neilhoskins77 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 27/7/13 - Pre-Season Friendly Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Barrow (0) 2 Scorers : Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (58) Attendance : 556 Joe Day; Grant Black (Richard Slaughter 77), Scott Stamps (Colin Hunter 77), Michael McNaughton (Chris Doyle 77), Nathan Buddle (Danny Tilbury 77); John McReady (Steve Torpey 77), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Joe McGee 49), Martin Brittain (Babis Stefanidis 77); Trevor Benjamin (Leeroy Chinthengah 77), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (Jonathan Jones 77), Drewe Broughton (Stuart Nicholson 77). Our only home friendly of the schedule, and our `prestige' fixture, a match-up with Blue Square Premier side, Barrow. The team is just starting to show signs of coming together, and I'm excited about getting Nichlas Schon and Steve Jones into this lineup when they are fit and ready to go. Jason Mok is out for a few weeks, so Scott Stamps came into the lineup, and we more than held our own against our esteemed opponents. We took the lead with the hour mark approaching, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga showing too much pace for the visitors defence to reach a diagonal pass from John McReady, skip around the keeper, and tuck the ball home. It was becoming a familiar story that the game runs away from us when we make the changes, and it was even more frustrating that it was down to two errors. Steve Torpey literally stood on the ball on the halfway line, and then stood and watched as Barrow went on the counter attack, the cross finding Adam Boyes who swept a volley into the bottom corner. And Boyes was to get himself a bit more practice at aiming for the bottom corner in a few moments time, as Chris Doyle decided the best way to deal with a ball to the far post was to run right into his opponent and gave away a penalty. Boyes picked the same spot he had done previously for his volley. A few of the older guard have announced their decisions to retire at the end of this season. Sean Gregan, Brendan McDaid and Jo Tessem were not going to be particularly big losses to the squad on the playing side, but both Gregan and Tessem already hold backroom staff positions at the club. However, Trevor Benjamin's announcement wasn't expected, and we'll be attempting to talk him out of it, fully believing that he has another 2 or 3 good seasons in him yet at this kind of level. 21 year old Karlton Watson joins the club on a free transfer from Leicester City. A product of the Nottingham Forest youth academy, the defender who can play in the middle or on the right, has just 19 games of First Team experience from loan spells at Lincoln City and Hinckley United. We beat a lot of competition to sign the lad, but he'll prove himself in the Reserves first. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greekgeorge Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Enjoying your story Neil. I like the fact that you've signed some experienced players to help you. Nothing like a couple of Premier League veterans showing the kids how it's done Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks very much greekgeorge. You know, a famous footballer once said `You'll never win anything with kids'.....sounds like a good idea for a new story at some point in the future 31/7/13 - Pre-Season Friendly Brewery Field, Spennymoor Spennymoor Town (1) 2 Darlington (1) 3 Scorers : Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (17), Drewe Broughton (73), Steve Torpey (80) Attendance : 175 Joe Day; Grant Black (Richard Slaughter 62), Scott Stamps, Michael McNaughton, Nathan Buddle (Danny Tilbury 62), John McReady (Simon Carden 55), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 55), Martin Brittain (Steve Torpey 55); Trevor Benjamin (Leeroy Chinthengah 55 (Joe McGee 62)), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Drewe Broughton. Familiar opponents on the road for our penultimate pre-season fixture. Some of the players are given a full 90 minutes for this game, and finally we put a performance together, but it did look like it was going to end up the same way as the rest of our pre-season programme. Aristote Guerin-Lokonga poked the ball past the keeper to give us the lead, but once again we capitulated when changes were made, falling behind in the 56th minute. This time, the team showed some fight, with Drewe Broughton and Steve Torpey netting to get us a pre-season win on the board finally. Leeroy Chinthengah lasted just 7 minutes after coming on a substitute, twisting an ankle and now missing between 6 and 8 weeks of action. 3/8/13 - Pre-Season Friendly Filtrona Park, South Shields South Shields (0) 1 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (14), Stuart Nicholson (70) Attendance : 161 Joe Day; Grant Black (Richard Slaughter 45), Scott Stamps (Colin Hunter 45), Michael McNaughton (Daniel Murphy 45), Danny Tilbury (Karlton Watson 45); Simon Carden (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 61), Babis Stefanidis (Steve Torpey 45), Martin Brittain (John McReady 61); Drewe Broughton (Stuart Nicholson 61), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (Nichlas Schon 45), Trevor Benjamin (Jonathan Jones 23). Another of last season's opponents provide our final pre-season opposition, a trip to South Shields. Drewe Broughton moves to the left into the target man role to utilise his height, and he sets up the opener, his knock down finding Aristote Guerin-Lokonga who continued his good pre-season form. Our new Swedish striker made his first outing for the club as a half time substitute, and looked at home as the centre striker in the three. Shields got themselves level, Joseph Houchen reaching Agyepong's far post cross with a diving header. Stuart Nicholson came on for a flagging Drewe Broughton, and showed great instincts in front of goal, grabbing the winner with a calm finish a few minutes after having a goal disallowed for offside. Pre-season is all done, it's on to League action next, the campaign starting next Saturday at home to Bamber Bridge, but we'll be playing them without Trevor Benjamin, who pulled a hamstring and will miss up to 6 weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Anthony Hernandez becomes the first player at the club to be called up for International duty since the save started. He's in the squad for Gibraltar Under-21's game with Singapore Under-21's. 10/8/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 3 Bamber Bridge (0) 1 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (41), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (78), Michael McNaughton (85) Attendance : 1,891 Joe Day; Grant Black (Karlton Watson 74), Scott Stamps, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Simon Carden 74), Babis Stefanidis, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Stuart Nicholson 74), Nichlas Schon, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga. The drizzle of British summer didn't manage to spoil opening day of the domestic football season for a near capacity crowd at Heritage Park. It was fantastic for the team to play in front of such a good attendance at the start of the season, and shows off the club in the best possible light to the new players. And the result wasn't too shabby either. Nichlas Schon worked hard up front in the first half, and got his reward, played in with a through ball by Martin Brittain, running the ball into the box and lifting the ball over the keeper to open his account in English football. Again we shipped a goal early in the second half, David Wilson connecting with a deep cross, Joe Day got a good hand to it, but only diverted the ball away from Danny Tilbury who had got back on to the goal-line to cover. We made some changes with just about 15 minutes left, and they paid off. A visiting defender tried an audacious header back to his keeper from all of 35 yards from goal, the keeper was flat footed from his line, and Aristote Guerin-Lokonga beat him to it to slide the ball home. And Michael McNaughton finished the job, picked out by a deep corner and putting his foot through the ball to smash home the decisive goal. By Sunday night the front office tell us that we've sold out of season tickets, all 1,615 available have been snapped up, so hopefully we can used to playing in front of a packed out stadium. 13/8/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Queen's Terrace, Ossett Ossett Albion (1) 1 Darlington (0) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (72), Babis Stefanidis (76) Attendance : 153 Joe Day; Grant Black, Colin Hunter, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Simon Carden, Martin Brittain (Stuart Nicholson 64), Babis Stefanidis; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin Lokonga 4), Nichlas Schon. The Monday morning, the day before the trip to Ossett, a meeting was held with the backroom staff. Almost to a man, they expressed a concern about our formation, in particular that we were getting outplayed in the middle of the park, and not creating enough width. They all suggest reverting to 4-4-2. I hate that formation. It's boring, and often just leads to matching up with opponents, and if you believe you have a better team, you shouldn't need to match up. I went with the 4-4-2, and I know you can't judge a formation on an hour, but it was appalling. Our full back's looked lost with the wide men in front of them after months of learning to play with them doubling up as the wide men themselves. Our midfielders were used to coming through the middle and playing through a defence, so the wide men didn't get a service from them. Our natural `big man' up front lasted less than 5 minutes, and was replaced. It wasn't long after that when we fell behind. We created almost zero, and I couldn't take it any longer. With 65 minutes on the clock, we reverted back to the 4-3-3. The cogs instantly started turning, and substitute Stuart Nicholson is set off into the box. Two defenders chased him back, but Nicholson cut back inside on his left foot, and curled his shot around the keeper into the bottom corner. It didn't take long for the confidence to spread into the team, and Babis Stefanidis got his first goal for the club, taking control on the edge of the area and lofting the ball past the keeper and just inside the post. Moral of the story, sack your backroom staff and do it yourself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 Anthony Hernandez picked up his 9th cap for Gibraltar Under-21's, but didn't make any real impact in their 0-0 draw with their counterparts from Singapore. Nichlas Schon picked up a knock at Ossett, and will miss between a week and 10 days. 17/8/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 3 Warrington Town (1) 1 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (53), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (56,67) Attendance : 1,877 Joe Day; Grant Black, Scott Stamps, Michael McNaughton, Karlton Watson (Daniel Murphy 76); Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Joe McGee 76), Babis Stefanidis, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Jonathan Jones 76), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Staurt Nicholson. Another frustrating slow start, and we fall behind again. Our defence may have underestimated George Leigh, letting him wander into the box. They probably changed their minds a split second after watching him lash the ball high into the top corner. This time, there was no magic change in formation to repair the damage, just a good old fashioned kick up the backside. Martin Brittain pulled a cross from the right across the face of the goal, Stuart Nicholson's attempted shot was blocked, but bounced right back to him, and he pulled the trigger to level the game. Some nice passing down the right produced the go ahead goal in the 56th minute, Babis Stefanidis found Nicholson on the corner of the area, his through ball looked a touch too far ahead of Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, but the striker slid across the turf to get there in front of the goalkeeper, and divert the ball home. He