DARLINGTON lost for the first time in nine games to leave the promotion race with Blyth Spartans tantalisingly poised.

Quakers missed a penalty early on and then pad the price for not finishing off Frickley after taking the lead with a Graeme Armstrong goal before the break, then crumbling in the second half.

They are now seven points behind leaders Blyth with three games in hand, one of which they play tomorrow evening at Heritage Park against Nantwich Town.

Darlington manager Martin Gray said: “It’s still very much in our hands, and the good thing is that we have another game within 48 hours. We are still in the driving seat.

“We did what we’ve been doing for the last three months in the first 45 minutes, but unfortunately we didn’t take our chances.

“If the ref had allowed our first penalty to stand, then we could have been at least two goals up at half time. He disallowed it for a player distracting the keeper from 17 yards away – a real soft one in my opinion.

“I thought we could have stopped the shot for their equaliser, but it was their only shot on target until then. They scored twice from the only two shots they had all night, and the third goal was really sloppy from our point of view.”

Darlington were awarded a penalty on four minutes when Bailey Gooda needlessly handled when he raised his arm to a left wing cross by Terry Galbraith.

Galbraith sent the keeper the wrong way, but the referee awarded a retake because of encroachment, and Galbraith, unusually for him, put the second attempt over the top.

Quakers started well and had another chance on nine minutes, when Lee Gaskell had a close range effort well saved by Sebastian Malkowski, and the keeper recovered quickly to save Leon Scott’s follow up.

After Frickley had a goal disallowed for handball in the build up, Quakers again looked dangerous on the attack, and a teasing cross by Cartman was well cleared by John Cyrus.

Quakers maintained the pressure , and they got the breakthrough they deserved on 31 minutes, when Armstrong put Macauley Parkinson under pressure as he chased a long ball, won possession, and slotted the ball past Malkowski for his tenth league goal of the season - six of them coming in midweek away games.

It was nearly 2-0 straight after the restart. Tom Portas got to the byline and pulled the ball back for Armstrong, whose right foot shot was somehow blocked by the outstretched left leg of Malkowski.

But Frickley levelled out of the blue on 52 minutes. Quakers stood off as Frickley moved forward, and Tyler Williams turned and hit a precise left foot shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.

Quakers then made two changes on the hour, Adam Mitchell and Stephen Thompson coming on for Gaskell and Portas, but it was the hosts who did most of the pressing.

Williams nearly scored another spectacular goal on 65 minutes, with a snapshot from the edge of the area that shaved the post.

Frickley finally went in front on 72 minutes vi a corner. Floated in from the left, Tom Davie headed home.

Quakers responded when Thompson picked the ball up on the left, and hit a right foot shot that went a yard wide, but it was all over with eight minutes left.

Jake Hazel weaved his way down the right hand side, ran along the byline, and squeezed the ball past Peter Jameson, for a goal poorly defended.

Referee: K Haycock

Attendance: 740

Frickley Athletic: Malkowski, Akeroyd (Bruce 90), Davie, Parkinson, Cyrus, Ible, R Armstrong, Gooda, Hazel, Hinsley, Williams. Subs (not used): Ellam, Wood, Stratford, Hood

Darlington: Jameson, Hunter, Burgess, Turnbull, Nowakowski, Portas (Mitchell 60), Scott, Armstrong (Hardy 70), Cartman, Gaskell (Thompson 60). Subs (not used): Weldon, Provett