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Opportunity for Darlington to take the easy way out
NOT since a rain-sodden evening
at Wembley eight years ago have
Darlington been so close to realising
their promotion dream.
An Andy Clarke strike decided
their fate that night, but this
time around, the lottery of a playoff
appearance would provide
only meagre consolation to a
Darlington side whose destiny
lies in their own hands.
Because, come Tuesday night,
Dave Penney's men could be in
the enviable position of having a
place in the top three and a fivepoint
cushion with five games remaining.
Third-placed Hereford are one
point above Quakers but they are
now without a game until April
5, when they face Chester. A week
later, Hereford travel to Darlington,
before taking on the two
teams above them, MK Dons and
Peterborough.
Ironically, it could be against
the side that denied David Hodgson's
Darlington promotion back
in 2000 that the outcome of Quakers'
season will be decided, as
they face the Posh on the final
day at London Road.
After today's game with Bradford
City at the Darlington
Arena, Quakers make the trip to
north London on Tuesday in a rearranged
fixture with Barnet.
Penney knows that the next
three days could make or break
Darlington's automatic promotion
hopes.
"It's the business part of the
season with seven games left,"
said the Quakers boss.
"We've got ourselves in a position
where we can achieve something.
We're a point behind third,
on the same games played.
"Hereford have still got to
come here. They're not playing
on Saturday and Tuesday, when
we've got games, so it's important
we pick points up, trying to
put some daylight between us
and them. If we do that then the
pressure will be on them."
Darlington have conceded two
goals in each of their last three
games and that is something
Penney is keen to rectify today.
He said: "We've usually been
solid defensively, but in the last
three games we've gone two-nil
down.
"We showed great character to
come back and win the Grimsby
game. We nearly got something
out of the Chester game and obviously
we got a point late on
against Morecambe.
"It would be nice to start off
with a clean sheet and build on
that, which was our strength at
the beginning of the season."
Clark Keltie and Ricky Ravenhill
return to the squad today,
while Penney could also hand a
debut to Craig Nelthorpe, who
joined on loan from Doncaster
Rovers on Thursday.
Darlington will also make a
late check on the fitness of
Tommy Wright, who has been
struggling with a hip injury. If he
fails to recover in time then Penney
could start with Guylain
Ndumbu-Nsungu and Richie
Foran in attack, with Nelthorpe
starting in left midfield.
Today's game reunites several
players with their former clubs.
Paul Heckingbottom was part
of the Darlington side beaten by
Peterborough in the play-off
final at Wembley, while Matt
Clarke and Barry Conlon were involved
in several failed promotion
bids during one of the most
turbulent times in Darlington's
history.
However, medial ligament
damage denies Clarke the opportunity
to play against the club for
which he made 186 appearances.
Alex Rhodes is in the Bradford
City squad, having been on trial
at Darlington last summer.
The most recent link sees Joe
Colbeck come up against the club
he made six loan appearances for
this season.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a
new lease of life since returning
to Valley Parade in October and
he owes much of that success to
his six-week spell at the Darlington
Arena.
"It did me the world of good at
Darlington," said Colbeck. "I definitely
think it has made me a
better player."
Darlington left-back Ben Parker
made 40 appearances for the
Bantams in League One last year,
whilst Ndumbu-Nsungu also
spent a brief spell at Valley Parade
earlier this season, where he
scored six goals in 21 outings.
Ndumbu-Nsungu is expected
to make only his fourth start
since returning to the club in
February after coming off the
bench to rescue a point in Monday's
2-2 draw with Morecambe.
The Congolese striker joined
Darlington for a second spell on
the recommendation of Bradford
boss Stuart McCall.
And the former Scotland international
will be hoping that decision
does not come back to
haunt him this afternoon.
8:59am Saturday 29th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Darren, Darlington on 5:34pm Sat 29 Mar 08
Yet again darlo throw it all away. Is it any wonder why attendances are so low?. They just cannot perform when needed. Same old darlo, blowing it all away at the last minute. Nothing changes
Yet again darlo throw it all away. Is it any wonder why attendances are so low?. They just cannot perform when needed. Same old darlo, blowing it all away at the last minute. Nothing changes
Posted by: Caver, Darlo on 6:52pm Sat 29 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Darren[/bold] wrote:
Yet again darlo throw it all away. Is it any wonder why attendances are so low?. They just cannot perform when needed. Same old darlo, blowing it all away at the last minute. Nothing changes[/quote] I'm with you Darren, nothing ever changes, no commitment, no heart.
Glad I spent the day with my son rather than wasting my money to watch an other pitiful display.
Darren wrote:
Yet again darlo throw it all away. Is it any wonder why attendances are so low?. They just cannot perform when needed. Same old darlo, blowing it all away at the last minute. Nothing changes
I'm with you Darren, nothing ever changes, no commitment, no heart.
Glad I spent the day with my son rather than wasting my money to watch an other pitiful display.
Posted by: Martin, Darlo on 7:51pm Sun 30 Mar 08
Dave Penney has gave the fans some stick lately.So after Saturdays performance can he now have the guts to appolise to the same fans
Dave Penney has gave the fans some stick lately.So after Saturdays performance can he now have the guts to appolise to the same fans
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