Wednesday's
#Euro2020
semi-final at Wembley will see England and Denmark select goalkeepers who both made their senior football debuts for
@Official_Darlo
.
🇩🇰 Kasper Schmeichel in January 2006 (on loan from Man City)
🏴 Jordan Pickford in January 2012 (on loan from Sunderland)
Woah. Isaac Hayden has just donated £1,000 to the Paddy Almond fundraiser. I assume it's the same Isaac Hayden on loan to Norwich from Newcastle.
What a gesture that is.
👉
Jordan Pickford makes his England debut at Wembley, 5 years 9 months since his first game in senior football on loan to Darlington from Sunderland. His second game was a 1-0 defeat at Hayes & Yeading. Attendance? 550. Character building.
Wonder if any Sunderland fans, as they're away tomorrow at West Brom, fancy a visit to Darlington to see a glimpse of their future No. 1 Matty Young.
It's the final home game of his loan, he's been outstanding and can see why he's in the England under-19 squad.
Darlington have now kept 5 clean sheets in a row for the first time since Oct/Nov 2014 when the sequence lasted 7 league and Trophy games.
The goalkeeper each time? Peter Jameson.
Stephen Thompson signed for Darlington in September 2012 since when he has been a mainstay in the team, been part three-promotion winning sides, scored of 94 goals and today made his 300th appearance. A Darlington legend. 👏
#Thommo300
When you've got a match at 3pm and drinking cider down the park at 6pm...
Darlington goalkeeper
@Connel1
borrowed a cap from a fan during today's win during which he saved a penalty!
Incredible - Darlington have won an FA Cup tie for the first time since 2014.
They've beaten Trafford 3-1 and it's worth £6,750 in prize money.
Details to follow of an open-top bus parade and a commemorative 16-page pull-out in The Northern Echo.
Full-time and Darlington win 3-1 and are safe from relegation! You beauty!
In February, this prospect was literally unbelievable - relegation seemed inevitable. But Steve Watson and Terry Mitchell have delivered Quakers' Great Escape!
(Thanks to
@TimHickman1994
for the pic!)
Dan Burn : "I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for Craig Liddle. I went from working at Asda on a Saturday and playing local with my mates on a Sunday, to three months later I was on the bench in League Two for Darlington."
Darlington win again! They were dead and buried a few weeks ago, but have now won 6 of their 12 games under Steve Watson.
They had won 6 of their last 41 league matches before Watson's appointment.
A lot of effort being put in here by about 50 or so volunteers to get
@Official_Darlo
's game on with
@chorleyfc
. The more the merrier, so if you've got a shovel get yourself down to Blackwell!
Two more goals for
@G_Armstrong9
in
@SouthShieldsFC
’s title-winning game last night. His last four seasons:
⬆️ 2014-15 - promoted with Darlington
⬆️ 2015-16 - promoted with Darlington
⬆️ 2016-17 - promoted with Spennymoor Town
⬆️ 2017-18 promoted with South Shields
A plea from Darlington manager Alun Armstrong in his programme notes today: "Please be thoughtful in your criticism of the players on social media and forums."
Darlington will confirm the signing of Dan Maguire soon, the ex-York City striker is keen to again play for former Blyth Spartans boss Alun Armstrong.
DFC have beaten off strong competition from elsewhere in the North-East non-league scene to make the signing.
FT: 8-0 and it could have been more. Humiliating. Embarrassing. Appalling. Atrocious. Abysmal. A truly dreadful night for Darlington and Josh Gowling.
I've been coming to matches since 1989 and that's the heaviest defeat I've seen Darlington suffer.
Marcus Maddison sentenced to 20 months in jail for vicious assault on 60-year-old woman.
Victim: “My jaw was broken in multiple places. I can't eat on the left-hand side of my mouth. I have problems with my teeth."
Darlington have come a long way since becoming a fan-owned club in 2012 and are looking forward to Wednesday's televised FA Cup replay with Walsall. Here's a look back on the story so far.
Steve Watson has won 9 of his 16 games as Darlington manager. Predecessor Josh Gowling won 3 in 16 before being sacked.
🤡 Gowling: W3 | D4 | L9 | F12 | A32
🫡 Watson: W9 | D0 | L7 | F25 | A17
Twenty years ago today Darlington played Man City in the FA Cup and almost beat them too. Much has changed at both clubs since...
Live on Sky, 7,000 at Feethams and Darlo went ahead early when
@benno_4
scored a header but Paul Dickov equalised with a volley past
@davidpreece12
.
Bournemouth have won 3-0 at Chelsea tonight. Nine years ago this month Bournemouth lost 2-1 at Darlington (Eddie Howe's first game as manager). Wonder where each club will be nine years from now?
Game over, FA Cup run over. At least there was one this year and Darlington's players can be proud of themselves, winning three ties and taking a League Two club to a replay.
FT: 1-0. Another Darlington win! Since Feb 10 when they were 9 points from safety, they've won 7 out of 9 games, a remarkable turnaround. Cameron Salkeld got today's goal.
📷
@FutersAndy
Stephen Thompson: "My mam and dad, our lass and my granddad are here every home game and they go to away games when my dad is off work. Every home game the four of them are here so I'm glad I did it at home, it could not have been better."
Chester fan in the car park said after the game: "If you don't win the league with that team something's gone wrong."
Didn't think Darlington were outstanding, but they won. It keeps happening...
Martin Gray says he would do the Darlington job without payment.
“I’m passionate about helping Darlington stay in the league and if I was given the opportunity I would be very confident of doing that.”
Darlington lead 3-1 thanks to Cedric Main! Fittingly for such a significant moment, it's a landmark: Quakers' 1,000th goal since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
Former Darlington striker Michael Smith, at the club when Raj Singh was chairman, ends Hartlepool's Wembley hopes. Scored twice and also in the shootout.
