Dale's promotion party would have to wait another week as Darlington came away from Spotland with a shock 1-0 victory.

The first half of the game was all Dale but if a good chance did fall their way they couldn't convert it. They would pay for that around the half hour mark when Nathan Mulligan headed Darlington into a shock lead.

The second half started in much the same vein as Dale looked for a way back into the game, but they couldn't force the ball over the line as they looked for those elusive goals. With shots saved and cleared off the line Dale couldn't find that equaliser and they fell to a shock defeat.

Following the 5-0 thrashing at Torquay on Saturday, Keith Hill reverted back to the 4-4-2 formation which served Dale so well in the first part of the season. Frank Fielding was in goal with Scott Wiseman, Tom Kennedy, Nathan Stanton and Craig Dawson in defence, with League Two's Player of the Year making his first start since the draw at home to Lincoln last month. Gary Jones and Jason Taylor were the two central midfielders, with Temitope Obadeyi and Joe Thompson on the wings. Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall were up top for Dale.

There was certainly a huge buzz around Spotland, even hours before kick-off, in what was one of the biggest games in the club's history. Many home supporters made their way into Spotland early and cheered the team onto the pitch for the warm-up as a big crowd was eagerly anticipated.

Dale teams of the past have come out to big crowds and failed to put on a show, but that is one of the many, many things Keith Hill and David Flitcroft have managed to change in their three and a half years at Spotland.

A good, positive start from the home side would have gone a long way to getting the result wanted and putting the defeat at Torquay to the back of the mind. The start was impressive, and the first chance of the game fell to Joe Thompson.

Craig Dawson played a fantastic ball to Joe Thompson on the right wing. He brought the ball down and knocked it past Stuart Giddings as Chris O'Grady used his strength to hold off his marker. Thompson used his pace to get into the box before firing off a shot which narrowly avoided the right post of goalkeeper Shane Redmond.

With 8 minutes gone it was Dale who were having all the possession, and captain Gary Jones fired a shot from outside the area which Redmond did well to save and hold onto with his legs.

The first twenty minutes were all Dale and although much of the play was in and around the Darlington area they couldn't quite fashion a good goalscoring opportunity.

There was a scare on the 20 minute mark when Jason Taylor received a cut to his face which required stitches, but the central midfielder on loan from Rotherham was able to return to the fray five minutes later.

Within a minute of Taylor returning and Dale being back at full strength, they managed to produce a half chance. Temitope Obadeyi, who was taking his time to get into the game, did well to cross from the left to the head of Joe Thompson, but his header was a difficult one and it flew wide of the left post.

As the game passed the half hour mark Dale were starting to show the first signs of nerves as Darlington began to come forward. After a spell of danger in the Dale box the away side did spring a shock as they took the lead.

A cross came in from the right and it was met by the head of Nathan Mulligan who did well to rise highest and nod home to give the away side an unexpected lead.

That was the last thing anyone inside Spotland expected after the start Dale had made, but the home side would need to regain their composure and do exactly what they were as they looked to draw level.

The possession was once again all Dale's, but The Quakers were now putting as many men behind the ball as possible, as well as wasting as much as they could in the minutes up to half-time. Temitope Obadeyi should great pace to get down the left but his final ball was between the left post and the onrushing Chris O'Grady.

Three minutes of added time were shown but nothing came from them, and the teams went down the tunnel to the surprise scoreline at half-time of 1-0 to Darlington.

The teams came out for the second half slightly later than the rest of League Two, but if Dale were to continue as they played in the first half then they would have a good chance to get back into the game and show the Spotland crowd what they were made of.

The opening fifteen minutes of the second half were all Dale, but for all their possession and good football in the build-up they couldn't carve out a goalscoring opportunity. In fact the first real shot came from Jason Taylor in the 66^th minute, but his effort was tame and straight into the hands of Shane Redmond.

The best chance of the half so far fell to the away side. A corner wasn't cleared properly and it fell straight to Mark Convery who fired a rasping shot, but Frank Fielding was there on the line to block the shot.

As the game entered the final twenty minutes Dale began to put even more pressure on Darlington. A neat one-two on the edge of the area led to Gary Jones firing a left-foot shot which was beaten away well by Shane Redmond.

The league leaders were still piling the pressure on and Chris Dagnall had the best chance of the game to draw Dale level. He played a great one-two with Gary Jones and as he bore down on goalkeeper Redmond he released a left foot shot which was straight at the Darlington stopper and he collected at the second attempt.

Joe Thompson was the next to have a shot after good work on the left from Chris O'Grady, but his shot was also tame and Redmond collected easily.

Dale just couldn't force the ball over the line. A goalmouth scramble with good chances falling to Joe Thompson and Chris Dagnall couldn't be converted as time ticked away at Spotland. A corner came in and was headed towards goal by Craig Dawson, but was somehow cleared off the line. It looked like being one of those nights.

Gary Jones tried another of his long range shots, but it took a deflection when it was on target and just squirmed wide of the left hand post.

A remarkable seven minutes of added time were shown by the fourth official, which after the amount of time wasting from the visitors was fairly accurate, and the noise inside Spotland rose.

With less than two minutes remaining of added time Chris O'Grady bent a right footed shot to the far post but Shane Redmond made the save to keep it out as time ticked away.

That would be the last action of the game, as Darlington came away with a great victory, but Dale were left winless and without promotion.

Dale: Fielding, Wiseman, T Kennedy, Dawson, Stanton, Jones, Taylor, Obadeyi, Thompson, O'Grady, Dagnall.

Darlington: Redmond, Arnison, White, Miller, Dempsey, Gray, Smith, Purcell, Giddings, Convery, Mulligan.

Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands). Assistant Referees: Lee Metcalfe (Lancashire) & Paul Bankes (Cambridgeshire). Fourth Official: Mark Astley (Manchester).

Attendance: 5,371.