Life without Luke Charman will provide a challenge for Darlington, and over the past week we have seen two extreme examples of how they could fare once their leading scorer is sold.

Eight days ago, the first fixture of Charman's four-game ban, Jack Lambert scored a first-half hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition of Farsley Celtic.

On Saturday against a strong Kidderminster Harriers side, however, with Lambert unable to have a major impact in the opposition half, Quakers lacked a goal threat and lost 1-0.

Kidderminster goalkeeper Luke Simpson did not have a save to make.

“It looked like we were relying on Jack to do everything,” admitted manager Alun Armstrong. “It was a case of give Jack the ball and let him go and do stuff.

“We weren’t making enough runs in behind, everything was in front [of Kidderminster]. Yes, they’re a well-organised side and they’re full-time, but we could’ve been better with the ball.

“It was so frustrating and that typifies us because one minute we’re up there, the next minute we’re back down. But it wasn’t a bad performance, it had 0-0 written all over it.”

It did, because while they were blunt in the opposition half Darlington at least defended well for the most part, restricting Kidderminster’s chances until a familiar foe in Marcus Dinanga entered the fray in agonising added time.

While there was little between the teams, fifth-top Kidderminster edged it and though not under huge pressure Tommy Taylor was the busier goalkeeper.

He stopped shots from Sam Austin and Ashley Hemmings in the first half, while only Hemmings knows how he missed an open goal just before the break.

Similarly, only referee Richard Aspinall can explain why he ruled out a legitimate Kidderminster goal seconds after the restart.

Austin shrugged off a challenge by the recalled Alex Storey, and Harriers’ captain then shot past Taylor to seemingly open the scoring, but bafflingly Aspinall instead awarded a free-kick against the relieved Darlington defender.

“It was a strange one to say the least. We’ve won so we can smile about it, but at the time were fuming. I don’t understand the decision at all,” said Kidderminster assistant manager Jimmy O’Connor.

It made a pleasant change for Darlington to benefit from a questionable decision given some of the errors referees have made this season.

With Jake Lawlor back at Hartlepool United, Storey was given a chance, and while he was generously given the man of the match award from the sponsors – despite Danny Rose and Danny Ellis being Darlington’s standout performers – he is no closer to being in Armstrong's favoured first-choice XI.

He has not yet given up on Lawlor, while David Wheater is training with Quakers and attempting to regain full fitness.

Darlington faded and playmaker Lambert’s influence waned, though he should have done better with the team’s only shot of the day, blasting wide after a Jake Cassidy flick-on.

Fresh legs were introduced but Quakers’ substitutions made no impact whereas Harriers’ changes won them the points.

The goal came after Storey gave away possession with an easily-defended lofted pass down the centre of the pitch, setting up a Kidderminster counter.

Subs Ethan Freemantle and Jaiden White combined to set up Austin, and his cross teed up Dinanga to head home just three minutes after coming off the bench.

Don’t look back Dinanga, it might be said, as the striker also scored a hat-trick for Telford at Blackwell in 2019, his winner back then also coming in added time.

“Marcus always seems to score against me,” said Armstrong.

“He did it when I was Blyth manager and he did it here two years ago with Telford.

“I’ve tried to sign him in the past, it was after he was at Hartlepool, but he’s from down south.

“When I saw him coming on I thought ‘oh no’. Sometimes you can sense it. But I wasn’t too concerned because we had defended really well.

“It’s so frustrating because we deserved something out of the game.”

Kidderminster are now unbeaten in ten league games whereas Quakers’ longest unbeaten run is four matches and they remain moored in midtable.