completed the scoring in the 67th minute, again Nicholson supplying the ball across goal, the defender got the ball stuck between his feet, and Guerin-Lokonga quickly punished by him by shooting high into the roof of the net. 3 goals in a 15 minute spell, and a decent outing. Joe McGee came on as a substitute, but lasted less than a minute before being carried off, early season injury problems are starting to mount up. McGee will miss up to 3 months, but South African left back, Jason Mok is back in training. The First Round draw for the Northern League Challenge Cup throws us a home tie with Northern Premier League side, Needham Market, which will take place in late September. More new faces join the club before our next game. Steven Topalovic is an Australian defender of Croatian ancestry. The 23 year old signs on a free from Aussie club side, Richmond SC. This is the first time he's played outside his homeland, but is considered by the press and observers to be quite a coup for the club. 28 year old Icelandic midfielder, Brynjar Vidisson also arrives at the club. He's been playing for non-League Handknattleiksfelag Kopavogs (HK), for the majority of his career, his only other appearances were for their affiliate clubs. He's had a season at the top level of domestic football in Iceland, but has never amassed any representative honours and now tries his luck in England. A good passer of the ball, and a very capable dead ball taker, he could prove hard to shift from the side once he's in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 24/8/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 3 Farsley FC (0) 1 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (9 pen, 75), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (48) Attendance : 1,870 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Scott Stamps, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Simon Carden 68), Babis Stefanidis, Martin Brittain (Brynjar Vidisson 71); Drewe Broughton, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson (Nichlas Schon 83). 3-1 appears to be our favoured score for this season. Sam Lovatt made a strikers attempt at defending a corner, bundling Drewe Broughton to the floor and giving away a penalty. The big striker picked himself up, and confidently dispatched the spot kick into the corner for his first competitive goal for the club. Early in the second half we caught Farsley cold on the counter attack, finishing with Stuart Nicholson clipping the ball in for a suspiciously offside looking Aristote Guerin-Lokonga. He didn't wait for the flag to go up, firing home while the defenders badgered the ref and his assistant for an offside call that never came. Farsley dragged themselves back in to the game, catching us on the break themselves, hitting quickly down the left and a cross finding sub Dave Stead who fired past the advancing Joe Day. There was just time for new boy, Steven Topalovic to impress on his debut, a fantastic deep cross picking out Drewe Broughton who connected with his header to double his tally for the day, and get the 100th goal of his career. 31/8/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Wincham Park, Northwich Witton Albion (0) 2 Darlington (2) 3 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (6), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (37), Nichlas Schon (90+2) Attendance : 234 Joe Day, Steven Topalovic, Jason Mok, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury (Karlton Watson 69); Brynjar Vidisson (Steve Torpey 69), Babis Stefanidis, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson; Drewe Broughton, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (Nichlas Schon 69), Stuart Nicholson. A hit and miss outing, the first half probably being our best half of football in a while. Aristote Guerin-Lokonga flicked on long ball from Michael McNaughton, and Stuart Nicholson hit a left footed half volley inside the near post. It had started to cross the mind that Marc Bridge-Wilkinson wasn't performing as well as had been hoped. The veteran midfielder was shifted from the deep playmaker role to go to a box to box role on the other side of the midfield trio, and there was an argument that Martin Brittain was pretty unlucky to be left out today. But he produced a spectacular response. His free kick from 35 yards out was a poor delivery, but the ball arrived back to him, and he hit a thunderous volley into the top corner, a real goal of the season contender. Witton's captain, Craig Mahon spurred his side on in the second half, leading by example, and scoring twice, the equaliser coming with just 3 minutes left on the clock. But we found a late winner, with Witton pressurising, the ball broke and allowed Steve Torpey to break down the middle of the pitch, and pick out the run of fellow sub, Nichlas Schon. The Swede ignored the chasing back defenders, and beat the keeper with a low shot that hit the net via the right post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 3/9/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Belle Vue Stadium, Wakefield Wakefield (0) 1 Darlington (2) 2 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (5), Stuart Nicholson (27) Attendance : 155 Joe Day; Grant Brown, Scott Stamps, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Steve Torpey 83), Babis Stefanidis, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Martin Brittain 83); Aristote Guerin Lokonga (Drewe Broughton 83), Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Our strikers are really bang in form right now, particularly Nichlas Schon and Stuart Nicholson, who hardly miss when they get an opportunity. Trevor Benjamin is back in training, but he's really going to struggle to get his spot in the First Team back with 4 strikers all getting themselves amongst the goals. The 3 starters today combined for the opening goal. Aristote Guerin-Lukonga played a great diagonal ball to play Stuart Nicholson in, but he had 3 defenders around him, so picked out Schon near the penalty spot, who sidefooted home the opener. It was the other Swede, Babis Stefanidis who set up the second, beating a man with a great touch of skill, assessing his options, before sliding the ball into the box for Nicholson. It looked like the pass had too much on, but Nicholson reached it, and from a tight angle, beat the keeper at his near post. Wakefield got a goal back on the hour, and again took advantage of our lack of pace at the back, Caddick and O'Halloran combining to dispossess Stefanidis and send Nathan Forbes-Swindell through on goal, who made no mistake. The home side bossed the last 15-20 minutes of the game, and an equaliser looked inevitable, but we held on and secured another victory. 7/9/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 2 Ossett Town (0) 1 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (76), Danny Tilbury (83) Attendance : 1,705 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Jason Mok, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Steve Torpey 78), Babis Stefanidis, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Martin Brittain 86); Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 78), Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Our fans certainly can't complain they don't get their money's worth in our games. Drewe Broughton hit the post twice in the space of five minutes in the first half, and the second half started with Michael McNaughton rattling the crossbar with a header from a corner. It was starting to look like it wasn't going to be our day, and that was reinforced when the visitors went in front after quickly breaking from our corner. Danny Tilbury should have headed clear after doing well to get back, but mis-timed his jump, and Jason Knowles fired home. They switch to a defensive formation, and have just one man up front, if that. We leave the two centre backs, but push the full backs forward. The two wider strikers drop a little deeper to try and pressure Ossett in the gap between midfield and strikers. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson plays a ball to the far side of the box, their defender tried to take the ball down, but Broughton took it off his toe and lashed the ball high into the net. And with seven minutes to go, Bridge-Wilkinson drifted a corner in, and Danny Tilbury made up for his earlier mistake by sweeping home the ball to make it 7 wins out of 7 so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 14/9/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Parkside Road, Kendal Kendal Town (0) 2 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (9), Drewe Broughton (53) Attendance : 137 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Martin Brittain 74), Steve Torpey (Colin Hunter 74), Babis Stefanidis; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Furious with the team for throwing away the three points in this one, and I wasn't shy about letting them know about it either. We're top of the League, yet don't have a clean sheet in 8 games to date. With that in mind, the formation is modified, but not in a conventional way. The full backs are dispensed with, and we operate with three centre backs. The two centre midfielders will be defensively responsible, with two wingers outside them to provide the bullets for the most impressive part of this team, the strikers. The big man up front will sit in a deeper role, two strikers will play in front of him. Brynjar Vidisson lofted a free kick over the defenders heads with almost 10 minutes on the clock, Stuart Nicholson beat the offside trap and finished neatly. Early in the second half, and the lead was doubled with Joe Day hammering a long kick downfield. Drewe Broughton flicked it on for Nichlas Schon, who tee'ed it back up for the veteran who finished with a shot that was curling out of the keepers reach. But it all came crashing down again, Steve Thompson wandering into the box and firing past Day, and then in the 83rd minute, we didn't clear the ball properly, and Max Rothwell was on the hand to shoot on the turn and earn Kendal Town a share of the spoils. The draw is made for the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, and we get a home tie with Droylsden, who are a level above us in the Northern Premier League. The game will be played on the 5th October. 21/9/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (3) 4 Radcliffe Borough (0) 0 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (13,19,54), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (45+3) Attendance : 1,711 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Simon Carden 73), Babis Stefanidis (Colin Hunter 73), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 73); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. That's more like it! Finally a performance worthy of a team that's top of the pile and with aspirations of being promoted again this season. Stuart Nicholson opened the scoring by rolling his defending and hammering home a shot from 20 yards out. His second shortly after had a touch of fortune about it, as Martin Brittain's low cross hit him in the shin, and bounced perfectly for him to find the net. