For all the Cumbrians neat approach play they never found a cutting edge to really threaten the Darlington goal while the Quakers always looked the more menacing going forward and found a match winner in Glenn Naylor.

Naylor, a long term injury victim, seized his chance after coming on for a sickness hit Neil Maddison at half time, linking up well up front with Barry Conlon to break Cumbrian hearts with two well taken goals.

Such is the tightness of the Division that a point would have put Carlisle fifth but following the defeat they now languish in fifteenth place.

A disappointed Roddy Collins said after the game: "I thought Conlan was the difference between the two teams. When the ball got up to him it stuck and he supported the play. Any danger came from Conlon and that's where the goals came from.

"I thought we had a lot of good possession but we rushed things too many times and when we broke and got in the last third we didn't have the patience we should have to work an opening and that was disappointing.

"The work rate of the lads you're never going to complain about. The shape went all over the place particularly when they got the second goal. I thought at one-nil that we were still in the game. We had a good , sustained period of pressure and if we had nicked something then, we would have finished the stronger. But one bad pass from Will McDonagh, who otherwise had a great game, was intercepted and that was it. It was disappointing but we will learn from that."

Darlington gave early notice of their intentions when a 2nd minute free kick from Maddison was headed over by Conlon.

Three minutes later former Carlisle loan player Phil Hadland shot narrowly over the bar after good work from Ian Clark had created an opening.

Carlise's first chance came on 11 minutes when John Burns picked up a ball in mifdfield and as the Quakers defence backed off he hit his shot over the bar from the edge of the box.

On 21 minutes Carlisle were lucky to survive a penalty appeal when Whitehead brought down Conlon from behind only for referee Howard Webb to wave play on.

Four minutes later Ian Clark again became provider laying a ball into Mark Ford's path, but the midfielder's resulting shot flew narrowly over the bar.

Trevor Molloy then found himself with space, after an intelligent dummy by Richie Foran, only to shoot narrowly wide of Andy Collett's left hand post.

Conlon went close for the Quakers with 31 minutes gone, turning well on the edge of the box before firing straight at Peter Keen.

Brendan McGill then worked a good opening for himself only to shoot weakly at Collett as the Darlington defence opened up for him.

Carlisle then survived another penalty scare after 35 minutes when Mark Birch brought down Hadland from behind only for referee Webb to bizarrely book the Darlington man for diving.

Four minutes later, at the third time of asking Darlington finally got a penalty from the least likely of the three incidents. A Conlon header flew straight at Birch, hitting him on the arm and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

But Keen rose to the occasion, spectacularly diving low to his left to turn away a well struck penalty from Ian Clark

A minute later Matthew Clarke's effort from outside the box had Keen again diving full length to turn away his shot.

A rare opening came Carlisle's way with three minutes of the half remaining when a spectacular McDonagh overhead kick was palmed away by Collett, with Simon Betts clearing the danger for a corner. But Darlington came straight back with a Ford pile-driver skimming the bar.

After the break good work down the left from Murphy presented Foran with a chance but a mistimed header typified the lack of touch the out of sorts striker is suffering.

Darlington took the lead on 56 minutes when Ashley Nicholls played in Naylor who managed to hold off Whitehead to turn and crack a low shot into the bottom corner.

Keen then had to palm away a dangerous cross from Nichols before a Molloy made space for himself at the other end before shooting over.

On 75 minutes Molloy headed over from a Mick Galloway corner but the game went out reach on 81 minutes when Darlington got their second goal.

McDonagh's ambitious cross-field pass was cut out by Conlon and he released Valentine down the left. With the Carlisle defence stretched Valentine found Naylor unmarked in the box and the substitute had the easy task of side footing home passed a helpless Keen.

With four minutes remaining Naylor squandered a great chance for his hat-trick when shooting over the bar after a neat lay-off from Conlon.

Keen then save at full stretch from Valentine's thirty yard pile-driver as Darlington continued in the ascendancy.

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