Visitors Peterborough have spent big so far this season and in the opening 45 minutes it looked as though the investment was beginning to pay dividends.
It was no surprise when Peterborough took the lead in the 23rd minute as Darlington had been in defensive mode almost from the start. So, midway through the half, and after missing good early chances from captain Craig Morgan and Richard Butcher, Posh eventually took the lead.
The home defence was breached when Aaron McLean powered towards goal before being stopped in his tracks on the edge of the area, but the loose ball fell kindly for the visitors and Adam Smith calmly side-footed the ball past nervy Darlington keeper Lee Jones.
Amazingly the home side grabbed an equaliser at an important stage of the game.
With just five minutes to go before the break on-loan defender David Wheater headed in a Clark Keltie free kick from no more than six yards out.
It was still a surprise when the hosts took the lead for the first time early in the second half.
A strong run down the right wing from Neil Wainwright and a superb in-swinging cross found the head of Julian Joachim who headed past Mark Tyler in the Peterborough goal.
In a classic game of two halves Peterborough were undone again by the impressive Joachim in the 61st minute.
The former Aston Villa striker raced clear of the back-pedalling defence after a long clearance from the home side and from just inside the area Joachim fired beyond the exposed Tyler for his second goal of the game.
The visitors almost grabbed a goal back ten minutes from the end when McLean headed onto the crossbar from close-range.
Darlington 3 - Peterborough United 1
This was a victory that Darlington had waited a long time for. Their last league win came in November and before this game all the talk was about Darlington equalling a club record run of nine straight defeats set in 1985.
Visitors Peterborough have spent big so far this season and in the opening 45 minutes it looked as though the investment was beginning to pay dividends.
It was no surprise when Peterborough took the lead in the 23rd minute as Darlington had been in defensive mode almost from the start. So, midway through the half, and after missing good early chances from captain Craig Morgan and Richard Butcher, Posh eventually took the lead.
The home defence was breached when Aaron McLean powered towards goal before being stopped in his tracks on the edge of the area, but the loose ball fell kindly for the visitors and Adam Smith calmly side-footed the ball past nervy Darlington keeper Lee Jones.
Amazingly the home side grabbed an equaliser at an important stage of the game. With just five minutes to go before the break on-loan defender David Wheater headed in a Clark Keltie free kick from no more than six yards out.
It was still a surprise when the hosts took the lead for the first time early in the second half. A strong run down the right wing from Neil Wainwright and a superb in-swinging cross found the head of Julian Joachim who headed past Mark Tyler in the Peterborough goal.
In a classic game of two halves Peterborough were undone again by the impressive Joachim in the 61st minute. The former Aston Villa striker raced clear of the back-pedalling defence after a long clearance from the home side and from just iinside the area Joachim fired beyond the exposed Tyler for his second goal of the game.
The visitors almost grabbed a goal back ten minutes from the end when McLean headed onto the crossbar from close-range.