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson showed his continued improvement in form in his new role, and put the exclamation point on it by smashing home an unstoppable free kick from 35 yards. They always look so much more spectacular when they go in off the underside of the bar. Bridge-Wilkinson had another crack at goal early in the second half, taking the pass 30 yards out and drilling a shot that beat the keeper, but thumped the crossbar, but Nicholson was on hand to tap home the rebound and complete his first treble for the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 24/9/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Victoria Park, Burscough Burscough (1) 2 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (41 pen), Babis Stefanidis (69) Attendance : 231 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Steve Torpey 75), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Babis Stefanidis, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 75); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. A return to inconsistency, and again we ship goals while not scoring enough on the road against a team we should be dispatching. Burscough started well, and took the lead when Darren Brookfield scored from close range. We picked up the pace, and starting to throw the kitchen sink at the home defence, and got a reward before half time when Nichlas Schon was hauled down after turning his marker and getting in to the box. Drewe Broughton put his foot through the ball to slam home the equaliser from the spot. We continued our form into the second half, and finally got ourselves in front with around 20 minutes remaining. Babis Stefanidis cuts in from the left and just kept running at the backing up defenders, before slotting the ball between the keeper and near post. No change in tactics, just some changes in personnel, but something changed within the teams mindset and it got to the point that a Burscough equaliser looked inevitable. And it duly arrived, Bevan Burey profiting from a goalmouth scramble. 27/9/13 - Northern League Challenge Cup, First Round Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 3 Needham Market (0) 1 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (17 pen), Stuart Nicholson (59,80) Attendance : 1,329 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Simon Carden 80), Babis Stefanidis, Martin Brittain (Colin Hunter 80); Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Stuart Nicholson is really starting to become a headache for opposition defences. Steven Topalovic found the striker on the edge of the area with a throw-in, and Rhys Henry had the answer, hack him to the floor. Drewe Broughton duly converted the penalty. Nicholson bagged the second himself, collecting the ball outside the box and curling his shot into the top corner. Needham Market made a game of it, Ming sending in a cross from the right, and Holmes beat Topalovic to the ball to drag themselves back in to the game. It was starting to look like we were going to throw the game away again, but with 10 minutes to go we catch them on the break, the front three combining well and Broughton played in Nicholson, who found the net once more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthreeleader Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 This is very well done. An enjoyable read and I'll be taking my time with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Thanks very much tenthreeleader. Glad you've enjoyed it so far, and hope it continues to be an enjoyable read Swedish midfielder, Babis Stefanidis, will miss up to 5 weeks with a groin strain suffered in training. Divisional rivals, Ossett Town, will be our next opponents in the Northern League Challenge Cup. We'll face them at their ground in mid-November in the Second Round. Speaking of Cups, it's FA Cup time.... 5/10/13 - FA Cup, Second Qualifying Round Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 3 Droylsden (0) 1 Scorers : Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (17), Nichlas Schon (57, 90+2) Attendance : 1,881 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Steven Torpey (Colin Hunter 83), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Truth be told, I wasn't especially confident of us turning Droylsden over in the Cup. The Board had very little in the way of expectations for the FA Cup this season. With the man we tried to sign playing in their midfield, Nicky Platt, pulling the strings, they are a team that have the players capable of cutting the opposition open at this level. But on this day, Brynjar Vidisson and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had his space and options cut to the minimum, and it was the latter that gave us the lead, Stuart Nicholson stepping over a cross field pass, and Bridge-Wilkinson walking on to it and drilling his low shot into the bottom corner. Nicholson thought he'd made it two, hooking a volley into the top corner, but the assistant had his flag raised for offside. It was the kind of game where the second goal was going to be crucial, and we snatched it on the counter attack. Michael McNaughton cut out a cross on the edge of our own area, but did away with the delicate clearance, sending a volley up field and picking out Drewe Broughton. The big fella held the ball up well, before playing in Nichlas Schon, who coolly slotted home the second. Back came the visitors, and Rabiu attacked down the right, and Burns beat no less then 3 defenders and Joe Day to the ball to turn home the ball and bring them back into contention with a bit over 10 minutes remaining. Droylsden poured forward at every opportunity, but we held them, and caught them with a sucker punch just as the ref checked his watch for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Bridge-Wilkinson sends Schon clear, and Assoumani tried to cover. The Swedish striker turned him inside out before planting the ball high in to the net for his 5th of the season, and to book us a place in the Third Qualifying Round, where we'll face a trip to Needham Market, who we've already beaten in the Challenge Cup this season. The game will be played in a fortnight's time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 9/10/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 2 Harrogate Railway Athletic (0) 0 Scorers : Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (37), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (74) Attendance : 1,463 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 63); Nichlas Schon (Steve Torpey 72), Stuart Nicholson (Trevor Benjamin 63). A comfortable victory over a gutsy Harrogate side that continued to push us for the full 90 minutes. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson hit one of those shots that as a manager you just roll your eyes and think `why are you shooting from there'. My eyes returned to normal position just in time to see this one dip and curl beyond the keeper and into the net to give us the advantage. We caught them out for a second when they went pushing for a leveller that never looked likely, and Trevor Benjamin flicked on a route one ball for Aristote Guerin-Lokonga who held off a defender, and showed once again that he knows where the net is, slotting in the game breaker. The visitors turned up the physical side of their game, with both Bridge-Wilkinson and sub, Steve Torpey taking late knocks, the latter one earning James Cotterill a second yellow card five minutes from time. Both of our players suffered twisted ankles, and both will miss up to 8 weeks of action, and a blow in particular to lose Bridge-Wilkinson while he's in such good form. We're starting to get some kudos for our performances at last. The players are starting to be talked about in the press, and in some instances, linked with clubs higher up the food chain than ourselves. At some point, it's inevitable that a few will move on to bigger and better things, but lets try not to worry about that just now, and enjoy the luxury of being big fish in small ponds while that's still the case. I'm even managing to get a little bit of publicity myself, I've taken to introducing myself in the streets of Darlington as `the man who'll bring glory back to the town' and `kind of a big deal around here in case you hadn't noticed'. I don't know if this was translated into Icelandic, or if my fame there came from secret Brnyjar Vidisson fans meeting in dingy Reykjavik bars to watch Darlington games on illegal satellite hook ups. Either way, a job offer arrived from Leiknir Reykjavik of the second tier of Icelandic domestic football. The season has just finished, they missed promotion by 8 points and sacked their manager. The job offer was rejected without much thought. But the biggest compliment came in the days before our next League game. This Division is blessed with a particularly high profile manager, none other than goalkeeping legend, Edwin van der Sar, current manager of Salford City. His side are amongst a group trying to hunt us down at the moment, but in his pre-match press conference, he was asked about Darlington, and complimented the club on their style of football, the side we have built, and named us as promotion favourites. He could be my assistant one day if he plays his cards right..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 12/10/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Church Lane, New Mills New Mills FC (0) 1 Darlington (1) 4 Scorers : Colin Hunter (26), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (73), Nichlas Schon (77), Drewe Broughton (86) Attendance : 146 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, John McReady (Simon Carden 71), Colin Hunter (Scott Stamps 71), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 71). A trip to lowly New Mills FC, and the big decision was who would step into the midfield role. John McReady was the man selected, match fit after several run outs for the Reserves, but already unhappy with his lack of First Team football so far. You'd think the young midfielder would have grabbed this opportunity with both hands. Not at all. He wandered around the pitch looking lost, dis-interested and generally not bothered. We had a slim advantage at half time, Stuart Nicholson chasing down a ball he had no right to reach, squaring it back across the goalmouth and finding Colin Hunter who hit the net for the first time this season. We didn't press home our advantage, and the home side got a leveller with 20 minutes remaining, Nathan Modest stabbing the ball into the top corner from close range. The cavalry are summoned, and the changes are made before the game was restarted. McReady was one of those taken off, don't expect to see him in a Darlington shirt again anytime soon, if ever. Maybe it was the changes, maybe it was knowing they should already be out of sight that made the difference, but we turned the game right around. Aristote Guerin-Lokonga used his first touch to collect the ball in the box, and his second to shoot on the turn and find the far corner. Nichlas Schon put the game beyond New Mills reach when he raced on to Scott Stamps through ball and slotted past the keeper. And with moments remaining, Martin Brittain took advantage of lax defending near the corner flag, taking the ball off the defenders toe and finding himself with a queue of team-mates in the box waiting for his pass. He picked out Drewe Broughton who had enough time to take a touch before hammering home the final goal of the match. We now hold a 7 point lead at the top as nearest challengers, Garforth Town, lose 3-1 at Radcliffe Borough. The squad needs to be cut back a bit now to reduce the wage bill. Steve Harrison is released on a free transfer. Nathan Buddle and John McReady are told they will be transfer listed. Meanwhile, Crewe Alexandra midfielder, Sesay arrives at the club on loan for 3 months. Sourced by our Director of Football, the Sierra Leonean 22 year old can play anywhere across the middle of the park or as a striker, boasting blistering pace and some ability when it comes to sending a cross over. 19/10/14 - FA Cup, Third Qualifying Round Bloomfields, Ipswich Needham Market (0) 0 Darlington (2) 4 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (16,51,79), Stuart Nicholson (34) Attendance : 135 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Joe McGee, Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. We held a prize draw for the travelling supporters, first prize was a starting place in midfield, but the winner hadn't brought his boots, so it was Joe McGee who got the gig for the FA Cup tie. He turned in a performance that was certainly an upgrade on John McReady's lacklustre effort. Nichlas Schon opened the scoring with a header from Brynjar Vidisson's free kick in the 16th minute. Schon turned provider for the second goal, playing in Stuart Nicholson with a through ball, and he beat the keeper with a low shot. Just 5 minutes into the second half, Nicholson was brought down in the penalty area, and the ref awarded the spot kick. Drewe Broughton stepped up, and send the keeper the wrong way, but saw his effort bounce off the upright, however Schon reacted quickest, and was left with an easy finish. The striker earned his first hat-trick for the club with just over 10 minutes left, volleying home from close range after Nicholson had got to the byline, and cut the ball back across the box. A comfortable victory that delighted both fans, and the Board. Our final Qualifying Round match will pit us away to either Leamington of the Southern Premier League, or Workington of the Blue Square North. Meanwhile, midfielder John McReady goes AWOL from a training session. He's fined a weeks wages, and comes to the office to complain that he has been harshly treated. He believes that the club are trying to force him out, and he's right too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Workington beat Leamington in their replayed FA Cup tie, and we'll travel to face the Blue Square North outfit in 10 days or so. 39 year old midfielder, Brendan McDaid, is released on a free transfer as we continue our efforts to trim the squads wage bill. 21 year old right back, Andrew Harrison also packs his bags as he is released from his contract. 