Darlington missed a penalty as they were beaten by Port Vale.
Gary Smith was the culprit for the visitors as he blasted his late penalty high over the crossbar after substitute Chris Main was tripped by Gareth Owen.
Smith missed the chance to equalise after Marc Richards had put Vale ahead when he tapped in Rob Taylor's cross.
The home side dominated throughout and Taylor, Louis Dodds and Tommy Fraser each missed chances to add to their lead before the missed spot-kick.
Port Vale boss Mickey Adams told BBC Radio Stoke:
"It's always important to get that first goal on the board, particularly at home, and we did that today.
"We created enough chances to have put the game to bed long before we did.
"We were resolute with our defending and throughout the 90 minutes they've had one chance on goal, which was the penalty".
Live text and stats
Saturday, 22 August 2009
League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Port Vale
1-0
Darlington
FT
(HT 1-0)
Richards 29
Port Vale
12 Martin
05 McCombe
11 Yates
15 Collins
16 Owen
07 Loft (Jorgensen 77)
10 Fraser
14 Dodds
26 Taylor
03 Taylor (Lawrie 75)
09 Richards (Horsfield 80)
Substitutes
24 Lloyd-Weston,
02 Stockley,
04 Griffith,
25 Jorgensen,
17 Thompson,
21 Lawrie,
28 Horsfield
Darlington
01 Knight
03 Bower
04 Plummer
06 Miller
21 Bains
14 Smith
19 Chandler yellow card
22 Porritt (Main 77)
23 Cook
09 Thorpe (Dowson 70)
10 Windass (Gall 52)
Substitutes
13 Liversedge,
05 Foster,
07 Smith,
11 Bennett,
24 Gall,
15 Main,
20 Dowson
Ref: TierneyAtt: 4,561
PORT VALE
DARLINGTON
Possession
Port Vale54%
Darlington46%
Attempts on target
Port Vale6
Darlington0
Attempts off target
Port Vale8
Darlington3
Corners
Port Vale5
Darlington3
Fouls
Port Vale9
Darlington9
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+3:59 The referee blows his whistle to end the game.
90:00+0:31 The referee gives a free kick against Curtis Main for handball. Free kick taken by Chris Martin.
89:47 Tommy Fraser concedes a free kick for a foul on Gary Smith. Free kick crossed by Gary Smith.
87:32 Foul by Adam Yates on Mark Bower, free kick awarded. Mark Bower restarts play with the free kick.
Correction - 86:22 Corner from right by-line taken by Kris Taylor.
86:22 Inswinging corner taken by Kris Taylor from the right by-line.
85:38 Effort from outside the area by Jamie Chandler goes wide right of the goal.
83:10 The assistant referee flags for offside against Geoff Horsfield. Indirect free kick taken by Ian Miller.
82:22 Outswinging corner taken by Gary Smith from the right by-line, clearance made by Tommy Fraser.
80:20 Power penalty missed by Gary Smith.
80:20 David Dowson fouled by Lee Collins, the ref awards a Penalty.
79:35 Substitution Marc Richards goes off and Geoff Horsfield comes on.
78:30 Outswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Kris Taylor, Ian Miller makes a clearance.
76:02 Substitution Curtis Main replaces Nathan Porritt.
76:02 Substitution Claus Bech Jorgensen comes on in place of Doug Loft.
74:24 Substitution James Lawrie joins the action as a substitute, replacing Robert Taylor.
72:16 Robert Taylor gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Matt Plummer. David Knight restarts play with the free kick.
71:09 Long range effort by Doug Loft goes over the bar.
69:06 Substitution David Dowson comes on in place of Lee Thorpe.
68:05 Corner taken by Tommy Fraser from the left by-line played to the near post, David Knight makes a save.
67:19 Tommy Fraser takes the direct free kick.
67:19 Booking The referee shows Jamie Chandler a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
67:10 Jamie Chandler gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Marc Richards.
62:29 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lee Thorpe by John McCombe. Free kick crossed by Gary Smith.
