It was inevitable. There must be an unwritten chapter in the FA rulebook which states players making their debuts must score the winning goal, especially when they have been signed the day before the game.

Ex-Torquay and Spennymoor schemer Brian Healy stuck to the script when he came off the Darlington bench, although he added his own twist to the story.

"I've had a cruciate knee injury so I have only played twice in 18 months," admitted Healy, not including a reserve run-out for Hartlepool last month.

"I've got a point to prove to myself. I need to know I can get back to how I was," he said.

"I decided to leave Torquay three weeks ago. I went to see the chairman and told him I wanted to go home. He told me he didn't want me to go so he wanted money for me. So I just said I'd retire because we wanted to move home so much.

"I was training with Hartlepool a month ago and for some reason that move fell through. There was some interest from a couple of other clubs but Darlington's on my doorstep and I wanted to play here anyway.

"I don't know some of the players' names. I haven't trained with them, met them or anything. Tommy just said 'try and get me a goal', and I did! I thought I'd missed, it took a while to go in."

Somewhat unfairly overshadowed by Healy's show-stealing appearance, Adam Reed saw his first action of the season on Saturday, and didn't let anyone down as helped to secure Darlington a rare clean sheet.

Quakers had conceded seven goals in the previous three matches, so Alex Jeannin gave way in the back four.

Reed certainly gave a whole-hearted performance, emerging from the dressing room covered in bruises and with blood seeping from various cuts.

"I like to think that's the way I always play and I'll have to play like that if I'm going to stay in the team," he said. "There's no alternative really, you either have that sort of attitude or you're out."

Reed's last game was the April defeat at Halifax, so facing veteran Paul Moody, £1m rated Jamie Brooks and the pacy Manny Omoyinmi in a three-pronged attack was certainly a tough first test of the season, but alongside David Brightwell, he was up to the task.

"On overall chances I think it was a fair result, even though Andy kept us in it with a couple of brilliant saves," said Reed

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