26/10/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Shawbridge, Clitheroe Clitheroe (0) 0 Darlington (0) 2 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (59), Stuart Nicholson (90+2) Attendance : 293 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Joe McGee (Sesay 76), Colin Hunter Steve Jones 76), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Clitheroe are in 4th place as we go into the weekend, and they provide the stern test we were expecting. In fact, there may be a case for saying they were the better team in the first half, they certainly created the best of the chances. We started the second half with Martin Brittain missing a golden opportunity to break his duck and give us the lead. But as the hour mark approached, we hit the home side with a classic counter attack. Michael McNaughton gets his head to the ball to clear a Clitheroe cross, and Brynjar Vidisson puts Stuart Nicholson through one on one with the last defender. Nicholson spotted Nichlas Schon breaking his neck to get into position, and the square pass finds him, and he sweeps home his 10th goal of the season. Nicholson got his reward for his unselfish play in the dying seconds, slamming home from close range. We hold an 8 point lead, and have a game in hand also, on nearest challengers, Curzon Ashton. This game saw both Steve Jones and Sensay make their debuts from the bench, and the physio reports that Babis Stefanidis is ready to resume training following his 3 week lay off with a groin strain. James Wood moves to Hucknall Town on loan for 3 months, who will cover half of his wages during that period. Leon Henry and Leon Scott are both released and leave the club. Another new face arrives at the club on loan, 17 year old Nigerian defender Arinse Uade joins from Arsenal for 3 months. 30/10/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (3) 3 Skelmersdale United (0) 0 Scorers : Danny Tilbury (11), Nichlas Schon (14), Adam Flynn (23 o.g) Attendance : 1,473 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Joe McGee (Babis Stefanidis 71), Colin Hunter (Steve Jones 71), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 71), Stuart Nicholson. A flurry of goals in the first half secure the points against a team that have been struggling for form since the opening weeks of the season. Michael McNaughton was awarded man of the match, but it should have been Joe Day in my opinion. The on loan keeper produced 4 or 5 vital saves, including stopping Dax Hoogerwerf's first half penalty. Danny Tilbury opened the scoring by volleying in from close range following a corner. Nichlas Schon gets his name on the scoresheet once again moments later, the benefactor of a defender sliding in to prevent Martin Brittain shooting, and the ball falling right to him, and he was on target with a low shot. It was also Schon's low cross from the left that caused Adam Flynn problems, the defender unable to sort out his feet, and the ball hit him in the shins and rolled into the corner of the net. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Nathan Buddle leaves the club, signing for Northern Premier League side, North Ferriby United, on a free transfer. They are also interested in signing John McReady, and we're hoping they make an offer for the midfielder in the next few days. 2/11/13 - FA Cup, Fourth Qualifying Round Borough Park, Workington Workington (0) 1 Darlington (1) 4 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (24), Drewe Broughton (59), Nichlas Schon (71,85) Attendance : 245 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Simon Carden 67), Babis Stefanidis, Colin Hunter (Scott Stamps 67), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Trevor Benjamin 82); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. I'm still not sure if I was surprised or not that we were being touted as favourites for the FA Cup tie at Workington. The Blue Square North team certainly weren't in any kind of form, they have just 3 wins from their 14 League games to date, and are firmly entrenched in the relegation zone, making it a possibility that 2 levels between us this season, may turn to Division rivals next season. Stuart Nicholson opened the scoring midway through the first half, Wordsworth and Green making a mess of trying to clear Colin Hunter's cross, and Nicholson left with a finish on the half volley from near the penalty spot. Drewe Broughton got the second as the hour approached, a bit of role reversal as Nichlas Schon knocked down a long clearance from Joe Day, Broughton played a one-two with Colin Hunter, and the shot had enough power to beat Taylor despite the keeper getting a good hand to it. The host came right back into it, Rowe making a dangerous run down the left, the defence sucked across to that side of the field. Brynjar Vidisson was responsible enough to track Craig Farrell back, but was no match for the striker in the air, and he found the net with his firm header. With the game in the balance, it was left once again to our increasingly more reliable striker, Nichlas Schon, to clinch the match. Steven Topalovic sent a deep cross in that Scott Stamps resisted the urge to lash a volley goalwards, and clipped it back towards the back post. Broughton fired a shot that Taylor saved from close range, but Schon was on hand to fire home. With five minutes left on the clock, he struck again, Trevor Benjamin and Stuart Nicholson involved in a counter attack, and Schon finding the corner from the edge of the box. We go into the draw for the First Round proper, much to be Boards delight. Along with a handful of other teams that play at an equivalent level, we're the lowest ranked teams left in the competition, and our reward is a home tie with nPower League 2 side, Oxford United, next weekend. 5/11/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (2) 3 Ramsbottom United (1) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (20), Michael McNaughton (40), Steve Jones (70) Attendance : 1,459 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Arinse Uade; Sesay, Joe McGee (Scott Carden 78), Scott Stamps (Colin Hunter 78), Steve Jones; Aristote Guerin Lukonga (Trevor Benjamin 78); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. A much changed team take the field against 14th place Ramsbottom United, our last League game before the FA Cup tie with Oxford United. On-loan Arinse Uade plays his first ever pro game, while Steve Jones makes his full debut for the club. Jones played a part in all three of our goals too, creating two and scoring one himself. He connected with a Scott Stamps cross, lifting the ball back across goal, Stuart Nicholson lifted the ball over the defender, then drilled the ball high into the net for the opener. Jones delivered a corner five minutes before half time, Michael McNaughton met it perfectly and glanced the header inside the far post. The visitors did get a goal back before half time, Stewart Crane hitting a low 25 yard shot that went through a crowd of players and found the far corner. The second half was an open affair, and Steve Jones looked to have put the game beyond Ramsbottom, picking up a loose ball on the edge of the area, and curling his shot into the top corner to open his account for the club. The visitors didn't give up, and made the last few minutes uncomfortable when Tom Grice took advantage of the defenders missing his run into the box, and his downward header at the far post just made it between the upright and Joe Day. We now hold a 10 point advantage and still have our game in hand, and we're starting to make a mockery of the media predictions that the best we could hope for this campaign was a top half finish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Anthony Hernandez hasn't made a single appearance for the First Team here so far, but the lad is still getting his call ups for Gibraltar Under-21's, this time for their game against New Zealand. 9/11/13 - FA Cup, First Round Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 1 Oxford United (2) 3 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (45) Attendance : 1,994 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Babis Stefanidis (Joe McGee 72), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon (Trevor Benjamin 72), Stuart Nicholson (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 72). The good run in the FA Cup comes to an end, pride intact, and bank balance the better for it. A few years ago this game would have been a staple of the lower reaches of the Football League, now its a match between two clubs with 4 Divisions between them. We were big underdogs going into the game, 4/1 in a home game doesn't happen too often. A full house at Heritage Park watch us hold our own for almost 20 minutes, before a cross from the left finds James Constable unmarked on the edge of the 6 yard box, and his header left Joe Day helpless. Five minutes before the break, and Michael McNaughton is judged to have bundled Constable to the floor in the penalty area. Ugandan midfielder, Tonny Mawejje puts the ball right into the corner, Day guessing the right way but not able to reach the ball. We didn't give up, and pulled a goal back right on half time to give our fans a bit of optimism with their half time pies. Nichlas Schon bagged his 8th goal in the Cup this season, reaching Martin Brittain's cross and finding the bottom corner. Our hard work before the break was undone in unfortunate circumstances shortly after the break, Mawejje hitting a shot that took a huge deflection, and left Day totally wrong-footed. The adventure is over as far as the Cup is concerned for this season, but I'm hoping we'll be back on the giant killing trail next season. John McReady is digging his heels in, refusing to discuss a contract with North Ferriby United after we accepted their free transfer offer. Mossley are now looking at McReady as well. I'm still hoping the lad takes a move and gets his backside off our wage bill as soon as possible. 