AN end-to-end contest in which each side had chances to win made for a fitting farewell to Heritage Park.

Darlington drew 2-2 with Salford City in front of another near-capacity crowd, bringing to a close four and a half seasons as tenants at Bishop Auckland, where they have enjoyed tremendous success and created memories to last a lifetime.

A late Quakers winner, especially considering the opposition, would have crowned the occasion nicely, and Mark Beck was inches away from delivering a glorious farewell.

Caught in two minds when Liam Hardy whipped in a cross from the byline, the tall striker got a foot to the ball, the Tin Shed gasping as they anticipated one more dramatic moment at Heritage Park, but Beck lifted the ball over the bar and the chance was gone.

It would have completed his hat-trick, as well as made for another memorable fightback against Salford, Nathan Cartman and Hardy both having scored unforgettable late winners last season in crunch matches against City, during which Quakers were losing.

They were twice behind on Saturday too and it’s now five games without a win for Darlington, who drop to fifth, but it was a fair result and manager Martin Gray was satisfied with his team’s best display in weeks.

“I look at it as a good performance, that’s what we’ve been after,” he said. We have been below par as a team of late so that was back to being a really strong performance and I’m delighted with the players.

“We should have won the game on chances, no question about it. That was more like it. The concentration levels and the performance was much better.”

The concentration levels were not sharp at the beginning and end of each half, however, when Quakers twice conceded.

The first came on six minutes, Salford becoming the ninth visiting team in 12 matches to score first at Heritage Park when tall right-back Michael Nottingham got the final touch on a free-kick taken by Sam Walker.

It was ominous and Salford were in control, but Darlington were suddenly gifted an equaliser.

Terry Galbraith’s punt forward on 18 minutes produced a poor header by Simon Grand which was seized upon by Beck, who kept his composure to beat goalkeeper Jay Lynch for his first goal in five matches.

Thereafter it was more even, both sides having good spells and opportunities to take the lead.

Josh Gillies was nullified on the left by Nottingham, but he came inside and his blast at goal was narrowly over, then Gary Brown saw a header saved.

Salford passed up an opportunity when left-back Patrick Brough elected to pass rather than shoot.

But during a spell of Quakers pressure in first-half added time, Josh Falkingham was sent crashing to the ground by Walker, referee Marc Edwards inexplicably played on, and within a minute Salford scored again.

Walker’s free-kick was not dealt with by a Darlington defence susceptible to set-pieces, and Phenix prodded over the line for 2-1.

Falkingham, who conceded both the free-kicks Salford scored from, was replaced at half-time.

Gray explained: “Josh was on the verge of being sent off for me. He gave four free-kicks away and I couldn’t afford the risk of going down to ten men in a game as big as this.

“Leon Scott came on and did well, used the ball well and won tackles. I think it was his sort of game, it’s horses for courses.”

It took only eight minutes of the second half for Darlington to draw level again, Beck heading home powerfully with a goal that owed much to a delicious cross by Turnbull.

Curled with the outside of his right boot, it was a delivery of Premier League standard.

Unfortunately, the officiating wasn’t as impressive as Edwards littered the match with errors.

Gray said: “It’s difficult to stand here as a manager because you’d like to say what you think about the referee, but I would get into trouble, so you’ve just got to accept it. It is what it is.”

Edwards awarded 15 fouls against Darlington yet only three against Salford, so it was no surprise he ignored Hardy being pulled back as he headed for goal and Beck being impeded in the penalty area by having his shirt almost torn from his back.

Beck said: “I was between two players in a sandwich, one of them had hold of my shirt and I heard it rip near the collar. It’s the second time it’s happened this season.”

The incident came towards the end of a frantic second half, Quakers edging it and winning nine corners, though both sides continued to create chances they were unable to take.

There was a brilliant block by Brown, throwing himself at a James Poole shot after Salford broke quickly, before Beck’s last-gasp miss, attempting an acrobatic effort when using his head would surely have brought greater rewards.

“He was a handful all game, a menace, but he will be disappointed he didn’t get his hat-trick because out of his three chances that was his easiest, but it’s easy to say that from where we are,” added Gray.

“There was pace on the cross, a great ball from Liam Hardy. He makes contact and usually they go in, but he got two goals and he was a real asset today.”