DARLINGTON remain four points adrift of AFC Fylde after the teams drew 1-1 on Saturday, yet there is no doubt that Quakers a better team, according to midfielder Phil Turnbull.

Unlike most clubs in the National League North, Fylde’s squad is full-time while the Lancashire club are aiming to go one better than last term when they finished second and lost in the play-offs.

It is so far, so good for Dave Challinor’s side as they have lost only once this season, but Quakers came close to inflicting a second defeat as Dave Syers’ header was ruled out for offside at the end of a second half that Darlington dominated.

Turnbull said: “For me, we’re a better side than them and that’s me being brutally honest. If you ask them, and if they were honest, they would say the same.

“They held on, they were against the ropes. There’s been so many times when we’ve been attacking teams at the Tin Shed end and managed to put them to bed, today we were just a little bit unlucky.

“The most encouraging thing is we’re only four points behind Fylde. You look at them today and how much we dominated- if they’re top of the league and have only lost once then why can’t we go the rest of the season unbeaten?”

Turnbull was in a reshaped midfield that saw Syers handed his first start, manager Martin Gray opting for a 4-3-3 formation.

“The gaffer did his homework on them and it worked,” said Turnbull. “We matched them up, they couldn’t get out, they couldn’t play and had no rhythm.

“The biggest compliment they could pay us is that they had to change their shape during the game, they went 4-4-2, because we were in charge of the game but couldn’t put them to bed.

“The lads are disappointed with a point to be honest. It is a good point to be honest, because of the domination of the game, late on especially, we feel we deserve the three points.

“But we’ve taken confidence from that game, and we’ll go into the next one looking to pick up three points to stay on their tails.”

Darlington are at 16th-placed AFC Telford this weekend, when they aim for a first win in three games and Syers will hope to have more luck in front of goal.

Having scored three goals in his first three appearances as a substitute, in his first start Syers missed a handful of golden opportunities, but Turnbull said: “He was in the right place to get chances, so you’ve got to give him credit for that. It just didn’t go in for him today.

“But the one he did score was a legitimate goal, so it’s disappointing not to get three points.

“We’d be concerned if we weren’t creating chances, but we’re creating chances in abundance.”

The match was a chastening experience for the visitors, who have dominated most games they have played this season.

Fylde forward Dan Bradley, a £50,000 September signing from Alfreton, hinted that his team had been fortunate to avoid defeat to Darlington, questioning whether the league leaders deserved a point.

He said: “We were under the cosh in the second half, but credit to all of the lads because we dug in and whether we deserved it or not we got a point and it could be massive come the end of the season.

“We’re a little bit disappointed that we didn’t play our game. We got dragged a little bit into the way they play with the long balls and competing for second balls, but we dug in and managed to hold on for a point.”