A run
of three successive defeats in December has left the Quakers five points
adrift of the play off positions in eleventh position with thirty points
from twenty-two games.
Manager Dave Penney had been in contention for the manager of
the month award for November following five straight wins but he was pipped
to the award by Walsall's Richard Money. Penney had only joined the Quakers
as manager at the beginning of November and replaced Dave Hodgson who was
sacked for 'open speculation concerning another football club's contact with
him'!
Away from home this season, the Quakers have won three of
their eleven games at Accrington, Peterborough and more recently Lincoln. Of
the other eight games on their travels, five have ended in defeat with the
other three finishing as draws and this places the Quakers in twelfth
position in the away league table.
Rather surprisingly, only three of Darlington's eight league
wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the table and the Quakers
are yet to win a game after they concede the first goal.
Top goal scorer for Darlington is striker Martin Smith who
has scored eight goals so far this season with his last coming in the 5-2
defeat at Stockport two weeks a go. Martin Smith joined the Quakers in the
summer on a free transfer move from Northampton after playing over 100 games
for the Cobblers following his move from Huddersfield in 2003. |