A goal in both halves for Morecambe helped them to a first win in three games. Phil Jevons and Paul Mullin found the net for the Christie Park based club. Darlington though had chances to make their mark on the scoreline however, particularly during an entertaining first half in which there were chances at either end of the pitch. Quakers boss Steve Staunton made one change from the side which drew 1-1 with Lincoln City. Mor Diop moved to the bench in favour of Nathan Mulligan.
The game started in entertaining fashion with both teams seeing chances come and go at both ends of the pitch. Quakers carved out two good opportunities for themselves inside the opening ten minutes. Mulligan saw a stinging shot saved by Barry Roche after four minutes. A free-kick into the edge of the area found Tadhg Purcell but the ball broke out to Mulligan who saw a decent effort kept out by Roche.
A few minutes later and Roche was called to make another smart save from a Purcell shot. Despite having their share of the chances it was the home side that took the lead. Morecambe broke down field and Laurance Wilson fed Jevons. The former Yeovil Town and Bristol City forward has been in excellent form this season scoring fourteen times. Despite this the thirty-year old had not scored in his last six appearances but made no mistake with a neat finish on nine minutes.
Morecambe started to enjoy the majority of possession after the goal but chances kept coming for the visitors. On twenty-one minutes the ball sat up nicely for Dempsey but he somehow managed to scoop his effort wide of the mark. Morecambe though were also having chances themselves finding joy down the flanks. A few minutes after Dempsey pulled his shot wide Stewart Drummond raced into the box to try and meet a Mark Duffy cross. However the ball went out to the opposite wing and was sent back into the box by Neil Wainwright for Jevons to see a header saved by Shane Redmond.
Quakers introduced Patrick Deane in place of Main close to the half hour mark. Purcell continued to pose questions for the home side with his willingness to take people on and shoot. That was exactly what he did on thirty-five minutes as again Roche was called into action. He got down well to gather the Irishman's shot from outside the area after he found some space. Jevons had two excellent chances to double his personal tally for the day and Morecambe's score before the break.
First he saw a free-kick fly narrowly over the bar and right before the break he managed to get one-on-one with Redmond. You would have bet your mortgage on the experienced forward to score but Darlington's on-loan keeper stood tall and denied him. Sandwiched between these two chances Quakers missed a superb opening to level the scores. A Jeff Smith cross found defender Alan White but his header was met by another good save by Roche.
Jevons came close again at the beginning of the second half. He twisted into space and headed for the box but his shot was deflected behind by Stuart Giddings. Darlington had shown enough during the first forty-five minutes to suggest they could find a way back into this game. However the home side started brightly after the interval and they doubled the advantage three minutes before the hour mark. Mullin, restored to the Morecambe side after missing their 3-2 defeat at Accrington, repaid the faith shown in him by Sammy McIlroy as he lashed into the net from close range.
Purcell continued to try and shoot whenever the opportunity presented itself and with twenty-minutes left he fired over the bar. However the chances for Darlington were far less numerous than before the break. On seventy-eight minutes a long kick upfield by Redmond allowed Purcell to go shoulder to shoulder with Morecambe skipper David Artell. He managed to keep him at bay but the forward's far post shot wide of the mark.
The home side saw a few more chances come their way but late in the game the final score was all but sealed. Purcell managed to break the offside trap but Roche again denied him as Quakers were unable to take their chances.
