Guy has the magic

Mar 30 2008 Sunday Sun

GUY N’DUMBU-NSUNGU could hold the magical ingredient for Darlington in the promotion mix.

That’s the view of manager Dave Penney, who broke his own rules when snapping up the Congolese striker earlier this year.

For Penney normally goes for players who have the work rate and consistency to perform well week-in and week-out.

But the powerful African striker is the exception. He can be infuriating one moment and brilliant the next, and it was the latter quality which rescued Darlington against Morecambe last Monday when he scored a brilliant late equaliser to salvage a point.

“Guy offers something different to the rest of our forwards,” said Penney.

“He can be a bit sloppy and his work rate is not the best. But his goal record is unbelievable. He has that bit of magic, and there is always a role for players who can conjure up something unexpected.

“He scored his goal out of nothing on Monday, and sometimes you need that unpredictability – and the other lads make sure he works hard in training.

“When he joined us he was not match fit, though we can get 90 minutes out of him if need be.”

N’Dumbu-Nsungu has scored 37 goals in fewer than 100 starts since coming to England, and has a stunning 13 goals in 14 starts in his two spells with Quakers.

Ahead of yesterday’s game with his former club Bradford he had started three times and come off the bench on four occasions in his latest stint at Darlington – and scored three important goals, so with Pawel Abbott missing for at least three weeks with hamstring trouble, N’Dumbu-Nsungu could come to the fore.

Meanwhile, full-back Tim Ryan faces another operation on his troublesome knee, and will miss the remainder of the season.