Darlington 2-1 Rochdale

The Quakers claimed what could prove to be a decisive 2-1 victory in the first leg, courtesy of substitute Ian Miller's 92nd-minute headed winner after Jason Kennedy's sublime first-half opener had been cancelled out by Chris Dagnall.

But Penney, not for the first time this season, was left to rue injuries to key players, as Ben Parker (hamstring), Tommy Wright (knee) and Alan White (dead leg) all limped off in the second half.

"White has got a dead leg, Tommy got a bang on his knee and Ben has got a bit of a hamstring strain," confirmed Penney, who also admitted that goalkeeper David Stockdale is still being hampered by a bruised foot.

"We'll get them back in on Monday, see how they are.

"It's been one of those seasons, but there's a great prize at the end of it now, so I'm sure there will be a few more players raring to play come the second leg next Saturday."

The focus now switches to the second leg at Spotland next Saturday, with the Quakers favourites to face either Wycombe or Stockport in the final at Wembley on May 26.

The Dale's pre-match preparations were dealt a blow when striker Lee Thorpe suffered a suspected broken arm while arm-wrestling on the team coach travelling to the Darlington Arena.

Dale must bounce back from their first defeat in 11 games and Hill hinted that the pressure surrounding the play-offs had affected some of his players. But he remains confident of turning the tie around.

"It's still a tight game in respect of coming back to our place," said Hill. "We have young lads in our team and the occasion got to some of them in the first half, but we are encouraged because of our second-half performance.

"We were unfortunate to be honest, but to go to our place 2-1 down, I'm still really encouraged.

"We now have 90 minutes plus to play and this tie is a long way from being over."