13/11/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Wheatley Park Stadium, Garforth Garforth Town (3) 3 Darlington (1) 1 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (30) Attendance : 237 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Babis Stefanidis, Scott Stamps (Colin Hunter 79), Martin Brittain (Steve Jones 79); Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 79); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Earlier in the season, these games were being called as tough games for us, tight affairs that we'd do well to win. Now 15 games into the campaign, and the press are quoting us as 1/6 favourites for a game away to a fourth placed team. Either the team are suffering the effects of losing in the FA Cup, or possibly starting to believe the hype that they can simply cruise through this League. But many more performances like this, and they can cruise off to another club, because this was simply unacceptable. Two goals down inside just 10 minutes, firstly Turner's cross was touched in at the far post by Gardner, then Joe Day inexplicably trying to clear the ball down the centre of the pitch while right out in the left back position, a good 30 yards from his goal-line. Luke Beedham volleyed it from the halfway line, and the ball didn't touch the ground before hitting the back of the net. We looked like we could drag ourselves back into the match, Drewe Broughton lifted a ball over the defence, Stuart Nicholson headed it down into his own path, and ran on to round the keeper and pull a goal back. But the hosts got another before the break, Beedham breaking through the middle, before passing to the right to Thompson, and he slotted inside the far post with a low shot. The halt-time team talk was short and sweet, and the players responded to a certain degree by putting Garforth under pressure for the majority of the second half. But our golden touch in front of goal eluded us today, and we're beaten in the League for the first time this season. It's far from a disaster, we're 9 points ahead of the pack, with 2 games in hand of everyone except Garforth, but certainly the team will be expected to get back on track right away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 16/11/13 - Northern League Challenge Cup, Second Round Ingfield, Ossett Ossett Town (0) 0 Darlington (0) 0 Scorers : None Attendance : 118 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Babis Stefanidis, Joe McGee, Colin Hunter (Sesay 82), Martin Brittain (Steve Jones 82); Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 82); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Maybe not quite a bore draw, but not far off. Ossett Town hit the woodwork twice in quick succession at the end of the first half, while Nichlas Schon missed our best chance five minutes from the end, firing just wide. There will be a replay in a few days time, the winner will face either North Ferriby United or Nantwich, both of the Northern Premier League, in the last sixteen. 19/11/13 - Northern League Challenge Cup, Second Round Replay Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 1 Ossett Town (2) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (1) Attendance : 1,127 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Chris Doyle, Arinse Uade; Brynjar Vidisson, Sesay, Babis Stefanidis, Steve Jones; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. It started so well early on, and finished so miserably later in the evening. We hit the front after just 47 seconds, Nichlas Schon getting his pass through to Stuart Nicholson at the second attempt, and Nicholson waited out the keeper before lifting the ball over him. The visitors were level after just 8 minutes, a free kick delivered from the left, Karlton Watson missing his header, and Carl Fothergill was right behind him to head in from close range. With no flow to the game, a constant stream of free kicks and niggly fouls, neither team looked particularly threatening, but the Ossett Town stole it with 81 minutes on the clock, as David Brown broke down the left. He still had plenty to do after picking up the pass on the halfway line, but he showed a good turn of pace, and some great composure, beating Joe Day with a shot across the keeper. We suffer our second Cup defeat in 10 days, and now it's just the League to concentrate on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 23/11/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Valerie Park, Prescot Prescot Cables (0) 0 Darlington (1) 3 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (21), Nichlas Schon (75,81) Attendance : 289 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 76), Colin Hunter (Sesay 76), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 76); Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. The conditions were thundery, and so was our return to form in this League encounter. Our two prolific strikers got us through the game with some great finishing. Stuart Nicholson headed home at the near post from Brynjar Vidisson's corner midway through the first half to give us control over the game against fourth placed Prescot Cables. While it took us a while to get another goal on the scoreboard, we were the bosses in the game, bolstered by the return of Marc Bridge-Wilkinson a few weeks early from his ankle injury. Nichlas Schon added to his impressive goalscoring haul for the season later on, aided by some particularly shoddy defending by Lynskey who fired his attempted clearance straight into Nicholson, the ball rebounding into Schon's path and he duly bagged his 15th goal of the season. His 16th wasn't long in coming either, Vidisson's floated corner was headed right back to him, and his second attempted was drilled right across the goalmouth, where Schon stuck out a foot at the far post and diverted the ball into the corner to get us a first win in 5 games. 26/11/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (2) 3 Salford City (0) 0 Scorers : Martin Brittain (8,25), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (76) Attendance : 1,451 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Sesay 68), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 68), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 68). Edwin van der Sar has quickly changed his tune. It was only a few weeks ago that he was lauding the club as the favourites to take promotion. Now in the approach to our first meeting with them in the season, he has decided that we're easy pickings now. He couldn't have been more wrong. His team barely troubled us for the duration of the match. Martin Brittain now knows how it feels to be in the position where you wait for a long time, and then get two at once....goals in this instance. Brittain opened his account for the season Stuart Nicholson played the through ball for the pacey winger, and Brittain slotted beyond the keeper and into the far corner. Just over midway through the half, and it was the turn of the other striker, Nichlas Schon to set up Brittain. The cross from the left was a deep one, and Brittain arrived unmarked, and in perfect time to half volley a second high into the net. Substitute, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga netted the third goal, glancing Colin Hunter's corner home via the far upright. Maybe you should worry about your own team Mr van der Sar, we're just fine here thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 30/11/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North The Tameside Stadium, Ashton-under-Lyne Curzon Ashton (0) 0 Darlington (0) 0 Scorers : None Attendance : 171 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Joe McGee 73), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter (Sesay 73), Martin Brittain (Babis Stefanidis 73); Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Third placed Curzon Ashton were always likely to make our life difficult, and they didn't disappoint in that regard. Steven Topalovic was named man of the match, possibly as he was the only defender left on the park who managed to avoid the ref's yellow card today. The whistle blower set his stall out early by booking Michael McNaughton early on, and his options were limited from there as the teams set about kicking each other rather than the ball. The biggest surprise was that nobody saw a red card. 4/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 2 Stockport Sports (1) 1 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (11), Karlton Watson (75) Attendance : 1,468 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Arinse Uade; Brynjar Vidisson, Joe McGee, Sesay, Babis Stefanidis; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. We play our game in hand at home to Stockport Sports, which will take us to the halfway point of the League campaign. Changes were needed as some of the regulars in the First Team were in need of a rest. One of those brought in was teenage on-loan defender, Arinse Uade, and the lad supplied a peach of a cross to the far post, and Stuart Nicholson wasn't too sure whether to head or volley it, and in the end did neither, the ball kind of hitting him in the chest and bouncing into the net. Stockport Sports came back into the game, Karlton Watson didn't get enough on his defensive header from a corner, and Matthew Hampson absolutely laced the ball into the net. Watson made amends by grabbing the winner with 15 minutes left and just as it was starting to look like it wouldn't be our day. Brynjar Vidisson delivered a free kick, and Watson got just enough on his volley to divert it in and secure the points. So with the halfway mark reached, we hold a 14 point lead at the top of the table, and we look dead certs for promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 The Group Stages of the World Cup are drawn, and England are pitted with Germany, Colombia and Costa Rica. Australian midfielder, Ryan Jones, agrees to a contract termination and leaves the club. The 23 year old failed to make a single First Team appearance during his short time at the club. 7/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Irongate, Bamber Bridge Bamber Bridge (0) 0 Darlington (1) 1 Scorers : Martin Brittain (68) Attendance : 187 Joe Day; Steve Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Joe McGee 62), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter (Sesay 80), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson (Aristote Guerin-Lukonga 62). We escape with the points from a very tight game that showed Bamber Bridge as a significantly better team than their 16th position suggests. We were certainly lucky to make it to half time, Steve Topalovic hacking an effort off the line just before the break, while we created the square root of zero during the first half. We make the breakthrough midway through the second half, Nichlas Schon drove a shot that the keeper stopped with his legs, before diving across the goal to keep out Drewe Broughton's effort from the rebound, but it was to be third time lucky as the keeper got no help from his defenders, and Martin Brittain was left with a simple tap-in. 14/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Ossett Albion (1) 1 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (58) Attendance : 1,698 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. We're really having problems with the teams from Ossett this season. Albion are in 4th, and came with a counter attacking mentality, and Danny Tilbury helped give them something to hold on to, trying to force a header back to Joe Day from too far out, and their danger man, Adam Muller latched on to it to sweep the ball home and give them a 9th minute lead. The closest we came to getting an equaliser before half time was through Drewe Broughton, who cannoned the ball against the crossbar with a long range effort that had the keeper grasping at thin air. It was Broughton who got the leveller as the hour mark approached. The visiting defence didn't do a particularly good job of clearing one of Steven Topalovic's crosses, and as the ball came to the edge of the area, Nichlas Schon did a great job of knocking the ball down, and Broughton picked his spot in the far corner beautifully, taking the shot on the bounce and keeping his shot low. We looked like we might steal the victory, Schon putting the ball in the net at the second attempt with 5 minutes left, but he was denied by the assistants offside flag. After the game we learn that Jonathan Jones has moved to Consett on loan for the next 3 months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 17/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Cantilever Park, Warrington Warrington Town (0) 2 Darlington (1) 3 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (30), Martin Brittain (49), Drewe Broughton (90+4) Attendance : 154 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Joe McGee 76), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 76), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 34), Stuart Nicholson. `In sports news, there was a robbery committed in Warrington this evening, when Darlington stole 3 points from their hosts and made a run for it on a rather dubious looking team bus.' Nichlas Schon put us ahead with a well worked goal, finishing with him looping his header over the keeper. But less then 5 minutes later, the striker was back in the changing rooms, carried off with what looks like a serious hamstring injury. Shortly after the break, and Ashley Stott capitalises on Michael McNaughton's error and diverts the ball in for a leveller. We're starting to become very accomplished at getting goals around the hour mark of games, no match-fixing involved, promise. Martin Brittain has certainly discovered a scoring touch, getting on the end of Colin Hunter's fine cross for a tap in. Back came Warrington again, Lewis Field netting from close range after a cut back from the byline wrong footed most of our defence. With 3 minutes injury time signalled, Warrington made a change that they clearly forgot about, and when Joe Day hoofed a goal kick downfield, they were expecting the final whistle. But it didn't come quick enough, the ball finding its way to Hunter, he crossed into the centre, and Drewe Broughton hooked the ball home while looking suspiciously offside. The flag stayed down, the Warrington fans and staff were furious, even more so when the ref blew the whistle within seconds of them restarting. The news we were dreading arrived after the game. It's a torn hamstring for Schon, and he'll miss between 3 and 4 months, so most of the remainder of the season. 