Little change for the better since August at Darlington

Hopes were high, new signings had bolstered the squad and Clyde Wijnhard had just given Darlington the lead at Rushden and Diamonds with a second half penalty.

Quakers went on to draw 1-1 and on Saturday, almost four months later, Darlington again finished 1-1 with lowly Rushden thanks to a second half penalty.

But they are the only similarities remaining from August 6.

Much has since changed for Quakers, but unfortunately for Hodgson the expectation levels have not which is why boos greeted the final whistle on Saturday.

Wijnhard has gone and if results do not rapidly improve then Darlington's promotion chances will head the same way. As joyously celebrated as Guylain-Ndumbu-Nsungu's penalty in the third minute of injury time was, it should not be allowed to paper over the cracks - and that is not the ones visible in the new Darlo Uncovered calendar which fans were 'treated' to on the big screen.

David Bell's ninth minute goal had given the visitors the lead after which Quakers made all the running, delivering countless crosses in to penalty area, but they were unable to convert possession into goals until injury time. Despite salvaging a point, many remain dissatisfied.

Saturday was a vast improvement on the previous defeat to Macclesfield but frustrations are understandable, because, in the summer, Darlington were expected to match the great strides off the pitch.

However, their recent record indicates relegation and not promotion - after last season's eighth-place finish this was not meant to happen.

Inevitably the flak is flying and the man bearing the brunt of it is Hodgson who on Saturday was again the subject of 'Hodgson what's the score?' chants while boos rang out at the final whistle.

Although those who made their voices heard are seemingly only a minority, that there are enough of them to launch such chants is noteworthy in itself because in years gone by the manager was untouchable.

For some he still is, but his stock has fallen due mainly to a season and a half of mediocre performances that have lacked entertainment.

But it's the relatively poor results, certainly of late, that cause most concern and understandably so after winning only three of the last 15 league games.

Before Saturday, Hodgson's record in the previous 14 games was worse than his three predecessors' final 14 matches before they got the sack.

Gary Bennett, Tommy Taylor and Mick Tait got the chop yet Hodgson has survived and there is no doubt he has to some extent been living on his former glories which stand him in good stead.

Chairman Stewart Davies publicly backed Hodgson at a recent fans forum and the man himself insists he is going nowhere.

A bright spot for the boss was the performance of Bert Bossu, in for Sam Russell who injured a thigh in training on Friday. Aside from a couple of late shaky moments he was reliable and did a sound job and given his blunder-full displays earlier in the season that was a pleasant surprise.

But he could not have been expected to stop Bell's opener, a strike that came out of the blue. Each side were still finding their feet when former Quaker Alun Armstrong beat the offside trap before passing to Bell inside the six yard box to tap home.

An equaliser looked likely just two minutes later but Barnard Castle-born defender Phil Gulliver travelled back quickly enough to clear off the line after Ndumbu-Nsungu rounded the keeper.

Having switched to a 4-4-2 Darlington succeeded in firing in far more crosses than usual and by the 20th minute they had their fourth shot on target but Carlos Logan should have added to that tally with a goal but he scuffed wide with his weaker foot after a great delivery from Johnson.

With the visitors as poor as their position in League Two suggests, and with injured Armstrong replaced in the first period, Darlington spent most of the second half in the visitors' half. Their nemesis was keeper John Ruddy who showed a safe pair of hands in clinging on to everything thrown at him.

He did drop a Johnson corner but, typically, there were bodies around to block the scramble. Ndumbu-Nsungu then demonstrated a lack of composure when he dallied and allowed Ruddy to collect following an excellent cross from Logan.

As Darlington dominated the closing stages Rushden retreated to protect their lead, until Peter Hawkins was adjudged to have pulled Akpo Sodje's shirt in the penalty area and Ndumbu-Nsungu converted Quakers' sixth penalty of the season.

"After all our efforts, all those crosses and opportunities we deserved a goal," said Hodgson who was disappointed with the abuse he received during the game.

"It was a disappointment to be one down at half time but that was the only shot they had had.

"So at half-time we had to keep the lads positive to make sure they kept creating chances and in the second half it was almost one-way traffic.

"At one point I thought we were not going to get anything out of the game. I am extremely pleased we gave our strikers chances as opposed to last week when they had very little.

"I hope this will be a turning point."

That Darlington were the better team somewhat undermined the booing.

Nobody is suggesting the season is back on track - drawing 1-1 at home to Rushden is nothing to brag about - but Quakers created enough chances to win each of the 12 games in the last 14 that Darlington have not won.

Result: Darlington 1, Rushden and Diamonds 1.

Read more about the Quakers here.