In front of a crowd of 1,268, the Quakers took a 39th minute lead through Stephen Thompson but a nervy home side were pegged back a couple of minutes after the break when Matty Bell equalised.
However, Tom Portas grabbed what proved to be the winning goal after 73 minutes. Despite Darlington`s Chris Hunter being sent-off after an altercation two minutes later, the Quakers held on to record three vital points.
Workington AFC missed the chance to return to the top five when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Borough Park by Rushall Olympic.
After enduring a six-hour journey, which saw the kick-off delayed by 35 minutes, Rushall produced a battling display and broke the deadlock after 55 minutes when Andre Brown finished off a good move. But the home side equalised 10 minutes from time when a corner was caught in the wind and substitute Robbie Hebson bundled the ball home.
At the other end of the table, Marine AFC were held to a draw by the same scoreline by Grantham Town to move eight points clear of the drop zone with five games remaining.
After an uneventful first half it was the Gingerbreads` Grant Ryan who opened the scoring on 53 minutes and they looked likely to take all three points home until Alan Burton grabbed a 90th minute equaliser for the Mariners.
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