21/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Throstle Nest, Pudsey Farsley FC (0) 1 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (14), Michael McNaughton (90) Attendance : 199 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Arinse Uade; Babis Stefanidis, Joe McGee (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 83), Scott Stamps (Steve Jones 83), Sesay; Steve Torpey (Simon Carden 83); Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson. If scoring late winners is becoming our habit, it's not a bad habit to have at all. Truth be told, we deserved all 3 points from this game. Scott Stamps provided the ammunition for Stuart Nicholson to slide into the 6 yard box ahead of the defender and keeper to give us the advantage. Our much changed team held that advantage right up until the 77th minute, when Sam Lovatt met a cross from the right and sent his header back in the direction that Joe Day was scampering across his goalmouth from to level the game up. With the draw looking likely, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson sent his inswinging corner into the box, and Michael McNaughton beat everyone in the air to power his header home and snatch us another priceless win as we close in on promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 28/12/13 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 1 Witton Albion (1) 1 Scorers : Colin Hunter (24) Attendance : 1,702 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (Trevor Benjamin 80), Stuart Nicholson. My 100th competitive game as a manager, but it should have been the traditional Boxing Day game, it seems tradition means nothing in this League, disgusting. There is certainly an argument that teams seem to `up their game' when they play us, teams that we should be beating with a degree of comfort are now causing problems. It could be a case of individuals winding down, we're going to lose a fair few players to retirement next season. Our goal was a great team effort, passing our way through the defence, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga slipping the pass to Colin Hunter who was goal side of his marker, and thrashed the ball into the corner. Once again we're caught out on the counter attack. Aaron Rey sent the pacey Luke Horrocks away down the left flank, the midfielder making it all the way to the box, and his low cross picked out the unmarked Craig Mahon who had a simple finish. 1/1/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (2) 3 Wakefield (0) 1 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (1), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (45,74) Attendance : 1,472 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter (Sesay 76), Martin Brittain (Babis Stefanidis 76); Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson (Trevor Benjamin 76). A good performance that opens up a 19 point gap at the top with 42 points left to play for. The teams behind are consistently taking points from each other, which hopefully will only bring the title home quicker. Goals either end of the first half set the tone in this one. Drewe Broughton opened up the scoring with less than a minute on the clock, a sidefooter that he passed into the bottom corner of the net. Aristote Guerin-Lukonga doubled the lead on half time, fed in down the left, cutting inside his marker into the box and drilling the ball into the net. The Congolese striker scored again in the second half, rounding off a great team move with some good looking one-touch football. Cameron Lyn pulled a goal back for the visitors late on, but it was too little too late for Wakefield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 Defender, Daniel Murphy, moves to Cork City of Ireland on a free transfer. 16 year old Canadian defender, Max Alexander joins the club on a free transfer. In a transfer organised by the Director of Football, the teenage central defender has made 3 appearances for Reggina SC in the Major Junior Western Soccer League, and will arrive at the club in June 2015 when he turns 18. 11/1/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Ingfield, Ossett Ossett Town (0) 1 Darlington (3) 3 Scorers : Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (20), Terry Barwick (32 o.g), Drewe Broughton (45 pen) Attendance : 129 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Joe McGee 79), Colin Hunter (Sesay 79), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson (Trevor Benjamin 79). A good first half display was enough to secure the victory at Ossett. Michael McNaughton planted a header goalwards from Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's corner. A defender managed to stop the ball on the line, but didn't manage to clear it, and Aristote Guerin-Lokonga was on hand to finish from all of a yard and a half. Shortly after the half hour mark and it was 2-0. It seemed most of our team were in their penalty area, with the ball pinging around. Martin Brittain fired the ball across the 6 yard box, and Terry Barwick couldn't get out of the way, the ball ricocheting off his ankles past his own keeper. Ossett were on full blown defensive mode, and Louis Barnes was the 5th of the home team to get a yellow card when he bundled Brittain over as he raided into the penalty area. Drewe Broughton successfully netted the spot kick and we took a 3 goal lead into the break. It certainly looked like we took a foot off the pedal in the second half, which was a pretty dour affair. Ossett got the only goal of the half early on, centre back Michael Byron got forward for a free kick and volleying home a consolation goal. 18/1/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Stainton Park, Radcliffe Radcliffe Borough (2) 2 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (35), Colin Hunter (65) Attendance : 136 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury (Karlton Watson 56); Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Colin Hunter (Babis Stefanidis 86), Martin Brittain (Steve Jones 56); Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson. An appallingly bad first half in Radcliffe, we were lucky to only be a goal behind, it could have been 4 or 5. The defenders gave the ball away consistently. On the rare occasions they got the ball to the midfielders, they also gave away the ball. Luke Wandless was presented with a tap in after Danny Tilbury gave the ball away trying to make a pass right across his own area. John Reidy made it two, waltzing past Steven Topalovic and firing across Joe Day and inside the far post. The one shot we did manage in the first half was netted by Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, pinching the ball off the toe of a defender and beating the keeper with a low shot. The lads got a really hard time during the break, told they were playing like they didn't even care. They upped their game in the second half, and Steve Jones provided a cross that Colin Hunter netted to earn us a point that I'm not entirely sure we deserved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Sesay missed the game at Radcliffe Borough after returning to Crewe Alexandra with his three month loan coming to an end. We've had an offer to extend the loan until the end of the season accepted by the club, but the player didn't make a decision in time for him to be included for that game. He accepts the offer on the Monday, and he's straight back into the First Team squad. It's always nice to get a job offer from elsewhere, and it was exciting to get an offer from Trinidad & Tobago Under-20's, I'm always keen to get a chance at International Football. However, T&T Under-20's are a Super League club side in the country, and the offer is swiftly rejected. 25/1/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Kendal Town (0) 1 Scorers : Michael McNaughton (52) Attendance : 1,721 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 84), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain (Steve Jones 84); Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson (Trevor Benjamin 84). Another frustrating day at the office, we really should have this title sewn up by now. Kendal Town currently sit in one of the relegation places at the moment, and maybe it would be better to have played a team higher up the Division who had less to play for. Kendal also brought our former player, Ryan Newton, with them, and he also had a point to prove. A scoreless first half, the closest to a goal was Drewe Broughton thumping the post with a long range shot. The second half started at a quick pace. Stuart Nicholson netted with a close range header, connecting with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's free kick, but he was clearly offside, and Bridge-Wilkinson earned himself a booking for his protests. Joe Day was forced into a big save within a minute, Newton struck a shot from the edge of the box that our keeper did well to get down low to stop. Michael McNaughton headed home from Colin Hunter's corner to put us ahead, but the lead didn't last long, Newton was determined to make an impact on his return, and he supplied the cross for Steven Richardson to turn home a leveller, and neither side was able to find a winner today. Arinse Uade's loan spell has finished, and the defender returns to Arsenal, uninterested in extending the deal due to his lack of First Team playing time with us. 1/2/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 3 Burscough (1) 2 Scorers : Drewe Broughton (69), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (72), Michael McNaughton (74) Attendance : 1,703 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 65), Colin Hunter (Sesay 65), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson (Trevor Benjamin 65). Another appalling first hour of the game. Even a half time lecture didn't bring the lads around today, but a bunch of changes seemed to do the trick, a spell of 3 goals in 5 minutes changing the game. Thomas Moore scored from close range to edge the visitors in front in the first half, and five minutes into the second half, Green played a long diagonal ball that Adams was very clever to let go, and Darren Brookfield tucked the ball into the bottom corner. As is often the case, the three substitutions were all made at the same time. The impact was almost instant. Drewe Broughton thumped a loose ball into the top corner, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga got enough of a toe on Martin Brittain's cross to push the ball into the net, and Michael McNaughton headed home his 5th League goal of the season from Brynjar Vidisson's corner. Late on, Steven Topalovic was pretty lucky to escape with just a yellow card after tangling with Brookfield when he was clearly the last man. I wish I could find a way to have the team motivated to play as they did in the last half hour, for the full match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 8/2/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Station