Story by Kevin Luff - 31st March 2006

Quakers prepare for Lincoln City knowing that an appearance in the play-offs is still mathematically possible. The close nature of League two means that despite having only won one game in their last five attempts Quakers are only seven points behind the play-off spots with a game in hand. If Darlington are to make the play-offs this season they need to find some sort of form and to that they need goals. So far Darlington manager David Hodgson has not thrown in the towel on the season just yet.

"It's now down to the players and whether or not they are ready for the challenge," said Hodgson in the Northern Echo. "We still have a chance of making the play-offs and if we beat Lincoln we will be right back in contention. If they beat us then I think that would end any hopes we have. If we are going to make a go of it then we need to be beating sides up there like Lincoln. The players know what they're capable of and there isn't a better time for them to prove themselves."

Lincoln, who regularly make the play-offs, fell out of the top seven in midweek when they lost to Carlisle United by a single goal. The Imps put in a good performance and will offer a stern test for Darlington however they do face injury worries going into this game. Paul Mayo who looks set to miss out on the remainder of the League two season after part of his shoulder bone got chipped off in a recent game. Forward Simon Yeo will more than likely miss the game against Quakers and perhaps the rest of the season. Jeff Hughes has a calf strain that has lasted 3 weeks and McAuley (stomach) could also miss the end of the season through injury. Luke Foster could also be due to join this list as he went off with a back injury in the midweek defeat at Carlisle. Whilst Lincoln impressed Mark Proctor, Quakers' assistant manager, the Imps boss Gary Alexander admitted his disappointment at getting beaten by Carlisle United.

"We did okay but too many times this season we've conceded a sloppy goal," he said after the game in midweek. "I'm disappointed to lose because I felt we did alright but we had an extra touch when we shouldn't, lost it in a silly area and it was a long ball down the middle which we should have dealt with comfortably. That's why they're the leaders as they get one chance and score. We've hit the crossbar and dominated at times without really being at our best but you can still get a draw in these games. I'm not being critical of the players as they've all done okay. But okay isn't good enough."

Quakers will be missing their usual suspects due to long term injury (Carlos Logan, Brian Close and Joey Hutchinson) and will also be without the use of Adrian Webster after he suffered a reoccurrence of an old injury from a few seasons ago. This leaves Darlington likely to field a side similar to the one that got beat at Barnet last weekend. The match at the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena kicks off at 3pm. Post match comments to follow on Quakers World.

Previous ten meetings

Lincoln's last five games