Chesterfield 5 Darlington 2

Nov 22 2009 Sunday Sun

A BRILLIANT goal from James Collins was not enough to save Darlington from an eighth away defeat.

The on-loan Aston Villa striker scored with his first touch after coming off the bench on 58 minutes.

He lofted a 35-yard shot into the net after Chesterfield keeper Tommy Lee raced out of his penalty area but failed to clear.

However, just as Darlington seemed set to launch a rescue mission, having gone 2-0 down against a side with seven home wins, they were undone by Kieran Djalali, the most incisive player on the pitch.

The livewire winger raced past full-back Corey Barnes to ram home a 68th-minute shot to restore Chesterfield’s two-goal advantage.

That was the decisive goal, even though there were more to come.

Simon Thomas thought he had put Darlington right back in it on 72 minutes but Lee denied him with a stunning save.

Still the Quakers battled and on 86 minutes Jonathan Hogg scored from close range on his debut. But Chesterfield substitute Scott Boden plundered two late goals to flatter the home side.

It was hard to believe in the first half-hour that there would be any goals, let alone seven.