BORO & DARLO TUSSLE ON AND OFF THE PITCH:
Scarborough Athletic jointboss Bryan Hughes was a proud man after the tight 2-1 defeat against Darlington on Easter Monday.
A Boro record home gate of 1,118 turned up for the encounter and Hughes feels that none of them will have gone home disappointed.
He said: “I’m very proud, in fact I’m gutted for them.
“We were the better team against a good Darlington team. They’ve nicked it.
“There was a lot of pride in the dressing room after the draw at Prescot.
“We knew there would be a big crowd and we wanted to show what this game meant to the players. I think they did that.”
Hughes also felt that the hefty crowd produced a marked improvement in his side.
He added: “It just shows what a big crowd can do for the players. The lads gave their all.
“I’m happy that the lads put that performance in, not just for themselves, but for the fans as well.
“We are trying to get back into the community and we need the fans behind us 100 per cent of the way.
“I’m sure our fans will go home and say that we were the better team. I hope they enjoyed it and I hope they comeback.”
Boro matched their titlechasing opponents throughout an encapsulating 90 minutes of football, with both teams playing their part in a tough-tackling cracker.
Many fans will have left a packed Queensgate thinking about another performance though, the one of the match officials, who grabbed centre stage with some questionable decisions.
There are positives aplenty for Boro though, who bounced back from one of their worst performances of the season at Prescot, with one of their best.
Bosses Hughes and Paul Foot moved quickly to plug the leaky defence of Saturday, by throwing Danny Wilkinson back in at centre-half.
And buoyed by Gary Bradshaw’s return to the attack, Boro looked a completely different animal.
They started in positive mood, with Bradshaw’s strikepartner Blott going close with a low drive.
Darlington were always going to be a threat, boasting the strike-force of Nathan Cartman and Graeme Armstrong, who between them have bagged nigh on 60 goals this season.
Minutes after Blott’s chance, Cartman wriggled free of Dean Lisles’ attentions, but Cracknell pounced at his feet.
Boro were the whippets out of the trap though, and they were unlucky once again when Danny Clayton’s freekick from the right sailed across a crowded area only to be touched away by the outstretched palms of Peter Jameson.
The hosts possibly should have taken control of the scoring as well as the game after 25 minutes, when Darlington’s Alan White lost his feet.
Blott and Bradshaw glided away from the visiting defence, but the former dallied just a second too long and the ball was cleared away.
Frontman Blott was given another great opportunity seconds later when he was picked out by a Clayton centre, but he misjudged his swing and Darlington hacked the ball away.
Alex Metcalfe saw a low drive saved, before Boro were hit by the first controversial decision of the afternoon.
The ball was swung in from a corner on the right and Matty Plummer showed his predatory instincts on the far post to stab home and start the celebrations among the home fans and players.
Meanwhile, referee Neil Guest noticed the flag of his linesman, and after a swift consultation, he ruled out the goal for a foul, despite the fact that the whistle wielder was just yards away from the action.
Stunned by this blow, Boro almost surrendered their lead just seconds before their halftime cup of tea, when Armstrong’s neat header struck the post. Fortunately Lisles was there to clear the danger from under his bar.
Boro re-discovered their edge when the second period began, with clever work from Bradshaw, Blott and Clayton almost picking out a high-flying Metcalfe in the centre.
Darlington went for the kill after this, bringing on David Dowson and the hugely experienced Liam Hatch in attack, a move that reaped immediate rewards.
Former Grimsby and Barnet man Hatch took advantage of Lisles’ slip-up and finished superbly into the bottom corner of the net.
Eyes soon switched to the centre circle where Pete Davidson lay prone after a clash in the build-up, but after more dialogue with his linesman, the ref turned his back.
Boro gritted their teeth and dug in, resulting in a swift restoring of parity.
Clayton’s whipped ball into the box was dropped by keeper Jameson and Blott nodded cleverly into the back of the net.
Darlington soon switched play to the other end and Boro looked to have had a lucky escape when Hatch smashed the ball into the side-netting fron a tight angle.
Bafflingly, Mr Guest handed Darlington a corner, a decision that would cost Boro.
The delivery into the box broke kindly to Cartman, who smashed the ball through the legs of Cracknell to restore Darlington’s lead.
There was still time for Boro after this, but it was always going to be a task to score another past Darlington’s miserly defence that had conceded less than one a game throughout the current campaign.
Attacks were launched, but Darlington clung on to leave Queensgate with the win.
Boro can still hold their heads high though, knowing that they sparred manfully with one of this level’s superpowers.