to see the game off completely.

“We had to dig in, the team showed good character, made blocks and defended from the front.

“They threw everything at us, they had nothing to lose. Our keeper made some magnificent saves, our defenders and midfielders put their bodies on the line and that’s what you’ve got to do to grind out results.”

After the Pilgrims added width to their game, switching to 4-4-2, they put Darlington under pressure for the first time and Karl Hawley pulled one back on 63 minutes.

After a punt downfield, substitute Colby Bishop nodded into the ex-Carlisle United striker’s path, he turned Gary Brown and blasted beyond Ed Wilczynski.

It was the only time Wilczynski would be beaten, however, as he went on to make three fine saves, the first two to deny Alex Simmons.

He saved again when he thwarted Jay Rollins after a Boston counterattack which began when a Leon Scott pass to Syers was intercepted, but Darlington weathered the storm and ground out a much-needed win.

It was the eighth occasion they have taken the lead in an away game this season but only the third time they have held on for victory.

“We were under a little bit of pressure,” admitted Gray.

“The goal gave them a lift. If it had stayed at 2-0 for longer they might’ve become more open. They changed their formation and got at us. We weren’t up against it, but we had to dig in and I was delighted with that. It was about winning and we did that.”

Darlington play each of the current bottom seven in their remaining 13 fixtures.

Five of those matches come inside a six-game spell after this weekend’s match at Blackwell Meadows with Harrogate Town.

Then it’s champions-in-waiting AFC Fylde on April 1, by which point Darlington will have a clearer picture of their play-off chances.

Gray said: “That’s our ambition, we’ve got an eye on the play-offs. Today was about winning, we did that and we deserved it.”