LONDON CALLING was the choice of song as Darlington left the pitch on Saturday evening after easing into the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy with arguably their best performance of the season.

It’s realistic to wonder if Quakers can mark the ten-year anniversary of their 2011 triumph with a Wembley return having outclassed Wealdstone, leaving Darlington two games from a potential final.

The quarter-final draw takes place tomorrow, with the last-eight ties to be played on February 27 - if at all.

Uncertainty and confusion abound over what will happen, with Darlington among those to have voted for the National League North campaign to be declared null and void.

But what of the Trophy? The National League appears more likely to be played to a conclusion; should that transpire surely the knockout competition will continue too?

Crucially, there is prize money in each round of the Trophy for winners and losers, income to help running costs in the absence of grants.

Quakers netted £6,000 for Saturday’s 4-1 win, Wealdstone taking £1,750, which is about £1,750 more than the Harrow club deserved having been a very much second best at Blackwell.

“Anything can happen in these cup runs,” said Alun Armstrong, after overseeing victory in the fifth round - Quakers’ eighth cup tie win this season including the FA Cup.

“I’ve probably prioritised them too much, but this is where the money is and we need it at this minute in time.

“What a day it would be if we could manage to get to Wembley, to finish this stupid season off with 10,000 of our fans there, maybe more, that would be unbelievable.

“I’ve looked at the teams that are left. The closest will be Notts County or Chesterfield if they get through, the rest are all down south so it’s fingers crossed for a home draw - as long as the competition is still running, of course.”

For the most part Quakers were in control, 2-0 up from an early stage, in what was their first game for three weeks, picking up from where they left off at Weymouth.

That was an impressive 1-0 win in the fourth round, and Saturday’s was even better.

“It was a fantastic performance, one of the best of the season,” admitted Armstrong. “We did the ugly stuff with the high press, we were dominant throughout. Some of the play was fantastic.

“I’m delighted with the lads. After being off for weeks and the uncertainty around, to put a performance in like that you’ve got to give them massive credit.

“It could have been five or six quite easily, and Wealdstone are from the league above so we have shown what we’re capable of.”

It was 1-0 after three minutes. Luke Charman sent Will Hatfield to the byline, his cross turned home at close-range for an own goal by Michee Efete.

Wealdstone endured a turbulent week in which Dean Brennan departed as manager and was then critical of former assistant Stuart Maynard, who was in charge at Blackwell, and the situation got worse for the National League strugglers.

It was 2-0 after 13 minutes when goalkeeper Harvey Isted was beaten after rampant Darlington attacked down the left through Erico Sousa, Charman casually flicking the ball into Rivers to fire high into the net.

Suddenly Wealdstone had hope and referee Andrew Kitchen to thank after he imagined Nicky Hunt had handled inside the penalty area, Moses Emmanuel scoring from the spot before half-time.

This occurred moments after Kitchen cautioned Joe Wheatley for a superbly-timed tackle, leaving Armstrong to conclude: “The referee lost it for ten minutes. That tackle by Joe was a fantastic tackle. If they’re going to take them out of the game then we might as well not play anymore.

“They got a penalty which has never been a penalty in a million years. How he can give it when it has hit someone on the shoulder; their player said it hit him!

“It turned the game into a contest for 15 minutes, but I lost count of how many shots we had.”

Quakers carved open Wealdstone on numerous occasions after the break, finally adding a deserved third goal just after the hour mark with a long-range Charman strike, though it was poor goalkeeping because Isted dived over the ball.

There were worrying scenes after Charman collided with Efete, both players having to be substituted with the Darlington striker howling in pain and stretchered off after a lengthy delay.

He was taken by ambulance to Darlington Memorial, the outcome being an absence from action for several weeks with medial ligament damage.

The stoppage led to 15 minutes of injury time, during which Sousa caped off the win with a super strike.

He charged down the left, rounding Michael Phillips and ignoring better-positioned team-mates to blast into the net from a tight angle and send Quakers into the quarter-finals with a flourish.