STEVE Watson was pleased to see his Darlington side extend their run of clean sheets to five matches but now wants more cutting edge in attack

Darlington have picked up nine points in their last five matches, but they could have had all three instead of one on Saturday if Hutchinson hadn’t pulled off four good saves in the game.

However, considering that the two teams have combined for just eight goals this season, perhaps a draw was inevitable.

Nevertheless, Steve Watson, the team’s manager, believed there was much room for improvement and that the performance was superior to that of the goalless draw with Alfreton on Tuesday night.

He declared, “It was another good clean sheet.” In comparison to Tuesday night, there was a modest improvement as we created four solid opportunities and forced the keeper to make a save. We now have to go above and beyond that.

We worked the keeper a lot more, and maybe we didn’t create as much as we would have liked. We hit the target with the chances we had, and the keeper pulled off some great saves.

“While we’re not where we want to be, it’s good to keep a clean sheet.”

 

The first half saw little to excite the 1832 crowd as both clubs found it difficult to adjust to a fast-paced 4G pitch.

The first minute saw Marine striker Owen Robinson head a corner wide; Quakers didn’t start to look strong until the half hour.

Six yards away, Andrew Nelson failed to quite capitalize on a 1-2; Jack Maskell then looped a header that Hutchinson touched over the bar, and Maskell headed over the post from the next Matty Cornish corner.

Just before halftime, Maskell managed to get past two opponents on a breakaway, but the goalkeeper stopped his attempt with his legs, leaving Maskell unhappy.

When Adam Thomas tapped in after a free kick was blocked into his path in the second half, Marine felt they had merely scored their fourth goal of the season; however, the assistant’s flag was raised for offside.

When Scott Barrow’s header forward was stopped, Jarrett Rivers took a low first-time effort that Hutchinson saved low to his left, earning the keeper’s second save of the game.

Cedric Main came on after injury and injected some life up front for the last half hour.

Quakers finished the stronger side. On 83 minutes Rivers found Kallum Griffiths on the left, and he played the ball back inside for Will Flint, who had another impressive game, to strike a low effort that again Hutchinson pushed around the post.

But right at the end, the goalie made the best save of the game. Levi Andoh, the right-back, entered the area from the right and returned the ball to Will Hatfield. Hatfield’s initial attempt was going into the roof of the net, but Hutchinson narrowly missed the crossbar with his fingertip.

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