Darlington 1 Oxford City 1: Quakers draw despite scoring inside the first 60 seconds

Darlington took less than a minute to score, but were held at home by Oxford City.

Looking to build on the midweek home win against Hereford, mid-table Quakers made the perfect start by scoring after 46 seconds.

After Jack Lambert ran with the ball through midfield, he released Caden Kelly on the left and the winger’s low shot was parried by Kai McKenzie-Lyle, but striker Jack Maskell was on hand to tap home.

But Darlington were unable to maintain the momentum generated by the early goal, losing possession too easily as Oxford played their way back into the contest.

Burly forwards Josh Parker and Corie Andrews and were a handful with their strength, bringing team-mates into play.

After an Oxford corner was not sufficiently cleared, Lewis Coyle curled a cross towards the far post which evaded everyone and bounced out of play.

After Lambert had a goal ruled out for offside, Oxford’s Tom Scott lifted the ball high over the bar from inside the penalty area, but before the break the visitors got the goal they deserved.

Andrews firmly headed home after meeting Scott’s cross from the right at the end of a counter-attack.

Quakers’ Cedric Main endured an unusually poor afternoon, and in the second half he saw a mistimed header bounce wide after a Lambert cross.

Substitutes Matty Cornish and Tom Platt were sent on as Darlington looked to win the game, whereas Oxford aimed for a point, using McKenzie-Lyle to wind down the clock by time wasting.

He dramatically rolled around after a Hatfield challenge, and went down a second time claiming he needed treatment.

However, referee Thomas Wilson failed to take action against the dawdling keeper despite further numerous examples of him failing to restart play without first killing time.

However, Darlington failed to seriously trouble the goalkeeper, with Platt heading over after Kelly corner being the closest they came to a second goal.

Referee: Thomas Wilson

Attendance: 1,263

Darlington (4-3-3): Jameson; Griffiths, Forbes, Lees, Hedley; Flint (Platt 82), Hatfield, Lambert (Cornish 78); Maskell (Salkeld 46), Main, Kelly (Al Shabeeb 88). Sub not used: Rivers

Oxford City (4-4-2): McKenzie-Lyle; Burley, Jones, Drewe, Roddy; Coyle, Ashby, Scott, Fleet; Andrews (McEachran 71), Parker. Subs not used: Ezennolim, Walsh, Croker, Carbon