MANAGERLESS Darlington’s miserable run continued with a 2-1 defeat at Nuneaton Town.

The home team, managed by former Quakers striker Tommy Wright, scored early in each half to claim the points and condemn Darlington to another disappointing day.

They have now won only one of their last 12 league games, and clearly need to appoint a new manager quickly in an attempt to provide a fresh start and arrest their slide down the table.

Senior players Gary Brown and Phil Turnbull have been in temporary charge for just over a week, but a permanent appointment is expected in the next couple of days after interviews were completed yesterday.

Wright has been linked the post vacated a fortnight ago by Martin Gray, though fellow former Darlington striker Alun Armstrong, now manager at Blyth Spartans, is understood to be a much better bet.

He remains in the running despite an attempt to squash speculation earlier in the week that he would stay at Croft Park.

The new manager, whoever he is, will take charge of a team that could’ve been dead and buried by the halfway stage of today's first half.

Nuneaton, who had won one off their previous seven league games before today, forced a glut of chances but were unable to make the most of Quakers giving the ball away.

Darlington put in a positive performance last week when drawing 1-1 with Stockport County, and named an unchanged team today.

But Nuneaton took the lead on eight minutes, Ashley Chambers tucking the ball home after a couple of neat passes through centre of Darlington’s defence.

It was a simple move that caught Quakers off-guard, Jordan Nicholson playing a crucial weighted-pass ahead of Chambers to finish.

The goal made for a poor start for Darlington, and a Liam Marrs block from Chambers prevented it becoming 2-0. The striker had intercepted an under-hit Terry Galbraith back-pass and looked set to score before Marrs’ block.

Next to come to the rescue was Dom Collins, the centre-back’s nudge on Chambers enough to prevent the striker from scoring after Darlington had lost the ball sloppily.

It was Adam Bartlett’s turn to be hero next, the goalkeeper sharp off his line to block at Daniel Nti's feet after a simple ball over the top, before Josh Gillies made a crucial intervention when he blocked an almost-certain goal by Nicholson, flinging himself at the Nuneaton No. 10 in the six-yard box.

Darlington, however, took a foothold in the game and began to make inroads into the opposition half for the first time.

Gillies and Tom Portas came into the contest and Darlington inches away from equalising. Having knocked the ball around well in Nuneaton’s half, Gillies hit the post from around 25 yards.

And within seconds Stephen Thompson shot from distance, Nuneaton goalkeeper Dean Lyness gathering the ball at the second attempt.

Harvey Saunders had a chance too, nicking the ball away from a defender but the keeper was not troubled by the effort.

The hosts the half as they started it, Quakers thankful for a poor miss by Niall Heaton, who scuffed wide of an open goal after Darlington had a blocked a close-range effort following a corner.

Nuneaton then countered, making the most of dispossessing Collins who found himself deep in opposition territory, Galbraith did his best to hold up the flood of blue shirts, enabling team-mates to retreat, before Billy Daniels tried a long-range effort that rolled wide.

The second goal that Tommy Wright’s team had threatened came two minutes into the second half, Nicholson volleying into the net after a corner.

There may have been a deflection on the effort to deceive Bartlett, but Darlington could hardly say Nuneaton did not deserve their two-goal advantage.

Quakers soon almost cut the lead. Thompson looked set to shoot, but instead played in half-time sub Dave Syers whose shot brought a good save out of the keeper, passing the ball with pace towards corner of net, Lyness pushing the ball away at a stretch.

Syers had replaced Nathan Cartman, and soon after the second goal Joe Wheatley replaced Portas.

Saunders showed bravery when challenging Lyness to a cross delivered by Gillies, the striker narrowly second-best to the ball, the keeper getting there just ahead of the young striker to thwart a Darlington team that had not given up.

Turnbull curled into an accurate left-foot cross that was inches away from Syers.

With around 20 minutes to play Brown and Turnbull made a tactical and personnel change, sending on centre-back Kevin Burgess to play up front and switching to three at the back.

The next goalmouth action, however, was at Darlington’s end of the pitch with Marrs clearing off the line from Luke Trottman.

One of the few glimpses of goal Darlington saw in the closing stages was a fierce Wheatley shot, struck so well after Saunders had been dispossessed, keeper Lyness beating the ball away.

In the sixth minute of added time, after Marrs throw, Syers scored with a deflected shot from inside Nuneaton's penalty area to record the slightest of consolation goals.

Goals: Chambers (8, 1-0), Nicholson (47, 2-0); Syers (90, 2-1)

Bookings: Thompson (18, simulation), Marrs (86, dissent)

Referee: Barry Lamb

Attendance: 694

Nuneaton Town (4-4-1-1): Lyness; Trotman, Heaton, Gascoigne, Dielna; Nti (Hickey 79), Daniels, Elliott, Henshall (Mills 76); Nicholson (Beswick 85); Chambers. Subs (not used): Taylor, Geohaghon

Darlington (4-4-2): Bartlett; Marrs, Collins, Galbraith, Scott (Burgess 71); Thompson, Turnbull, Portas (Wheatley 51), Gillies, Saunders, Cartman (Syers 46). Subs (not used): Wilczynski (gk), Dawson