Blundell Park has been a happy hunting ground for Quakers in recent years. Two visits in the last two seasons have both finished in Darlington's favour and Tim Ryan's free kick eight minutes from time made it a hat-trick of results in front of the Mariners faithful. Until that moment the game looked destined to finish goalless with shot shy Grimsby appearing to lack the cutting edge to break a bleak sequence of five straight defeats without a goal being registered.

The home side had their chance to finally put their names on the scoresheet for the first time since the middle of December when Darlington defender Dave Wheater upended Martin Paterson, the best player on the pitch, in the box moments before half time. Penalties have played significant parts in previous meetings between the two sides with Quakers needing two last season to record victory over the Mariners and needing one kept out during the 2004/05 campaign to record the first of a winning run of fixtures at Blundell Park which now stretches back to three years. On that day Martin Gritton scored but was ordered to retake where Sam Russell kept his second effort out.

At the same end of the ground Lee Jones produced the same result as Russell did back in March 2005. The penalty save only served to underline just how poor Grimsby were in front of goal. There was actually very little between the two teams on a blustery day but whilst the home side had plenty of possession they displayed an unwillingness to shoot and with it they were always going to struggle for goals. Neither keeper had a large amount to do during the game and whilst Darlington's efforts, particularly in the first half, were routine stuff for Phil Barnes in the Mariners goal they showed the difference between the sides - Quakers were willing to have a shot, albeit on a handful of occasions, where the visitors lacked the confidence to do so which only further exacerbates their goalless run.

This was nicely summed up minutes into the game when a Brian Close mistake allowed Patterson the ball and a run for goal but with absolutely no support coming to the aid of the Grimsby man Jones in the Darlington goal had very little in trouble claiming possession. Nine minutes later and Patterson again found himself in the box but a superb challenge by Wheater halted his run. A few minutes later a returning Martin Smith, one of two changes for Darlington, sent a well hit half volley straight at the keeper from twenty-yards out before winger Neil Wainwright drilled a powerful shot over the bar.

The game remained a largely scrappy affair which was not helped by an uneven pitch but on twenty-six minutes Quakers put together their best move of the half which saw Julian Joachim hit the side netting. Just after the half hour mark Wheater was again called on to make a good challenge as the hosts started to get on top and minutes before the break the home side's pressure paid off as they won their penalty kick. Ciaran Toner stepped up and whilst his spot kick was well hit it was a comfortable height for Jones in the Darlington goal.

The second half followed largely the same pattern but the final twenty minutes saw Quakers force their hosts on the back foot and chances started to open up with a nervous, desperate Blundell Park crowd quickly on their team's back. On seventy-minutes Joachim found space as Tommy Wright cleverly draw the attention of the Grimsby back line but the shot from the edge of the box by the small forward was blocked. The pair linked up again six minutes later as Joachim played a good ball in from the left channel for the advancing Wright to run onto but he was closed out by the Mariners defence. Two minutes afterwards and the visitors appeared to spurn what could have been their best chance. A Wainwright flag kick was acrobatically hit by Wright in the box but the ball broke to Darren Holloway whose shot went over the bar from close range.

With eight minutes left Gary Harkins was adjudged to have fouled Joachim twenty-five-yards from goal. The free kick appeared somewhat dubious but Darlington took their advantage. Skipper Clark Keltie touched the ball off to Ryan whose low shot somehow slipped through the fingers of Barnes in the Grimsby goal and wormed its way over the line much to the delight of the former Boston man who celebrated his first goal since moving to the club.

The goal appeared to give Grimsby one final spark and they could well have had a point in the dying minutes of the game when ex-Darlington fullback Tom Newey saw a wicked inswinging free kick cleared off the line by Close. The ball broke to Paul Bolland but he could only blaze the ball well off target for the final chance of a game which wasn't for the football purest by any stretch of the imagination. The result however moves Quakers a comfortable nine points clear of the division's stragglers and four off the play-offs. Whilst there is still much work to be done seven points from a possible nine have gone a long way to stabilise things. For Grimsby, who face fellow strugglers Torquay and Boston in upcoming fixtures, the alarm bells are now ringing.

Grimsby: Barnes, Croft, Whittle (Harkins 30), Grand, Newey, Till (Rankin 86), Bolland, Hunt, Toner, Jones, Paterson. Subs: McDermott, Murray, Boshell, Rankin, Harkins.

Darlington: Jones, Close, Ryan, Wheater, Holloway, Wainwright, Keltie, Rowson (Cummins 67), Smith (Johnson 79), Tommy Wright (Collins 90), Joachim. Subs: Stockdale, Armstrong, Johnson, Collins, Cummins.

Grimsby bookings: Harkins, Bolland.

Darlington bookings: Johnson.

Goals: Ryan 83rd min (1-0).

Repot by Kevin Luff.