Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Darlington 3 Scoring just before half-time is meant to be the ideal time to find the net in any football match, but for Darlington on Saturday doing just that proved more helpful than could have been forecast.

In both of their previous two games over the last week they had taken the lead but then, without instruction said manager Dave Penney, had unwisely sought to defend their lead but paid the price by conceding late equalisers.

advertisement On Saturday at Dagenham & Redbridge however, Steve Foster's stunning first goal for the club was the final kick of the first half: no chance to revert to defensive mode and no immediate chance of an equaliser.

But, most importantly, it gave Penney opportunity to drill home the message to his players that defending one-goal leads is not wise and that attack is the best form of defence.

Of course, he had also told them just as much, to no avail, prior to the disappointing home draws with Peterborough and Rochdale.

But this time, thanks to a convenient team talk immediately after Foster's strike, Darlington maintained the momentum gained by scoring first and the result was a dominant second half display against a club who had previously not lost at home.

Penney's side only scored two more, though Gregg Blundell and Tommy Wright, but could have had many more as Quakers enjoyed a victory in London for the first since winning at Barnet 12 years ago.

In that time Darlington have played an incredible 23 games at likes of Leyton Orient, Fulham, Brentford, as well as Barnet, until ending their London misery at Dagenham.

Illustrating just how long Quakers have had to endure capital punishment is the fact that playing at Barnet in February 1995 were the likes of Gavin Worboys, Gary Chapman and the infamous Bernie Slaven. But, while wearing Darlington colours, Slaven never scored a goal as impressive as Foster's venomous volley.

Clark Keltie's free-kick on the right reached the captain at the far post and his powerful strike into the roof of the net, two minutes into added time at the end of the first half, provided Quakers with the perfect platform for the second half.

Having thrown away leads three times already this season, the players must have known what to do next, but Penney reinforced the message.

"I was able to tell them to not to sit back, keep going, don't accept 1-0. I didn't want to get into the scenario of sitting back," he said.

"I didn't want to sit on the bench for 45 minutes while Dagenham were putting us under pressure because we wouldn't have defended it. Well, we might have done but it's not comfortable for me.

"So at half time we said let's go for more goals - but when we had two cleared off the line I thought here we go, it's going to be another one of those days.

"I'd rather go on and get a second and third goal, which we did. And we could have had a fourth or fifth on another day."

Foster's goal came at the end of a first half in which Dagenham held much more possession but clear chances were few and, for the tenth time in ten league games season, Quakers reached half-time having not conceded.

And after the break the only team that looked like conceding were the Daggers as Darlington poured forward during their best 45 minutes of the season so far.

Wright hit a weak left-footed effort straight at the keeper, the marauding Rob Purdie struck wide from distance before Blundell had a header cleared off the line and then Foster beat the keeper again - but this time defender Scott Griffiths, somehow, hooked it off the line.

Further chances came and went but, with the 310 travelling supporters no doubt concerned that lightning could strike for a third time in eight days, Blundell made it 2-0 after a counter-attack thanks mainly to Julian Joachim and Andy Oakes.

Following Oakes' super save to deny Sam Saunders, Joachim picked the ball up in his own half and raced up the right before crossing to Blundell, in space on the penalty spot, to make the game safe after 66 minutes.

At 2-0 up Darlington were cruising, appearing capable of, and wanting, more goals.

The final strike came seven minutes from time, this time Wright scoring after latching on to Micky Cummins' forward pass and lifting the ball over keeper Tony Roberts to complete a fully-deserved victory which takes Darlington up to fourth.

Penney could even afford to smile when Roberts handled outside the penalty area in injury time, the referee instead indicating that the keeper has used his sizeable gut to control the ball.

Quakers are back in London next month, to face Brentford, and should not have to wait 12 more years before savouring another victory in the capital. But only if they can reproduce the form showed in Saturday's second half.