DARLINGTON won their second home game in a week with a great second half show against Barwell.

The Leicestershire side nearly took the lead in spectacular style after 3 minutes when Declan Towers tried his luck from 40 yards, and a backpedalling Peter Jameson was relieved to see the ball drop over the bar.

Quakers couldn’t take advantage of a mix up outside the area between Barwell full back Callum Woodward and keeper Liam Castle, the ball ran loose 30 yards out, but Graeme Armstrong couldn’t control the ball.

Castle had another two shaky moments. He was fortunate to get a free kick after dropping a left wing cross under pressure from Kevin Burgess, then he put a clearance straight out of play under pressure from Nathan Cartman.

Quakers nearly scored on 20 minutes, when Terry Galbraith whipped in a free kick from almost next to the corner flag, and Graeme Armstrong and Cartman were inches away from connecting.

Barwell had a chance on 28 minutes when Jamie Towers got to the bye line and crossed into the middle for Iysden Christie, who volleyed high over the bar from ten yards out.

And Quakers had Jameson to thank for a save on 31 minutes when Christie floated the ball into the middle for Dominic Brennan, whose flicked header was blocked by Jameson.

Quakers had a goal disallowed just before half time, when Thompson got away down the right and set up Cartman to score, but the flag went up for offside.

The Northern Echo:

Quakers nearly opened the scoring four minutes after half time, when Graeme Armstrong’s looping header from Adam Mitchell’s free kick was touched over by Castle.

Quakers took the lead from the corner. Galbraith played the ball short to Mitchell, who returned it to Galbraith. He chipped the ball into the box for Thompson to flick on, and the ball dropped for Armstrong to volley home.

And in the 52nd minute it was 2-0, when Cartman cleverly controlled a high ball into the box from Turnbull, and after shaping to pull the ball back into the middle from an acute angle, he fired across the keeper into the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.

Quakers then made two subs, bringing on David Dowson and Leon Scott, as they took control of the game, although they nearly let in a sloppy goal when Jameson missed his punch to a right wing corner, but the ball dropped just wide of the post.

The Northern Echo:

But the visitors pulled a goal back with six minutes left when a left wing cross was chested down for Alex Tomkinson to score with a left foot shot.

Quakers should have sealed it in the first minute of sthoppage time when Thompson dribbled through and hit the post, and White faced with an open goal, somehow put the ball wide.

But Portas made up for the miss when he picked the ball up in midfield, strode through the Barwell defence, and stroked the ball past the advancing keeper.

DARLINGTON: Jameson, Gibbons, Galbraith, Portas, Burgess, Hunter, Mitchell (sub Scott 64), Turnbull, Armstrong (sub Dowson 55) Cartman (sub White 74), Thompson. Subs: Provett, Watson

BARWELL: Castle, Woodward, Nisevic, Wakeling, D Towers, Lavery (sub Hickey 66), Julian, Brennan, Christie (sub Lower 45) , Thornton (sub Tomkinson 62), J Towers. Subs: O’Keefe, Hickey.

Bookings: Lower (foul, 50), Gibbons (foul 53), Turnbull (foul, 63), Wakeling (foul 76), White (dissent 79).

Referee: Lucy Oliver (Northumberland)

Attendance: 1,243.