Darlington 1 United 3
United came away from Darlington with a very important League 2 victory that extended their unbeaten run to five games which also matched the result of second bottom Grimsby and pulled them further away from Cheltenham and Lincoln who both failed to win.
Mark Ellis was outstanding in the heart of the defence and also set the Gulls on their way with the opening goal but in a match that lacked real quality it was United's professional attitude and commitment that as much as anything proved the difference between the two sides.
Bucks fielded an unchanged starting line-up from the team that took on Dagenham last Tuesday evening. There was one change on the bench where broken arm victim Scott Rendell returned to first team duty with a place amongst the substitutes which meant no place in the match day 18 for Jake Thomson.
The first chance of the match went to the home side when Purcell knocked the ball down for Waite but his shot was straight at Scott Bevan. Moments later and United took the lead through Mark Ellis; an inswinging corner from Nicky Wroe was met by the United central defender but his header was blocked and was about to be cleared until Ellis reacted quickly and lashed a right foot shot from 7 yards that beat Redmond high into the net and gave United the perfect start.
Goal: Darlington 0 United 1 (Ellis 11)
In the early exchanges both teams were creating openings and it seemed unlikely that a single goal would be the only successful attempt of this match. Not for the first time this season United were playing on an away surface that was less than helpful to anyone wishing to attempt some football on the ground but, as always, it was the same for both sets of players and it was going to be a case of rolling their sleeves up and getting on with it.
Ashley Barnes picked up a yellow card for a tackle on Madden as the home side put United under a spell of pressure although Scott Bevan wasn't being unduly tested in the Gulls' goal.
United had more than one opportunity to increase their one goal lead but hesitation and a seeming lack of greed gave the Darlington defence a chance to clear their lines. Eventually though, United took an opportunity and it came from a young player of great promise. Eunan O'Kane has been gradually eased into the Gulls' team since his arrival at Plainmoor from Coleraine FC and he scored his first goal for United with a curling left foot shot into the bottom right corner from 18 yards.
Goal: Darlington 0 United 2 (O'Kane 45+1)
United had two shots on target during the first half and scored with both while at the other end some solid defending and goalkeeping from the Gulls left them in a marvellous position at the break.
Half-Time: Darlington 0 United 2
The second half began in a similar manner to the first with Darlington creating a chance but not showing enough killer instinct on two separate occasions. Curtis Main spurned a decent chance from 20 yards and then moments later set-up Chisholm who missed an even better opportunity to score.
United hadn't started the second half well and in the 55th minute the home side pulled a goal back from a corner. The ball was knocked in to the far post and United failed to deal with the loose ball which eventually fell to Main who had no problem finishing from close range.
Goal: Darlington 1 (Main 54) United 2
Bucks made a substitution almost immediately after the Darlington goal with Mustapha Carayol replacing Ashley Barnes and Chris Zebroski moving up front on his own in a continuation of a 4-5-1 formation that, at that time, seemed to be inviting pressure from the home side.
United made their second change with Tyrone Thomson making way for Elliot Benyon which also forced a formation reshuffle with Nicky Wroe partnering Lee Mansell in central midfield and Benyon joining Zebroski up front in a 4-4-2 line-up.
United had soaked up some pressure from their hosts and the formation change was likely to prove more troublesome for Darlington than the more defensive approach that had given some impetus to the home side.
Scott Rendell made a welcome return to action and took the place of Eunan O'Kane with eleven minutes remaining. The match wasn't a classic by any means and the second half hadn't really gone as most observers would have predicted with the home side giving things a good go and United a little more wary than they could have been.
Clear chances were coming at a premium although Mustapha Carayol did everything but score after a superb dribble but he blazed his shot well off target when a third United goal would have finished the match off.
Any moment of quality would likely bring its reward in a match like this and with just five minutes remaining United put the match to bed when Chris Zebroski whipped a cross in from the right hand side, the ball eluded Elliot Benyon and Scott Rendell but not Mustapha Carayol who finished superbly with a volley that gave Redmond no chance.
Goal: Darlington 1 United 3 (Carayol 85)
Mustapha wasn't finished yet and after collecting a fine pass from Chris Robertson threw in a couple of step-overs before narrowly missing the target with a shot that had Redmond beaten.
Full-Time: Darlington 1 United 3
With two home games coming over the next couple of weekends United now have a real opportunity to chase the teams above them rather than keep all their attention on what is happening over their shoulder.