View, Harrogate Harrogate Railway Athletic (0) 1 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (40), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (82) Attendance : 39 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Michael McNaughton, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Babis Stefanidis 80), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Joe McGee 80), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Trevor Benjamin 80); Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson. The first of a double-header against relegation threatened teams. The trip to Harrogate was considerably more comfortable than the scoreline suggests, as we dominate the game. It took 40 minutes to register though, Stuart Nicholson breaking a goal-less spell of over 10 hours by lashing the ball high into the net over the shoulder of the keeper after running on to a long through ball by Steven Topalovic. It wasn't until late in the game that we got the buffer on the scoreboard, the ball pinging around the penalty box following a corner, finally finding its way to Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, who couldn't miss. James Lee volleyed home with a minute left in injury time, but we saw the game out, and now have a 22 point advantage, with 29 left to play for. A Playoff place is confirmed, it should only be a game or two now before promotion and the title are in the bag. The sooner the better, we can then start looking at what kind of players would be interested in playing for us next season, and decide what we're going to do in regard to contract renewals. The Draw is made for the 2016 European Championship Qualifiers. Wales get Croatia, Israel, Romania, Kazakhstan and San Marino. England get a particularly favourable draw, landing Albania, Armenia, Malta and Switzerland. Michael McNaughton has suffered a thigh strain after miskicking a ball in training, and he's going to miss a month of action. Steve Torpey has torn a hamstring, attempting a sprint, and will be out for up to 4 months. He's due to retire in the summer, so that's pretty much it for the midfielder, and he accepts mutual termination of his contract. John McReady finally leaves the club, moving to Sligo Rovers in Ireland on a free transfer. Grant Black and Jason Mok both go to Consett on loan for the remainder of the season. James Wood moves to Colne Dynamos on the same basis. 1/3/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (3) 4 New Mills FC (0) 0 Scorers : Karlton Watson (13), Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (15), Stuart Nicholson (45+1), Martin Brittain (74) Attendance : 1,702 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Karlton Watson, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson (Sesay 71), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Babis Stefanidis 71), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Trevor Benjamin 71); Aristote Guerin-Lokonga, Stuart Nicholson. Defeat today casts New Mills FC seven points adrift at the bottom of the table, and nine points from safety. For us however, we're now just one point from securing our second successive title and promotion. A one-sided affair, that also got a little ill-tempered at times too, the referee producing six yellow cards in the first half. Karlton Watson replaced the injured Michael McNaughton, and picked up the slack well, heading home from a corner. Within 2 minutes, Aristote Guerin-Lokonga added a second, Joe Day's long clearance flicked on by Drewe Broughton, pushed across goal by Stuart Nicholson, and finished well from the edge of the six-yard box by the Congolese striker. Nicholson added the third himself in first half injury time, beating the offside trap to get on the end of a Colin Hunter cross, resisting the urge to hit it first time, instead pulling the ball down and sliding it past the keeper. We added one more in the second half, Nicholson fired a shot against the defenders legs, and Martin Brittain sidefooted a low shot across goal and inside the far post. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Liam McClair joins the exodus of players leaving the club on loan, the Scottish midfielder moves to Ashington for the rest of the season. Anthony Hernandez played 80 minutes of Gibraltar Under-21's 3-0 defeat to their counterparts from Malta. The 19 year old midfielder now has 12 caps at age group level, and can expect to start picking up some First Team action in the closing weeks of the domestic season. 8/3/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North West Lancashire College Stadium, Skelmersdale Skelmersdale United (1) 1 Darlington (0) 1 Scorers : Trevor Benjamin (89) Attendance : 229 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic (Chris Doyle 37), Karlton Watson, Danny Tilbury; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Joe McGee 51), Colin Hunter, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Aristote Guerin-Lokonga (Trevor Benjamin 78), Stuart Nicholson. A tough trip to Playoff chasing Skelmersdale United. Dax Hoogerwerf put us behind in the 17th minute, and the task was made all the more difficult with Steven Topalovic departing with an injury before half time, and then Marc Bridge-Wilkinson joining him on the treatment table early in the second half. Word came through that Clitheroe were losing, and we were going to be crowned Champions, but doing that on a losing note wouldn't have been entirely satisfying. Step forward the man who bagged the goals that won us promotion last season, Trevor Benjamin. The soon to be retired striker came on as a late sub, and chose a very opportune moment to fire home his 1st goal of this campaign, and sealed our fate as Northern Premier League First Division North Champions 2013/14. The Board are delighted with this accomplishment, they were not expecting promotion this season. The only sour note is that Aussie defender Steven Topalovic, will miss the remainder of the season with strained knee ligaments sustained in this match. Topalovic has been key to our promotion, playing at an average rating of 7.63 in 30 games this season. Some of those who were scheduled to retire or be released in the next few weeks are let go early. Simon Carden, Richard Slaughter, Damian Hopkins and Steve Jones all departing the club before the weekend is out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 A new intake of youngsters arrive at the club, with the Head of Youth Development and Director of Football both claiming the club have a potential gem in 15 year old right winger, Micky Charles. Ironically, Anthony Hernandez patience at waiting for First Team actions snaps just as he's getting his chance. The youngster asks for a transfer on the grounds that he isn't getting any game time. He's promptly moved into the First Team squad, along with Micky Charles. 22/3/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 3 Clitheroe (1) 2 Scorers : Chris Doyle (38), Sesay (76), Stuart Nicholson (90) Attendance : 1,894 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle; Brynjar Vidisson, Anthony Hernandez (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 68), Sesay, Martin Brittain (Micky Charles 68); Drewe Broughton; Trevor Benjamin (Nichlas Schon 68), Stuart Nicholson. An entertaining game marked our first home fixture as Champions. The team is changed around to allow some of the younger squad players some game time, Trevor Benjamin to start his farewell, and Nichlas Schon to start his return from injury. We were lucky not to be out of the game inside 10 minutes. Matt Walwyn played a great cross field pass, and Blake Norton ran on to the ball from the left flank and planted it into the net. Michael McNaughton hacked Norton to the floor to concede a penalty, but Leon Broadhurst tried to go straight down the middle with the spot kick, and Joe Day made the save. McNaughton didn't get enough on his header from Brynjar Vidisson's corner, but Chris Doyle was on hand to finish it off and notch his first goal for the club. We got our noses in front for the first time shortly after making our changes. Again coming from a corner initially, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson got a second crack at sending a cross over, but instead played it short to Sesay, who jinked inside his marker and struck a right footed shot that had enough power to leave the keeper helpless. Clitheroe came right back at us, the impressive Walwyn rattled a shot off the post, and was first to the rebound to level the game back up within 2 minutes. We snatched a winner in the last minute, and Micky Charles made his impact. The teenage debutant looked like he had run into trouble down the right just inside his own half, but pulled a trick out of the bag to beat his marker and lofted a great ball for the run of Nichlas Schon. The Swede headed for the box, but was closed down by a trio of defenders, but had enough presence to cut the ball back to the right for Stuart Nicholson, and while Barrington got a hand to his shot, it had too much power for the keeper and crept in to secure a late win and send the home supporters away happy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 29/3/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (3) 5 Garforth Town (1) 4 Scorers : Martin Brittain (10), Sesay (13), Stuart Nicholson (34,84,90 pen) Attendance : 1,596 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Sesay (Anthony Hernandez 79), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 85); Nichlas Schon (Babis Stefanidis 79), Stuart Nicholson. Our home fans are treated to another sparkling game at Heritage Park. We raced into a two goal lead, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson spread a great ball right to Martin Brittain. He kept his shot low, keeper Worrell inexplicably trying to save it with his feet, and only deflecting it into the net. Sesay bagged a goal as he made a great start out on the left wing, coming off the flank to pick up a pass from Brynjar Vidisson, cutting inside onto his right foot and lifting the ball over the keeper. As is so often the case with us, it wasn't plain sailing. Vidisson and Chris Doyle made a total mess of trying to clear the ball from our area, getting in each other's way, and leaving Towers with a simple finish into the corner. We restored the two goal lead before the break. Sesay again involved, producing a cross from the left, Drewe Broughton fired at goal, which Worrell did well to keep out, but Stuart Nicholson was sharpest to the rebound and tucked it home. Back came Garforth after the break, Cross netting from the penalty spot after Martin Brittain fouled him in the box, and they levelled in the 73rd minute, Reddington hitting a free kick into the wall, Turner smashing the rebound high past Joe Day into the roof of the net. With 6 minutes remaining we managed to sneak back in front. Vidisson played in Brittain, but he couldn't find space for a shot, and rolled the ball to Nicholson to crack in his second, and when the striker was fouled just inside the box as the clock turned to 90 minutes, he was quick to pick the ball up himself and slot home the spot kick for his hat-trick on the day, taking him to 20 League goals for the season, and 25 in all competitions. 