Darlington started the game well enough and had more of the ball than Blyth, and they nearly got a gift goal on 7 minutes when Nathan Cartman put Ryan Hutchinson under pressure, and the defender hit a back pass that keeper Adam McHugh faield to control, and the ball hit the side netting.

From Terry Galbraith’s corner that followed, Gary Brown had a header cleared off the line, and from the next corner, so did Lee Gaskell.

And from a third corner, McHugh pulled off a flying save from another header by former Blyth player Brown.

Blyth had their first real chance on 15 minutes when Arran Wearmouth played the ball through for Michael Richardson to chip over the bar.

Quakers had another chance on 25 minutes when Adam Mitchell put Hutchinson under pressure inside his own area, and Hutchinson’s clearance went to Stephen Thompson 25 yards out, and after taking a touch, Thompson fired just over the top.

But Blyth had an equally good chance at the other end when Richardson avoided Brown’s challenge just outside the box, and hit a low shot that Peter Jameson saved.

Quakers took the lead on 33 minutes. Lee Gaskell chased a long ball down the left, kept it in, sidestepped a defender and hit a terrific right foot shot across McHugh into the top corner of the net.

It was nearly 2-0 when Gaskell came short for Galbraith’s corner, and forced McHugh into a save low down, then in Quakers next attack McHugh went low down to his right to hold a stinging shot from Thompson.

But Blyth nearly levelled just on half time when Richardson again found a touch of space wit ha left foot shot that Jameson saved.

Blyth: McHugh, Nicholson, Watson, Parker, Hutchinson, S Turnbull, Wearmouth, Richardson, Reid, Wade, Dale

Subs:

Hooks, Morse, Robinson, Cartwright, Davis

Darlington:

Jameson, Hunter, Galbraith, P Turnbull, Burgess, Brown, Mitchell, Scott, Gaskell, Cartman, Thompson

Subs: Dowson, Portas, Armstrong, Nowakowski, Provett

Referee: M Dicicco

Bookings: Thompson (foul) S Turnbull (foul)