DARLINGTON face the best away side in National League North when Chester visit Blackwell Meadows tomorrow.

After three successive away games at Farsley, Kettering and Banbury, Quakers remain in fifth place in the table, with the gap to eighth-placed Alfreton now at five points.

Quakers have perhaps stumbled slightly in recent games, but so have Chorley and Scarborough behind them, and victory tomorrow will consolidate a play-off place.

Chester have only lost once away from home in 20 league games this season – at Peterborough Sports way back in August -- but Quakers are unbeaten at home in their last six matches at Blackwell Meadows, and won at the Deva Stadium in the reverse fixture back in October.

After giving the game away at Farsley with some poor defensive passing, Quakers have tightened up for the better with two clean sheets at Kettering and Banbury, but they’ve lost some of the attacking flair which saw them rapidly climb the league between October and January, mainly because some of the personnel have changed.

“The players are nervous about making a mistake that will cost a goal, they’re lacking confidence at times, and that shows,” said boss Alun Armstrong.

“We’re not as fluid as a team as we were a few weeks ago, that’s because of the knocks that we’ve had. We’re not playing our normal football, and not creating as many chances as we have done.

“The lads have taken stick because of the sloppy goals they’ve conceded, but they know that they can win matches. It’s not like my teams to stay solid as they have been in recent matches, because I like to try and get at teams, but we will take heart from two clean sheets. I know that some fans will be disappointed that we haven’t won our last two matches, but at least we’ve picked up points.

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“We’ve got some massive players missing, we’re lacking a magic man at this moment in time. Jack (Lambert) and Jarrett (Rivers) are both missing, and we’re relying on the pace of Kaine Felix to open other teams up.

“We need the fans behind us, the lads are a bit fragile at the moment. They’re battling and working hard. They’re doing what is required to keep the ball out of the net, they just need plenty of support to get over the line.

“People forget that Chester are a good full-time side. They changed from part-time last summer, and they brought in some quality players.

“They have a good academy, and have brought some players through, plus they’ve got a good manager. I like the way they play their football.

“Hopefully, it will be an exciting game, and we can put on a decent show. They’ve got a very good away record, but we’ve also done well at Blackwell Meadows in our last six matches.

“The last three away pitches have been difficult for our lads, while our pitch has been top drawer this season. Hopefully that will help us.”

Defender Jake Cooper will play his last game before a one-match ban for his dismissal at Banbury on Tuesday, and another defender, David Wheater, could return to the squad after being rested in midweek.

Lambert, Rivers and defender Kallum Griffiths will all probably be ruled out, while midfielder Ben Liddle, who picked up a knock on Tuesday, will have a fitness test.

Recent signings, Jacob Blyth from Bradford PA and Declan Howe from Cleethorpes, will be included for their first home game.