A PULSATING game which featured six goals saw Darlington score three equalisers to earn a point at Stockport County.

Three times they trailed to the fellow promotion chasers at Edgeley Park, and they showed admirable spirit to emerge with a creditable draw.

Josh Gillies, Stephen Thompson and Mark Beck got Darlington’s goals in the team’s fifth away draw of the campaign.

But in the uneventful opening stages there was little warning of what was to come until debutant Elliott Osbourne, the stand-out player of the first half after signing on loan from Fleetwood, carved an opportunity for himself.

The midfielder turned past a couple of Darlington players in midfield and fired narrowly wide of Peter Jameson’s goal.

Soon Osborne teed up the first goal, crossing from the right to the far post where diminutive Danny Lloyd climbed above Chris Hunter headed home his 12th league goal of the season on 23 minutes.

Within 120 seconds he was inches away from his 13th, a free-kick hitting the inside of the post and bouncing clear.

Darlington levelled with a free-kick of their own, however, although Gillies’ strike was less intentional than Lloyd’s.

After Beck was fouled 30 yards out, Gillies’ bouncing free-kick towards the far post bypassed a clutch of bodies and went straight into the net, flat-footed keeper Ben Hinchliffe not even making an attempt to dive.

The third goal was also a set-piece and again Lloyd was involved, but it was one Jameson will not enjoy viewing again.

County’s corner was curled into the near post by Lloyd and looked like a simple catch for the Quakers keeper, but he dropped the ball into the net to give the hosts a 2-1 lead on 37 minutes.

The game was now being played at a frenetic pace, end-to-end stuff, with Stockport the more likely to get the next goal.

They were angered when Kevin Burgess escaped with a booking for a foul on big striker Kayode Odejayi, but the home fans were silenced when Darlington levelled for a second time.

Thompson got it, but the goal owed much to Jameson. He atoned for his earlier error by doing well to block from Lloyd when he had only the keeper to beat, leading to a swift Quakers counter-attack.

No more than 30 seconds after the save, Beck headed into Thompson’s path and the Darlington forward made no mistake in beating Hinchliffe.

Josh Falkingham replaced Gillies at the beginning of the second half, a tactical move which succeeded in shoring up Darlington, Gray opting to match County’s 4-3-1-2 formation, and the game became less eventful, fewer chances at either end.

The speedy Hunter, again in the team in place of the injured Liam Marrs, got a foot in on Lloyd who went down in the penalty area made a half-hearted appeal. Good tackle.

The same pair then clashed again, Hunter leaning into Lloyd and the Stockport scorer again went down, again the referee ruling no penalty.

Hunter enjoyed a good game, keeping minimising Lloyd’s influence.

Darlington’s second sight of goal in the second half, after Nathan Cartman had turned one wide, saw Thompson scuff an effort off target.

But Stockport took the lead for a third time on 75 minutes, substitute Jimmy Ball making an immediate impact when he blasted home at close-range.

The goal came after Quakers had not cleared a corner, conceded when Darlington debutant David Ferguson tackled Minihan.

Invigorated by the goal, Stockport were denied extending their lead to two goals when Jameson pulled off another save, blocking at close-range from Ball.

His opposite number, Hinchliffe, then pulled off a superb save when he stopped Beck from scoring, the striker having been played in by Cartman’s short pass into feet.

Darlington kept plugging away in search of a third equaliser, finally getting it with four minutes to go, rewarded for patient build-up play.

Falkingham and Phil Turnbull were heavily involved as Quakers worked an opening, leading to Galbraith crossing for Beck to head home at close-range.

Goals: Lloyd (23, 1-0); Gillies (34, 1-1); Jameson og (37, 2-1); Thompson (44, 3-3); Ball (75, 3-2); Beck (86, 3-3)

Bookings: Scott (11, foul); Minihan (12, foul), Lloyd (23, celebrating); Burgess (41, foul); Ball (79, unsporting behaviour); Ferguson (85, foul)

Referee: David McNamara

Attendance: 3,649

Stockport County (4-3-1-2): Hinchliffe; Minihan, Montrose, Clarke, Duxbury; Stopforth, Smalley, Osborne; Marsden (Ball 73); Odejayi (Felix 73), Lloyd. Subs (not used): Ross, Ormson, Brazel

Darlington (4-4-2): Jameson; Hunter, Burgess, Brown, Galbraith; Thompson (Ferguson 73), Scott (Syers 79), Turnbull, Gillies (Falkingham 46); Cartman, Beck. Subs (not used): Wilczyski (gk), Walker