Maddison curled a low free-kick wide for Darlington on 27 minutes after Ayres fouled Mellanby near the edge of the box.

Harriers were struggling to break down the Darlington defence despite some neat passing football.

But they should have taken the lead on 37 minutes when big defender Brightwell was on hand to rescue the visitors with two goal-line clearances from close-range Foster and Ducros efforts. Andy Ducros

Darlington right-back Betts was the first player booked on 41 minutes for hacking down Ducros on the half-way line.

Ducros tested Collett with a stinging effort from inside the area in first-half injury time when he turned swiftly onto a pass from Joy.