DIGGING deep, working in unity and pulling in the same direction to achieve a common goal were the traits demonstrated in spades by Darlington fans at the weekend.

Close to 100 supporters responded to the call of duty early on Saturday morning to clear tonnes of snow from the Blackwell Meadows pitch, and in doing so demonstrated their desire for the club. Their club.

It is fan-owned and fan-driven. Maybe it means more to you once you have nearly lost it, as Quakers appeared to have done in 2012; maybe that’s why their supporters are willing to go the extra mile so often.

The most notable achievements over the past year include raising money for a 297-capacity seated stand – to be completed before the end of the season – a new pitch was laid last summer and in total around £245,000 has been raised since last May to cover the aforementioned projects, and others too.

They answered Saturday’s SOS in their droves, many there from 7.30am until past midday, giving up their time to ensure the pitch was playable, though such commitment could not quite inspire a victory from their team.

Chorley twice battled back to deny Darlington a crucial win, the 2-2 draw probably a fair result on the balance of play, though it represented insufficient reward for the fans’ commendable efforts, which did not go unnoticed.

Manager Tommy Wright referenced the fans’ commitment in his pre-match team talk, revealing he had wanted to repay the supporters.

“We’ve probably got the only set of fans in this league that would’ve got that game on,” he said. “Fans were down here with their shovels, directors too, you don’t get that at many clubs, so the fans should give themselves a pat on the back today.

“Players that play for this club come here because of the fans, it’s as simple as that. Reece Styche, for example, came here last January with Nuneaton and saw what kind of reception I got.

“It’s a fan-owned club and with that comes a pressure because they are paying your wages.

“Before the game we went into it a bit more deeply, talking about the work that went in to get this game on – ‘the fans did it because they want to see you play’.

“We wanted to win that game for them.”

It did not happen, however, Darlington again showing their propensity for conceding goals.

They began well though, a bright start seeing four early corners followed by Styche scoring in the 16th minute, latching on to Stephen Thompson’s pass before smashing the ball beyond Matt Urwin.

It was his eighth goal in his eighth appearance, an achievement he celebrated by diving into a mound of snow at the side of the pitch.

But the lead did not last long. Saturday was the 11th time Darlington have scored the first goal and the seventh occasion they have not taken three points, Chorley levelling when Adam Blakeman fired home from 20 yards, the left wingback arrowing home a well-struck shot just out of Aynsley Pears’ reach.

The 19-year-old goalkeeper, on loan from Middlesbrough, defied any doubts about his inexperience by enjoying a solid display on his senior debut.

The goal gave Chorley impetus, the promotion-chasers finishing the half strongly, but there were no additions to the scoreline until just after the break, with Quakers going ahead again, this time from the spot.

Joe Wheatley, back in the side after two games on the bench, was tripped by Andy Teague, unquestionably the correct decision by referee John Matthews.

Chorley boss Matt Jansen said: “Teague is saying he had a shout of ‘time’. I don’t know, he’s dwelled on it maybe a fraction of a second too long.

“I think it was a penalty, one of the few decisions that were given correctly.”

Given Styche’s awful spot-kick miss ten days previously against Salford City, Thompson stepped up this time and made no mistake to restore Darlington’s lead.

However, given the fragile nature of Darlington’s defence, having not kept a clean sheet since September, there was every chance another equaliser would come.

It came after 75 minutes, a low ball from the left turned home by striker Jason Walker.

Wright said: “We went 1-0 up at Alfreton – did we do enough to get a second goal? Probably not.

“We did well today to get our second goal, so we were in front again and that’s probably us at the minute, we probably need a two-goal cushion.”

Darlington played the latter stages as a 4-3-3, having started in a 3-5-2 formation, and while Chorley finished a man down – Marcus Carver red-carded for two bookings – the Lancastrians looked more likely to take three points.

They would have done were it not for Pears’ super save in added time, the youngster diving to his right to push away Josh O’Keefe’s strike.

Quakers have climbed a place to 19th, though the two teams below them– Telford and Gainsborough – have three games in hand.

Wright remains upbeat: “A point with a good performance is a positive, but we need wins. I’m disappointed that we lost two points because I think we deserved to win, and we deserved them last week, and in my opinion the games before that too.

“But you’ve got to take the positives – it is two games unbeaten, we’ve scored twice, so there are small signs of progression there and I do think the penny will drop.”

If the team can match the standards set by their supporters, they have every chance of extracting themselves from the relegation fight they are entrenched in.