DARLINGTON manager Alun Armstrong said the point earned from a very scrappy game at Kettering could be very important at the end of the season.

The game won’t be remembered for much in the way of entertaining football, mainly because of a bumpy and bobbly pitch, which meant that both teams had to resort to high and long balls. There were very few passing moves, so bearing in mind that Quakers wilted against Farsley’s aerial bombardment on Tuesday, they were very pleased with a clean sheet and a point. Skipper David Wheater and Jake Lawlor comfortably dealt with everything that was literally thrown at them.

They remain in fifth place, and with Chorley, Scarborough and Gloucester all dropping points behind them, they’ve got a four-point advantage over eighth-placed Gloucester with the games running out.

“That’s probably one of the worst games of football I’ve ever seen,” said Armstrong. “You can’t play football on a pitch like that, even their staff said that it’s abysmal. The fans who didn’t travel probably won’t understand how bad it was.

“That’s Kettering’s ninth 0-0 draw at home this season, and you can see why. They haven’t lost a lot of games at home because of the pitch and their style of play.

“I got a little heads up about how bad it was, and that’s why I put four big lads at the back to deal with their aerial threat, especially after our defeat at Farsley on Tuesday night. They did their jobs, on another day we could have nicked it. But I don’t think either side deserved to win the game, because there wasn’t any football played!”

There were hardly any effective passing moves in the game, with the ball spending more time high in the air than on the ground.

“Even when we did try to switch play, the move broke down because the ball bounced up to knee height," continued Armstrong. "I’d love to see the players at the top end of the Premier League play on that pitch.

“But the lads battled hard, they stuck to their task and got a clean sheet. I questioned their desire and commitment not to concede at Farsley, but I got that in abundance on Saturday. That could be a massively important point.”

However, the point has come up at a cost, because midfielder Jarrett Rivers is likely to be out for the rest of the season because of a groin injury.

It was clear how Kettering would put Quakers under pressure in the opening minutes with the use of long throws that Wheater and Lawlor comfortably coped with, but there were so many mis-kicks and so much poor control because of the bobbly pitch that it wasn’t until the 17th minute that Jacob Hazel fashioned a chance when he turned and fired wide of the post.

Kettering went along the ground and created a chance on 30 minutes when Gary Stohrer set up Keaton Ward, who fired over the top.

Quakers nearly took the lead in a goalmouth scramble when David Wheater had a close range effort blocked on the line, while Alex Purver and Jake Lawlor were both denied, and just on half time Niall Brookwell hit a low shot through a crowd of players that Kettering keeper Will Lakin pushed away.

In the second half, Ben Sault pulled a good chance wide for Kettering following uncharacteristic hesitation in the Darlington defence, and on 69 minutes Andrew Nelson, who was playing his first 90 minutes for 18 months, had a right foot shot deflected just wide.

Declan Howe, who came on for the injured Jarrett Rivers just after half time, fired straight at Lakin, and Jacob Hazel headed wide from a Nelson lay off.

The Poppies nearly won the game late on, when Alex Purver cleared an effort off the line, and in stoppage time Ward forced a full length save out of Taylor.