Darlington 0 York City 2
Nov 29 2010 The Journal
IT’S back to the drawing board for Darlington manager Mark Cooper – and he can’t wait for the January transfer window to come around.
His main target is a striker who can hold the ball up, and terrify opponents. York have one in Michael Rankine and Cooper admitted: “He was the difference. He’s not the best player in the world, but he is a handful. We didn’t have any punch up front.”
That makes it pretty clear what his priority is when the transfer window opens in just over a month’s time, and had it been his side and not York in the third round of the FA Cup, then he would have had more spending power.
“This was a great opportunity for us, at home to a side in our division, and we couldn’t take it. It’s bitterly disappointing. But we have to pick ourselves up and go again,” said Cooper, whose side entertain Histon – weather permitting – in Blue Square Premier League tomorrow.
“We started brightly, and had plenty of possession, but we didn’t do enough with it.
“The first goal was a bad one to concede. They went straight through the middle of us. You wouldn’t believe how hard we work in training, and yet we concede a goal like that.”
Djoumin Sangare was allowed space to break into the penalty area from Rankine’s flick, and fire his first goal for the club past Sam Russell.
With Tommy Wright out of sorts Quakers lacked a cutting edge, and for all their second-half possessions, they rarely threatened to equalise, and Ashley Chambers sealed it with a goal on the break in stoppage time to delight the travelling fans.
The closest Quakers had come was three minutes earlier when midfielder Michael Brough lifted the ball over ex-Sunderland keeper Michael Ingham, only for defender James Meredith to clear.
Liam Hatch made a difference when he moved into attack, but Cooper ideally wants him at the back in a defence that has generally been mean this season.
The defeat was tough on defender Aaron Brown, while Aman Verma and Chris Senior were full of industry. But with ex-Newcastle midfielder Keith Gillespie yet to find his feet in non-league football, Quakers were not as fluent.
They have to get their touch back quickly, and sign new blood as soon as possible, if they are to push for promotion and salvage their season.
DARLINGTON: Russell, Miller, Hatch, Hone, Brown, Verma, Brough, Bridge-Wilkinson, Gillespie (Moore 72), Senior, Wright (Arnison 55). Subs (not used): Bertram, Main, Josh Gray, Gary Smith, Phil Gray.
Booked: Brough, Arnison, Brown.
YORK: Ingham, Meredith, McGurk, Chris Smith, Jonathan Smith (Barrett 19), Till (Fyfield 71), Sangare, Chambers, Weir, Racchi, Rankine (Constantine 90). Subs (not used): Knight, Carruthers, Young, McDermott.
Booked: Sangare, Chambers.
Goals: Sangare 44, Chambers 90.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Attendance: 2,500
