I have hardwood on my stairs that were not stained in the middle - don't want carpet suggestions?

The hardwood on my stairs was only stained on the outside not where the carpet runner was. We do not want to put carpet back down and can not match the stain. We tried staining the middle of the stairs a darker color to match the railing but I am not convinced this is good. Do you have any suggestions?

color match the stain with samples from local floorcovering company.stain entire step,go a little darker if needed. whatch out for staples or tacks left over from carpet. ive been in floorcovering for over 25 years. good luck