A screamer from Pawel Abbott on his return to the side was enough to ensure Darlington secured yet another excellent league win and moved a step closer to the top of the table. But the game should have been decided long before Abbott's long range curler dipped beneath the cross bar with a host of missed chances failing to do justice to some mouth watering football from Darlington whose versatility was stretched to the limit but again came up trumps.
A first half stalemate was a fair reflection of the balance game however this merely disguises several good opportunities at both ends that failed to break the deadlock. A much changed Darlington side, featuring the returning Abbot, debutant Lee Ridley and home debutant Richie Foran in place of the excellent Tommy Wright and Greg Blundell, showed much promise from the kick off playing with a verve and tempo that looked to take the game to the division's perennial underachievers Wycombe.
After just two minutes Foran, reverting to his favoured forward role after starting out wide against Brentford, carved out an opening punting a cross in from an acute angle on the by-line to win a corner which he sprouted highest to nod firmly over the top from close range. This gave the host a noticeable early injection of belief and confidence following Tuesday's FA Cup defeat and Clark Keltie sharpened his boots after ten minutes to wallop a trademark long range strike wide of the target from 20 yards. But Wycombe regrouped and showed fantastic teamwork to drag themselves into the encounter. Playing with Scott McGleish as a lone striker there was much impetus on the midfield to plough forward and they did so to great effect with Matt Bloomfeild and Sergio Torres proving very capable exponents of playing the gap between Darlington's midfield and defence.
The visitors' patient build up play allowed them to drag more bodies into attack and just before the quarter-of-an-hour mark Torres received the ball on the far corner of the six yard box and hammered a low drive, via a deflection, against the post with David Stockdale well beaten. After such good early play it was a stern wake up call to the hosts who failed to revive the early domination courtesy of Wanderers' pressure play allowing little time on the ball for significant spells.
But Darlington had Abbott to call on today and his slight of touch as always was often defence splitting. In probably the best move of the first forty-five minutes, he majestically back heeled into Foran's path after a delightful one-two, started by a delicate flick on by Foran from Rob Purdie's probing ball down the right line, and Foran was upended just inside the box. After convincingly hammering home from the spot against Brentford Keltie was clearly miffed at being shunned from the penalty responsibilities today, Abbott instead placing his effort low to the eccentric Frank Fiedling's left post but the young stopper pounced to pull off a very good save.
It was a blow that took the sting out of Darlington's attacking play that was, for much of the remainder of the half, reduced to the inventive probes of the raw and exciting Joe Colbeck and just before the half time whistle, a crisp half volley from Steve Foster, who was earlier enraged after catching Torres' leading arm into his chest.
The interval seemed to revitalise Darlington's aspirations with the momentum re-ignited producing some lovely flowing football that kept Fiedling firmly on his toes. Michael Cummins forced the keeper into a stretching high save from a strong header and both Foran and Abbott has eyes for goal sending an effort a piece within range of the sticks.
Just after the hour Foran, now at left midfield to accommodate Wright's arrival from the bench, linked up excellently with Ridley to lay in Cummins but the back-in-favour midfielder turned down the chance to shoot and instead awkwardly laid in Keltie who was tackled.
A defence splitter by Keltie required heroics from Leon Johnson with fifteen minutes left on the clock, the big centre half threw himself at Foran's cross from keltie's ball to beat Wright and preventing an almost certain goal. But Darlington were good enough now for a goal and as Peter Grant, the club's announcer, rightly announced 'at last' the deadlock was broken in the most emphatic of fashions. Abbott has been plagued by injury of late but he took the game by the horns and curled in twenty-five yard screamer into the top corner. That's what your big players do, they step up when you need something special because for all their endeavours it appeared it might not happen for Quakers in the final third. They were carving out good positions with gorgeous football but visions of a goal still seemed some way off. Abbott's effort changed that.
The striker was swiftly replaced by Blundell as he continues his rehabilitation from a lengthy lay off and adversely the tide was almost turned with equal awe to which the lead was taken, Darlington again somewhat sloppy at the back allowing Gary Holt to smash against the post from just outside the eighteen yard box. Disaster almost struck in the dying seconds. After playing out time with unblemished professionalism, assisted by a delay after Johnson crunched Ricky Ravenhill, Blundell's ill-timed decision to cross instead of hold out on the line allowed Wycombe one last throw of the dice, and one they came agonisingly close to taking.
Stretched at the back sub John Sutton unbelievably fluffed from close range forcing Stockdale into a reaction save, Alan White heroically flung himself at the rebound to block and Ridley finally managed to get a big kick to avert danger and seal the points. There were some very good performances today. Colbeck got man-of-the-match but Foran was exemplary in the second half at the hub of much of Darlington's good attacking moves but notably was key squeezing out the game during injury time showing the value of upper league experience. At times Darlington were stretched and were a little clumsy at the back, the post twice saving them from conceding. Sceptics will point out the lack of clinical finishing in a game that should have been sewed up long before Abbott's stupendous strike but this was another three points and another exemplification of this side's promotion credentials.
Darlington: Stockdale, Cummins (Ravenhill 85), White, Foster, Ridley, Joachim (Wright 58), Purdie, Keltie, Colbeck, Foran, Abbott (Blundell 78). Subs: Oakes, Miller, Wright, Blundell, Ravenhill.
Wycombe: Fielding, Martin, Antwi, Johnson, Stockley (Sutton 83), Bullock (Reid 66), Bloomfield, Holt, Oakes (Woodman 84), Torres, McGleish. Subs: Douglas, Boucaud, Reid, Woodman, Sutton.
Darlington bookings: Keltie.
Wycombe bookings: Torres.
Goals: Abbott 77th min (1-0).
Report by Garry Mann