FULL-TIME: Hartlepool United 2-2 Rotherham United (4-5 on penalties)
It's heartbreak for Pools who lose in the shootout.
A great game of football to watch. They pushed the League One leaders all the way but it wasn't to be their night.
#Pools
|
#HUFC
Middlesbrough's Aynsley Pears talks about his loan spell with
@Official_Darlo
:
"Gary Brown is at South Shields now and he is one of my best mates. He is a Darlo legend of a guy, I speak to him every day. He is a great character, he helped me.”
"We want Gowling out," and "get out of our club" are the shouts from some Darlington fans here at Scarborough.
He has been a disastrous appointment and must go immediately, while there's still time, if the club wish to have any chance of avoiding relegation.
Scot Barrow: “Hopefully, I get to sign for Darlo, I want to sign for Darlo. I enjoyed my football there last season, I was playing with a smile on my face and that’s all I want from football at this point in my career."
FT: 2-3. Three. Crucial. Points.
Darlington badly needed that and they delivered, their first away since the opening day of the season. Thompson hat-trick.
Turns out this effort one chilly morning back in January has resulted in Darlington winning £20,000 in the
#nonleaguechallenge
. Couldn't ask for a better example of fans, players and club working as one.
A lot of effort being put in here by about 50 or so volunteers to get
@Official_Darlo
's game on with
@chorleyfc
. The more the merrier, so if you've got a shovel get yourself down to Blackwell!
Delighted to have got this wrong! Know I'm not the only one who was resigned to relegation.
Darlington had lost 7 out of 9 games and were 7 points from safety. They lost again the next Sat v Alfreton.
But they've since won 10 out of 14 games to complete Quakers' Great Escape!
Farsley finished 20th last season on 50 points. Darlington have 25 after 30 matches, so need another 25 in 16 the last games.
The PPG average is... don't bother working that one out. It's over. Darlington (R) are down and it's desperately sad it's come to this.
FT: 0-1. Darlington say bye to Bootham Crescent with a win. Adam Campbell is the match-winner with a fine goal scored in the first-half when DFC were dominant, Quakers fans are celebrating a first league win here since Feb 1991.
FT: What a day! Darlington back on top of the table after coasting to an easy (and interrupted) fully deserved 5-2 win at
@safc
, who had lost only once at home before today.
10/10 performance.
FT: 2-1. Darlington win! Three crucial points that keep survival hopes alive.
Showed spirit to fight back to win from 1-0 down, first time they've done that since Feb 2023 (Telford at home).
Back-to-back wins for the first time since December 2022 (3 wins in 4) and now genuine hopes of survival. Banbury at home on Sat: 22nd v 21st - it's a big one!
90+6' | FULL TIME
And breath! The Quakers are victorious at the Tameside Stadium making it back to back wins.
Thank you for your support as always and safe travels home!
🔵 1-3 🟠
#WeAreDarlo
Today will be York City’s first to Darlington for a competitive game since January 2012. It was just after DFC had gone into administration, the attendance was 6,413, the score 2-2, and York fans held up these banners in support. 👏
That's that then. For those that don’t know, after 20 years on the sports desk at The Northern Echo I've left on a free transfer, so here’s one of those self-indulgent threads…
(pic of where we used to sit on the floor at Priestgate that’s since been abandoned…)
Liam Connell: "I want to be part of next week’s game but it’s down to the two clubs, I can’t really do anything apart from express my desire to stay with Darlington."
FT: 3-0. Darlington's biggest win of the season so far (McGowan 2, Nelson). Now unbeaten in seven games and haven't conceded a goal in last six league matches.
The table on New Year's Eve, the day Steve Watson became Darlington manager, and today's final table. Blyth's plummet and Darlington’s rise have been equally remarkable.
Darlington are losing more than just a player here: a leader, an old-school tough-as-nails defender, someone who gave his all, loved the club and has played a massive role over the past six years. Cheers Gary.
A bad result for
#Boro
today but good to see
@benliddle8
and
@tyroneoneill_o
both making their first league appearances. Doesn't seem five minutes since Ben was mascot when his dad
@craigliddle4
made his 300th Darlington appearance in 2004.
Darlington beat Hereford 2-0 in the Josh Gowling derby*. Massive win for Quakers, much-improved performance against play-off hopefuls and gives them real hope in the fight against relegation.
*fans of each club can celebrate that he's no longer manager of their team
FT: 1-0. Jarrett Rivers’ goal is enough to seal victory and a fantastic reflex save by Liam Connell prevented Kidderminster equalising late on. Darlington have now won six games in a row, keeping three sheets (managed only 2 in 11 games before this run).
FT: 3-2. Darlington beat
@SpennymoorTown
for the second time this season, this time with goals by Jacob Hazel (2) and Jack Lambert.
Att: 1903 (129 Spennymoor fans)
FT: 0-1. Another brilliant win for Darlingto, away to seventh-placed Bradford Park Avenue (a week after beating seventh-top Blyth). Dave Syers got the goal, Stephen Thompson sent off late on. Three wins in a row now, five games unbeaten.
Darlington up to sixth after tonight's 2-1 win at Guiseley, ex-Guiseley midfielder Will Hatfield getting the winner with his first league goal for the club.
Raj Singh's second relegation from the Football League with two different clubs. Quite an achievement.
It's not his fault though, obviously. Everyone else is to blame for all the decisions he made that led to this outcome...
Results elsewhere confirm our relegation from
@SkyBetLeagueTwo
.
We thank you for your continuous support throughout this season. It means more than you'll ever know.
𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.
#HUFC