STRONG-LOOKING Town Reserves ended a four-match losing run in comfortable style.
John Dungworth's side always had a gear to spare at the Galpharm Stadium yesterday and could easily have added to goals by Akpo Sodje and Andy Booth.
Sodje - whose brother Efe played powerfully in central defence despite a stomach upset - notched a minute before half-time with a low, angled shot from Booth's flick.
Booth extended the lead with a trademark header from a Tony Carss corner on 63 minutes and it proved to be his last touch of the match.
Booth and Rob Edwards, who were both making returns after hamstring trouble, were substituted immediately after the goal and will go into Saturday's first-team squad for the trip to take on League I leaders Luton at Kenilworth Road.
Manager Peter Jackson and his opposite number David Hodgson watched from the stand as Town, with Carss prominent in midfield in his first 90 minutes for six weeks, had the better of a well contested first half.
Long-range passes from Carss, James Hand and Adnan Ahmed brought appreciative applause from a crowd of 137.
Booth and John McAliskey should have done better with chances before Sodje scored, while experienced Craig Russell missed a great chance to equalise on the stroke of half-time.
With John McCombe impressive at the back, Town took control in the second half, with the Sodje brothers each narrowly off target and Darlington fortunate to avoid a penalty when substitute Chris Mason handled in the box.
By then, Booth had sealed it anyway.
Town: Senior, Hardy, Edwards (Shaw, 63mins), Ahmed, McCombe, E Sodje (Walls, 75mins), A Sodje, Carss, Booth (Young, 63mins), McAliskey, Hand. Subs not used: Giles, Caulfield.
