A shake of the head and a glance at the watch. Darlington manager David Hodgson had a feeling it was going to be yet another one of those days.

For 89 minutes on Saturday it appeared so. Hodgson's one-nil specialists were heading for another narrow defeat.

Nobody, not even Hodgson by his own admission, held out much hope of making the trip back to the North-East with a point - after Adam Murray's seventh minute opener for Harriers - given the kind of cruel luck Quakers have endured in front of goal lately.

Five one-nil defeats in the last six games is the result of Quakers' recent efforts.

But now there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel and only time will tell how pivotal David McGurk's late, late equaliser may be to Quakers' season.

With 18 games still to play, time is certainly on their side. And, as long as Quakers are performing as they are and creating the chances, there is certainly plenty of hope that the Reynolds Arena will be playing host to the likes of Torquay rather than Telford next season.

"I just didn't think it was going to come," admitted Hodgson. "I think it summed it up when Barry Conlon had the keeper to beat and the ball bounced up and hit him in the face.

"If it had gone to his chest he probably would have tucked it away. I thought then that it wasn't going to be our day again. We needed to break that routine of 1-0s and late on I was thinking let it be 2-0 just so we could do that and break the momentum.

"I'm ecstatic that we eventually got the goal.

"I was half waiting for the linesman to put a flag up or the referee to give a foul. I turned away when we scored because I didn't want to look."

But McGurk's goal stood and Quakers are now just three points behind Southend.

Northampton's involvement in the FA Cup means Quakers have next Saturday off.

"We could have done with another league game next week but at the end of the day it takes a little bit of pressure off," said Hodgson.

Harriers defender Craig Hinton denied Quakers a lead within the first minute with a challenge timed to perfection to deny Neil Wainwright a shot on goal after a strong run by Ryan Valentine.

But despite their positive start, Quakers fell behind in the seventh minute.

With his back to goal Danish striker Jesper Christiansen laid off for Murray on the edge of the area, who confidently placed the ball past Michael Price.

Price almost gifted Harriers a second moments later when he spilled Murray's long-range effort but the ever-alert Craig Liddle was there to clear the ball.

Conlon should have claimed his seventh goal of the season midway through the first half when he fired wide.

Making only his 13th start for the club and his first since April 2002, Mark Convery threaded Wainwright into the box with a well weighed pass, but once again the former Sunderland man could find no way past the impressive Hinton.

With half-time approaching Price produced a superb reflex save to deny Christiansen as chances continued to open up at either end.

And, after Conlon saw a shot charged down in the box, an error from Valentine on the half-way line allowed Harriers a counter attack. Former Quakers striker John Williams headed for goal but took one touch too many and Price was able to collect.

Conlon should have levelled with a quarter of an hour to go when he directed his header over the bar from Convery's cross.

Just 24 hours after offering to play for the club for free, striker Craig Russell was brought off the bench as Quakers searched for an equaliser.

With full-time approaching there were desperate appeals for a penalty when Conlon appeared to be held back, only for referee Joe Ross to inexplicably award a free-kick the other way.

And when Conlon received an unwelcome ball in the face inside the area late on it summed up another frustrating afternoon in front of goal for Quakers, and for the big Irishman in particular.

But with one last throw of the dice, substitute Mark Sheeran found space on the left before crossing for McGurk, who rose highest to plant his header firmly past Brock and earn Quakers a well-earned share of the spoils.

"The fact is we needed a goal and it came, which is the most important thing," said Hodgson. "For them in the changing room it means so much."

And for the fans too, whose support is vital in the crucial weeks ahead.

Result: Kidderminster Harriers 1 Darlington 1.

* Starting on Friday David Hodgson writes exclusively for The Northern Echo.

Read more about the Quakers here.