Darlington 2 Southport 4

TOMMY WRIGHT had said he wanted to send Darlington supporters home with a smile on their face, but they are more likely to have left Blackwell Meadows with a grimace and a groan after disappointing showing in the club’s final home game of the season.

Playing against Southport, who had lost seven games in row and not scored in five, Quakers ended their home programme with a whimper by losing 4-2.

Slack defending contributed to Darlington’s downfall, meaning they remain 12th and have failed to win any of their final three home fixtures.

Performances such as Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Nuneaton and last night will do little to encourage supporters to invest in a season ticket, which is a shame as on the whole progress has been made in recent months.

There was not much evidence of it in their defence last night, however, with Quakers making an unwelcome return to the standards of months previously, and it left Wright just as frustrated as the fans.

He said: “I wanted to finish the season off in the right way, especially the home games and I have said that two or three times.

“Home games are really important and I’d like to think that the fans will have gone away thinking that we played some good football in parts of the game, but the defending was really sloppy.

“We almost forgot the basics, errors crept back in.

“At the back, were the defenders prepared to put their neck on the line? Probably not.

“I felt sorry for Aynsley Pears because he is a very good goalkeeper and he was not protected at all.”

Pears had little to do initially, as Darlington started reasonably well without creating a scoring opportunity.

With nothing at stake for either side – Darlington unable to reach the play-offs and Southport safe from relegation – the bulk of the first half had a real low-key, end of season kick-about feel to it.

The attendance of 1,090, Quakers’ second lowest of the season, reflected the reduced interest among fans too, as well as a Champions League game being on television.

Those who turned up at Blackwell Meadows had little to entertain them for most of the first half until Quakers who took the lead on 18 minutes with a smart finish by Josh Gillies.

It was route-one stuff. Dave Syers headed a long ball down to Reece Styche, the striker holding possession while he assessed his options on the edge of the penalty area before picking out Gillies on the left, and he finished over the top of former York goalkeeper Jon Worsnop.

It was Quakers’ first shot at goal, and soon Gillies had the keeper worried again with a free-kick, won by Styche, that brushed the top of the net.

Syers flicked a diving header wide after a left-wing cross by Ben O’Hanlon following a period of play up the left that was easy on the eye.

But Darlington did not unduly trouble the opposition for the remainder of the half, Southport finishing strongly and they levelled on 33 minutes by capitalising on a mistake by Josh Heaton.

His poor back-pass was seized on by Ross Hannah, and he slotted home at the second attempt to make it 1-1, and Southport almost went ahead before half-time.

Heaton tackled Jason Gilchrist as he was about to shoot, Graham Kelly had a shot deflected wide from outside the penalty area, and then Aynsley Pears saved a Gilchrist header.

Terry Galbraith twisted his ankle early in the game on the bobbly pitch and at half-time had to be replaced by Jack Vaulks, but the youngster has not played much first-team football of late and he showed signs of rustiness.

Darlington fell 2-1 behind on 63 minutes after more bad defending. A ball was crossed from the left, Dion Charles ran on to it unchallenged and punished Quakers with a low finish.

Quakers were inches away from equalising, however, when Wheatley hit the post.

He thundered in a shot in from around 20 yards, collecting a loose ball after a Stephen Thompson cross had been half-cleared, but the midfielder’s powerful effort smacked off the upright, leaving him still waiting for his second goal in Quakers colours.

But it was Southport who looked more likely to add to the scoresheet in the second half, and Charles almost made it 3-1 when he hit the side-netting with a volley after meeting a cross from the left.

It would have been a spectacular goal, but soon they had their third of the night.

Within 60 seconds of Styche having his only shot on target of the night, a tame effort easily saved, Elliot Osbourne crossed from the byline, Darlington were slow to react and unable to clear, leaving Charles time to rifle home from inside the penalty area.

It got worse yet. Southport went 4-1 up on 86 minutes after a David Morgan corner, the visitors winning the first header before Clive Smith had time to take a touch in the centre of Darlington’s penalty area before blasting home.

Quakers were being embarrassed, but substitute Harvey Saunders pulled one back straight from the restart, turning inside the penalty area to score his second goal of the season.

Wright concluded: “I’ll take the positives – their keeper made some good saves and Harvey Saunders got on the scoresheet, so I’m delighted for him.

“But we huffed and puffed, so hopefully we will have a positive reaction on Saturday.

“I think we’ll take a healthy crowd with us and I’d like to cheer them up on the back of tonight.”