60:25 Ian Miller challenges Marc Richards unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick crossed by Tommy Fraser.
57:29 John McCombe fouled by Lee Thorpe, the ref awards a free kick. Tommy Fraser takes the direct free kick.
54:10 Tommy Fraser takes a shot from just outside the penalty area clears the crossbar.
53:17 Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Tommy Fraser played to the near post, Ian Miller manages to make a clearance.
51:11 Substitution Dean Windass goes off and Kevin Gall comes on.
50:56 Marc Richards has an effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the right of the target.
49:56 Marc Richards takes a shot. Save by David Knight.
Correction - 48:44 Tommy Fraser fouled by Gary Smith, the ref awards a free kick. Kris Taylor crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from right channel.
48:44 Foul by Gary Smith on Tommy Fraser, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed left-footed by Kris Taylor.
47:38 Corner taken right-footed by Gary Smith from the left by-line to the near post, save made by Chris Martin.
46:44 Louis Dodds takes a shot. David Knight makes a save.
45:48 Shot from just outside the box by Robert Taylor goes over the bar.
45:01 The second half begins.
Half Time
45:00+1:04 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
40:54 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nathan Porritt by Adam Yates. Gary Smith crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left wing, clearance by John McCombe.
37:35 Unfair challenge on Robert Taylor by Ian Miller results in a free kick. The free kick is swung in left-footed by Kris Taylor, David Knight makes a save.
36:21 The assistant referee signals for offside against Marc Richards. Indirect free kick taken by David Knight.
33:16 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Jamie Chandler by Tommy Fraser. Direct free kick taken by David Knight.
32:02 Robert Taylor takes a shot. Save by David Knight.
31:27 Lee Thorpe challenges John McCombe unfairly and gives away a free kick. Chris Martin restarts play with the free kick.
30:15 Header from close range by Robert Taylor misses to the right of the target.
28:38 Assist on the goal came from Robert Taylor.
28:38 GOAL - Marc Richards:Port Vale 1 - 0 Darlington Marc Richards scores a goal from close range to the top right corner of the goal. Port Vale 1-0 Darlington.
28:34 Centre by Robert Taylor,
26:52 The referee blows for offside. David Knight restarts play with the free kick.
25:22 Marc Richards concedes a free kick for a foul on Matt Plummer. David Knight restarts play with the free kick.
23:28 Free kick awarded for a foul by Doug Loft on Gary Smith. Matt Plummer takes the direct free kick.
Correction - 21:24 Effort from just outside the area by Nathan Porritt goes over the target.
21:24 Shot by Nathan Porritt from outside the area goes high over the crossbar.
21:05 Marc Richards takes a shot. Save by David Knight.
16:31 Kris Taylor sends in a cross, Header from close range by Marc Richards misses to the right of the goal.
15:38 Marc Richards takes a shot. David Knight makes a save.
15:26 Free kick awarded for a foul by Jamie Chandler on Louis Dodds. Louis Dodds takes the free kick.
12:24 Corner from the right by-line taken by Robert Taylor, save by David Knight.
11:09 Matt Plummer challenges Louis Dodds unfairly and gives away a free kick. Marc Richards fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick.
10:04 The official flags Louis Dodds offside. Indirect free kick taken by David Knight.
8:56 Outswinging corner taken by Gary Smith from the right by-line played to the near post, Louis Dodds makes a clearance.
7:12 Handball by Doug Loft. Jamie Chandler crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from right channel.
6:27 Centre by Robert Taylor, Header from close in by Marc Richards misses to the right of the target.
5:45 Mark Bower gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Louis Dodds. Free kick crossed right-footed by Chris Martin from own half, clearance made by Matt Plummer.
5:08 The referee blows for offside against Marc Richards. David Knight takes the free kick.
3:49 The referee blows for offside. David Knight restarts play with the free kick.
2:30 Shot from just outside the box by Nathan Porritt goes over the bar.
0:05 The assistant referee signals for offside against Marc Richards. David Knight restarts play with the free kick.
0:00 The match has kicked off.
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