Lambert leveller earns Darlington a point at Hereford

Quakers had more possession in the 1-1 draw, but they didn’t take their chances, particularly in the second half after Jack Lambert celebrated his 23rd birthday by scoring the equaliser.

Armstrong’s side had made life hard for themselves by conceding an early goal and missing a penalty, Will Hatfield’s effort saved by Brandon Hall.

The draw means they are seven points behind the play off positions, with home games coming up against Southport and Boston this week.

Armstrong said: “We gave them a goal, missed a penalty and we missed a few decent chances. I thought we dominated possession.

“The lads and the back tried to play when they’re not up to speed in the game, and they got caught.

“We got the penalty, but Will unfortunately missed it. He was devastated, but he kept going and led by example.

“We had plenty of possession in the first half, but we didn’t get the final bit.”

Midfielder Danny Rose, who has been part of five promotion campaigns in the past, ran the show, and Armstrong said: “I thought he was superb, his positional sense and composure was excellent. He makes everything tick.

“I thought he and Will Hatfield worked well together.”

Quakers started badly, falling 1-0 behind on five minutes when defender Jake Lawlor was dispossessed by Tom Owen-Evans, and the ball ran loose for Modou Faal to tuck into the bottom corner past keeper Tommy Taylor.

Darlington were awarded a penalty on 17 minutes when loanee Cameron Thompson, who had another impressive game, was taken out by Hereford keeper Hall as he picked up a Hatfield pass.

However, skipper Hatfield’s penalty was too close to Hall, who pushed the ball away to his right.

Quakers, with Rose at the heart of everything, had plenty of possession without being too effective.

At the start of the second half, a 25-yard Kallum Griffiths free kick was blocked by the defensive wall, while a powerful run by Thompson led to a low cross being put out by a defender.

Hereford didn’t offer much at this stage, as Quakers enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.

Armstrong sent on striker Jake Cassidy for Kevin Dos Santos, and the sub’s second touch almost led to a goal when his one-two with Tyrone O’Neill saw his shot go just wide.

Quakers deservedly levelled on 72 minutes. O’Neill cleverly flicked a Hedley forward ball into the path of sub Lambert, who held off two defenders in the area and then beat Hall with the help of a deflection for his sixth goal of the season.

Darlington nearly won it twice in the closing minutes.

Firstly, David Wheater couldn’t keep his balance to turn in a left-wing Lambert corner, then Lambert headed over a corner from Rose in the last minute.

Armstrong added: “In the second half we had a few chances, but didn’t take them apart from one.

“It was a great ball by Tyrone for Jack to finish off. Missing chances will probably be our achilles heel and will probably be costly at the end of the season, but we’ll keep going.

“The effort from the lads was fantastic, and we definitely deserved something from the game.”