Darlington won their sixth successive game to stay three points behind leaders Salford with a game in hand.

Quakers made the most of the wind advantage and took the lead after just four minutes, when Gary Brown put the ball into the box from the right, and in the scramble that followed, Adam Mitchell drove the ball through a crowd of players into the net.

With the wind at their backs, Quakers scored a second after 13 minutes. Mitchell intercepted the ball in midfield and found Tom Portas down the right. Mitchell raced into the box and timed his run perfectly to sweep Portas’ return pass into the bottom corner.

[caption id="attachment_11498" align="alignnone" width="300"] Adam Mitchell[/caption]

It was nearly 3-0 when Terry Galbraith’s corner sailed over everyone, and Nathan Cartman sidefooted wide from a couple of yards out.

Mossley had a penalty appeal turned down when Sam Robinson went down under a challenge by Alan White, but the ref waved play on.

Cartman had a more difficult chance when a Leon Scott header sent him running clear, and with his back almost to goal, he tried to flick the ball over the keeper, but the ball went over the bar.

Quakers’ main weapon was the wind-assisted long throw, and on several occasions Mossley managed to frantically scramble the ball away.

Quakers scored another on 33 minutes when Graeme Armstrong unleashed a terrific shot towards goal from the edge of the box that Mossley keeper Liam Flynn parried, but Armstrong was quick to seize on the rebound and fire past the keeper, while the Mossley defence appealed for handball.

It was almost 4-0 when Portas found Armstrong with a square pass, and the striker hit the ball in his stride and produced a fingertip save out of Flynn.

Despite playing against the wind, Quakers nearly scored in the 48^th minute when Alan White touched Galbraith’s inswinging free kick just wide.

Mossley pulled a goal back on 58 minutes when Thompson caught a Mossley attacker as he cleared the ball, but the ref awarded a penalty for a foul instead, and Mike Fish sent Jameson the wrong way from the spot.

Quakers responded at the other end when Cartman neatly laid the ball of for Galbraith to cross into the middle, and Cartman’s header was touched over by the keeper.

Jameson pulled off a good save when a corner was cleared as far as Andy Keogh, who hit the ball into the ground and Jameson flew to his right and held on.

Jameson made another save, this time at point blank range, from Rio Ahmadi’s header, but that was his last busy moment as Quakers ran down the club for three points to keep the pressure on Salford, who won 2-1 at Clitheroe.

Darlington: Jameson, Brown, Galbraith, White, Hunter, Portas (sub Watson 87), Thompson (sub Hatch 75), Scott, Armstrong, Cartman (sub Dowson 65), Mitchell

Attendance 1233

Subs not used:

Bell, Mota

Bookings: Brown, Hatch