Darlington defender Ryan Valentine admits Quakers have only themselves to blame for throwing away a great opportunity to reach the play-offs.

With less than ten minutes to play Darlington were joint seventh in the table and facing the prospect of a three-horse race, alongside Lincoln City and Peterborough United, over the final two games for the last remaining play-off spot.

By full-time, however, Quakers had slumped to tenth and are now no more than an outside bet for the end of season shake-up thanks to two late goals that handed struggling Bury a priceless three points than all but preserves their League Two status. The late double-blow also means Darlington are likely preserve their own League Two tenure, not that that was their intention.

Next season will make it 15 consecutive campaigns in the basement division which is the current second longest behind Rochdale who are in their 32nd year.

The poor form of teams around them coupled with Quakers' improved fortunes meant the prospect of bringing that run to an end had become a real possibility, especially when Darlington took a fortunate 1-0 lead on Saturday thanks to an hilarious own goal by Chris Brass.

Quakers had not started well but after eight minutes Brass, facing his own goal, managed to head past his own keeper after a botched overhead kick cannoned off his face and past a helpess Kasper Schmeichel.

Not long before Brass' belter, seventh-place rivals Lincoln had gone 1-0 down - even though they never got out of first gear, suddenly Quakers were in the box seat, especially so when Akpo Sodje made it 2-1 with ten minutes to play.

But in the closing stages all that had changed thanks to a Brian Barry-Murphy free-kick followed by a Matthew Tipton goal after a corner in the fifth minute of injury time, the second owing much to disastrous defending.

The goal stirred memories of Mansfield's last minute equaliser from a corner, also due to poor marking, which KO'd Quakers play-off hopes a year ago and Valentine admitted there was a sombre atmosphere in the dressing room after the match.

He said: "You play 46 games in a season and then one stupid little thing like that, switching off at a corner or not marking, can cost you a season.

"Not a lot was said in the dressing room, everyone was devastated after throwing it away.

"At 2-1 up with just a couple of games to go we would have been right back in there.

"Even if it had finished 2-2, especially with the way other results went, we would have been disappointed so that winning goal has knocked everyone.

"When you're 2-1 up at home against a side towards the bottom, who you know are going to fight and scrap for everything, you cannot really say Bury have won it, it is us that have thrown it away.

"Sam Russell reckons their player was all over him so he should have had a free-kick if that was the case, and Akpo Sodje says he heard a shout off Sam to leave the ball. Whether he has or not I do not know."

The own goal by Brass, player-manager at York City when they were relegated to the Conference in 2004, amused everyone but Valentine did not see the incident that will no doubt one day be on the What Happened Next? section of a Question of Sport.

So bizarre was the goal that when it was replayed on the big screen at Darlington's ground, instead of cheers from the crowd it was greeted with laughter and Valentine was one of those glued to the action replay.

Clark Keltie had swung a ball into the penalty area but with no Quakers player in the vicinity, right-back Valentine turned away and ended up missing the goal scored by the opposition's right-sided defender.

"I did not really see it properly," explained Valentine, who was making his 160th league appearance for Darlington.

"The ball was played into their box and I just thought it looked harmless, that a defender would clear it or he would let it bounce for their keeper to collect.

"So I turned away and then next thing I know, the crowd are cheering and we'd scored. I watched the replay on the big screen before we restarted and it was a bit of a howler I have to admit. I would not have been very happy if that was me.

"I did not know how results were going elsewhere but when things like that happen I started to think that this could be our season, especially with the way results have gone for ourselves and other teams around us in recent weeks."

Saturday's scoreline means Bury are now the most successful visiting side to the 96.6TFM Darlington Arena having won all three of their games at Quakers' relatively new home but, more importantly, it means Darlington are now relying on some remarkable results if they are to go one better than last season and finish seventh.

Valentine said: "I think all the lads know the play-offs are still possible and we shall keep going until the end. Other teams around us in the table might slip like they have done recently.

"But I also think the lads know deep down that it is a tall order and that are we are relying on other teams to slip up."

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