DARLINGTON felt a mixture of pride and frustration after seeing their undefeated run come to an end, losing 3-1 in the FA Trophy at St Neots Town.

Playing away to a side chasing promotion from the Southern Premier League, a level above Quakers, for Martin Gray’s men it promised to be a challenging afternoon.

Liam Hatch certainly made sure of that by being sent off after four minutes.

He landed a blow when tangling with Ryan Frater inside the Darlington penalty area, a foolish decision at the best of times given the size of the heavyweight Neots defender.

After consulting a linesman, referee Ben Cooke showed a red card and Gray had no qualms.

But Darlington retained their shape, limited the hosts’ scoring opportunities and almost took the lead on several occasions, only falling behind due to a fabulous individual goal in the 70th minute.

The manager was less satisfied with Hatch’s contribution, however, branding his conduct disgraceful.

He said: “In any game you want to be disciplined and you want to do things right. You don’t plan to play for an hour and a half with ten men.

“Yes, their player was holding him on the ground, but that goes on. He killed the team, it’s a disgraceful way to behave for a senior player.

“He’s played as a professional for a lot of years. He knew the status of this game, he should know how to be cute, how to be savvy. Throwing his arms around like that, he’s let the club down.

“I don’t have to say anything to him, he already knows what he’s done.”

Hatch was only playing as a stand-in for the suspended Alan White, so Gray was forced into a rethink, Gary Brown moving to the centre of defence with winger Adam Mitchell dropping to right-back.

“It’s part of management. You speak to your coaching team, you’ve got think on your feet,” said Gray.

Despite the reshuffle, which meant both their defensive solidity and attacking options were compromised, there was little between the teams.

Stephen Thompson again looked sharp, taking players on and firing in a few shots that 44-year-old goalkeeper Paul Bastock did well to deal with, including a well-struck volley, while Graeme Armstrong and Leon Scott both had chances.

Peter Jameson saved with his feet to stop Lewis Hilliard and Brown cleared from the six yard box after Nathan Frater, brother of Ryan, slid the ball into the corridor of uncertainty.

As the rain began to pelt down in Cambridgeshire, Jameson was booked for time-wasting at the beginning of the second half, the referee perhaps suspecting Darlington would slow the game down, but they continued to attack on the break.

Armstrong shot wide after a neat turn left Ryan Frater on his backside and it was frustrating to think what Darlington could have achieved had they kept 11 men on the field.

But Jameson had no chance of stopping Hilliard’s curling effort from the corner of the penalty area with 20 minutes to go.

He turned inside Tom Portas and found the top corner with a lovely strike.

The lead lasted seven minutes, quick footwork and a composed finish saw Amar Purewal equalise after a David Dowson pass, but Darlington switched off and 20 seconds after the restart they trailed again, the unmarked Drew Roberts scoring a header after meeting Ben Ford's left-wing cross.

The goal flurry made for a thrilling period and Darlington responded by throwing men forward, Gray saying: “We went for it in with two in midfield and three up front.

“I’d rather get beat by four or five goals as long as we’re being positive. The fans have come a long way to support the team, so we didn’t want to lie down.”

But it was game over on 84 minutes when Hilliard netted again.

Roberts seized on Chris Hunter’s back pass and laid the ball off for Hilliard to tap in. Gray added: “They took the lead with a very good bit of technique, but we switched off after we scored and that cost us. We were probably still celebrating the goal and we were punished.

“But the players were faultless and the game-plan worked. The only thing we got wrong came after we scored, which was the only time we let them win a header in our box. That knocked the wind out of our sails.”

Although their undefeated 11-game run in league and Trophy is over, Gray has no concerns about team spirit.

He said: “What they’ve done today will build morale. That’s what this club is about, about sticking together and what they did today is nothing short of outstanding.

“I’m proud of them, they just got let down by one player.”

Goals: Hilliard (70, 1-0); Purewal (77, 1-1); Roberts (78, 2-1), Hilliard (84, 3-1)

Bookings: Portas (13, foul), Jameson (50, foul); Davies (61, foul); Hunter (73, foul), Dowson (86, foul)

Sending-off: Hatch (4, serious foul play)

Referee: Ben Cooke 6

Attendance: 715

Entertainment: ****

St Neots Town (4-4-2): Bastock 8; Deeney 7, R Frater 7, Hoyte 6, York 6; HILLIARD 8, Spring 6, Davies 5, Ford 7 (Cracknell 79); N Frater 6 (Dillon 76). Subs (not used): Farrell, Ferrari, Ward

Darlington (4-4-2): Jameson 7; Brown 7, Hatch 2, Hunter 7, Watson 7; A Mitchell 8, Scott 7 (Galbraith 62, 6), Portas 7, THOMPSON 8; Purewal , Armstrong 6 (Dowson 56). Subs (not used): Bell (gk), Lovegreen, Cocks

Man of the match

LEWIS Hilliard – Scored twice, one of the goals being a belter