5/4/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Lambeth Grove Stadium, Stockport Stockport Sports (1) 1 Darlington (0) 1 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (85) Attendance : 183 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Anthony Hernandez 45), Sesay, Martin Brittain (Micky Charles 71); Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon (Aristote Guerin-Lokonga 71), Stuart Nicholson. Possibly our worst performance of the season and a point we totally didn't deserve. Billy Crawshaw hammered Stockport Sports into the lead in the 17th minute with a shot from the edge of the area after Chris Doyle's dismal attempt at a clearance. Stockport have every right to be furious with not getting the win, appearing to have a legitimate goal chalked off and at least two penalty appeals knocked back. With changes made, we finally started bothering the opponents defence, and with 5 minutes left on the clock, Stuart Nicholson netted once more, sidefooting home a short pass from Aristote Guerin-Lokonga. It's clear that motivating the team is an issue at the moment now the season is over as far as we're concerned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 12/4/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, Ramsbottom Ramsbottom United (0) 2 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Stuart Nicholson (45+1,64) Attendance : 114 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle (Danny Tilbury 69); Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Anthony Hernandez 69), Sesay (Micky Charles 89), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Once again we drop points, this time from a winning position, having established a two goal advantage. Stuart Nicholson is though, in fine goalscoring form at the moment. He notches twice more this afternoon, scooping the ball home from close range after doing a really good job getting the ball out of his feet while covered by markers. He then profited from Denson's catastrophically bad header back to his keeper from Martin Brittain's poor cross, reaching the ball before the keeper and walking it into the net. Back came the home side, James Taylor taking advantage of appearing to be invisible to the defenders, they have no other viable reason for ignoring his run in between them and putting the ball into the corner of the net. Josh Hine tucked home at the far post from a free kick delivery to earn Ramsbottom a point. Danny Tilbury almost stole it for us with a header from a corner right at the death, cleared off the line by a defender who gave it right back to Tilbury, but his second attempt was once again kicked off the line by the same defender. 19/4/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 2 Prescot Cables (0) 2 Scorers : Sesay (45), Nichlas Schon (71) Attendance : 1,872 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle; Brynjar Vidisson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (Anthony Hernandez 78), Sesay (Babis Stefanidis 78), Martin Brittain (Micky Charles 78); Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Our application to start a dog walking company has been rejected, on account of us being unable to hold on to a lead. Ummmm, yeah, I'll stop the bad jokes now. We can only be thankful that promotion is sewn up, or it's possible that might be the problem. Sesay scored a great solo goal to give us a half time advantage, beating his marker and lifting the ball over the keeper. We'll certainly be looking into our options to see if there's a way to get the Sierra Leonean winger back with us next season, either on loan or permanently. We were pegged back by the visiting skipper, Chris Lynskey, who was afforded the freedom of the town as he brought down a free kick from the touchline and still had time to turn and pick his spot. We got ourselves back in front, and it was nice to see Nichlas Schon get back amongst the goals. The striker reacted to Sesay's flick on from a long ball out of defence, then rounded the keeper and gave us back our lead. We coughed the lead up again though, Adam Hajdu playing a through ball for Tommy Wright. Joe Day was pretty quick off his line, but Wright got the ball beyond him and levelled the game up, and this one finished in another draw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 26/4/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Moor Lane, Salford Salford City (0) 1 Darlington (0) 0 Scorers : None Attendance : 158 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle (Danny Tilbury 74); Brynjar Vidisson (Babis Stefanidis 74), Anthony Hernandez (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson 74), Sesay, Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Stuart Nicholson. Salford need two wins from their final two games, plus a whole bunch of other results to go their way, to have any chance of making the Playoffs. We created enough chances in this game to ensure they would be out of the picture, but failed to take them, and paid the price. Brynjar Vidisson curled a spectacular free kick around the wall and looked for all the world as if he'd opened the scoring, but saw the effort come back off the upright. Full back, Paul Arnison, didn't do Salford any favours by earning an early bath, a second yellow card for a petulant foul on Sesay when there was no imminent danger. But the 10 men dug in and got the victory, George Evans played a long ball from the left to find Steven Bennett, and Danny Tilbury made the mistake of standing off him. Bennett brought the ball down, and struck his shot low and kept Edwin van der Sar's team in the hunt for a Playoff place for now. 3/5/14 - Northern Premier League, First Division North Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (4) 5 Curzon Ashton (2) 3 Scorers : Trevor Benjamin (10,13), Nichlas Schon (16,35), Colin Hunter (75) Attendance : 1,899 Joe Day; Karlton Watson (Steven Topalovic 79), Michael McNaughton, Chris Doyle; Brynjar Vidisson, Anthony Hernandez, Colin Hunter (Sesay 79), Martin Brittain; Drewe Broughton; Nichlas Schon, Trevor Benjamin (Stuart Nicholson 79). The final day of the 2013/14 season, and a home game against Curzon Ashton, who were safe from relegation, and way too far back to have a shot at the Playoffs. Call me sentimental, but as it was their last proper day as professional footballers, Colin Hunter and Trevor Benjamin were recalled to the First Team, allowing for a nostalgic atmosphere at Heritage Park. The same would have been afforded to Danny Tilbury, but he took a knock in training and misses out. Benjamin was certainly raring to go on this special day, bagging two goals in a 3 minute spell early on. He raced onto Nichlas Schon's cross field header on to thump the opener past the keeper, then he was Johnny on the spot to knock home Colin Hunter's mishit attempted volley. Just a few minutes later, and Martin Brittain jinked past a few defenders and slung in a cross that Benjamin resisted the temptation to swing a boot at, letting the ball run in for Nichlas Schon to sidefoot us into a 3-0 lead with less then 20 minutes on the clock. The visitors dragged themselves back into the contest, getting a quickfire double of their own. First Purcell crossed for Dan Ellis to tap in at the far post, and then Richardson played in Kristian Dennis to net the first of his brace from close range. The supporters could be forgiven for thinking they'd seen this all play out before in the last few weeks, and that an equaliser was only a matter of time in coming. Not this time. Hunter sent a cross over that Chris Doyle headed towards goal. It looked like the keeper would have an easy save, but Schon put his foot on the ball, dragged it away from the prone keeper and slid it home to restore a two goal advantage, and take himself to 20 goals in his season in English football. With 15 minutes remaining, and the changes being readied, Hunter signed off by reaching Schon's clever reverse ball and clipping it beyond the keeper and just inside the far post. It was great to see the winger get on the scoresheet, and moments later both himself and Trevor Benjamin left the park for the final time to standing ovations from grateful home supporters who have certainly enjoyed watching the pair. There was still time for Kristian Dennis to make it a hat-trick of brace scorers on the day, striking a half volley into the bottom corner from 20 yards out. We finish on a winning note, and end the season with a 21 point advantage. Next season, we'll move onto the Northern Premier League, and just one step away from getting back into the Blue Square League setup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 The Board offer a 1 year extension to my current contract, which is accepted with no additional terms. The teams finances have taken a dip during the season. This will be attributed to extra transfer and wage budgets, and me then exceeding the weekly wage budget by around 20% a week. Trevor Benjamin and Colin Hunter will both remain with the club as coaches. Mark Christie leaves the club from his coaching role, Danny Tilbury and Scott Stamps both leave the club early, Tilbury into retirement, Stamps to become a free agent at the age of 39. Nichlas Schon was named as top goalscorer in the FA Cup with 8 goals, a fantastic achievement for our striker. Ossett Albion take the second promotion spot via the Playoffs. They beat Clitheroe on penalties after the clubs drew 4-4 on aggregate. 2013/14 Season Review Northern Premier League, First Division North Champions Season Stats : P 43 - W 31 - D 12 - L 4 - GF 110 - GA 56 - GD + 54 - Win Percentage - 72% Career Stats : P 115 - W 78 - D 26 - L 11 - GF 246 - GA 121 - GD +125 - Win Percentage - 68% Club Status - Professional, Local Reputation. Manager Status - Regional Reputation, 2 year contract at £500 per week Top Goalscorer - Stuart Nicholson, 28 goals. Top Assists - Martin Brittain, 14 assists. Top Avg Rating - Steven Topalovic, 7.63 Bank Balance - £90,738 Champions League Winners - FC Barcelona. Europa League Winners - Tottenham Hotspur. Copa Libertadores Winners - Atletico Mineiro Premier League Winners - Manchester City. La Liga Winners - FC Barcelona. Serie A Winners - Juventus. Bundesliga Winners - Borussia Dortmund. Ligue 1 Winners - Paris Saint-Germain. Eredivisie Winners - PSV Eindhoven. Primera Liga Winners - Sporting Lisbon. Russian SuperLeague Winners - Rubin Kazan. Scottish Premier League Winners - Glasgow Celtic. Major League Soccer Winners - Los Angeles Galaxy (2013). Brazilian Serie A Winners - Sao Paulo (2013). Argentine Primera Division Winners - Boca Juniors (2013). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 The Board hand out a wage budget for the new season of £9,750 per week. There is no transfer budget, just the £9k or so left over from last season, but that wage budget alone allows us to make great use of the free agent market as we look to strengthen going into a higher level of football. The recruitment drive begins right away, starting with a double raid in Scotland. 22 year old Hamilton Accademicals attacking midfielder and striker, Louis Longridge has been on the radar for almost a year. With interest from lower league Scottish clubs, and a few Blue Square teams, we pounce to get his signature and he signs for the same money he was on at Hamilton, £250 a week. He's joined by 6'3 centre back, Ross Smith. Also 22 years of age, Smith joins from Dundee United, who decided the lad didn't merit a new contract. He's been with the Tannadice Park club for 6 years, making just 4 appearances. His main first team football came during a season and a half loan with Peterhead. If you take Nichlas Schon out of the equation, Smith will be one of our top earners, so much is expected from the lad in the coming seasons. It wasn't quite all plain sailing. We missed out on three of our top targets. Ian Henderson elected to reject our offer and moved to York City. The left winger was easily the best player in that position within our reach financially. Charlton Athletic striker, Michael Smith, also spurned our advances and elected to join Morecambe instead. After last season's success in landing players from Sweden, we had another try this summer, but Serbian winger Dusan Masic made the decision to stay in Sweden. The opening of the transfer window on June 6th sees six more new players arrive at the club, and all for a total outlay of just £1k. We'll start from the back, and a new goalkeeper was required with Joe Day only being here on loan for the season. 6'5 keeper, Nick Pope, arrives from Charlton Athletic on a free transfer with a 3 year contract. He played twice in the nPower Championship last season, and that is the total sum of the 22 year old's First Team experience. Joining the defensive ranks, Comoros International, Mansour Assoumani, arrives from Droylsden for a fee of £500. The 31 year old is uber experienced, having spent 5 years in France with Montpellier between the top 2 divisions, before a season each in Germany and Austria and finally arriving in the UK, taking in spells with Leeds United, Wrexham, Stockport County, and then the last two seasons with Droylsden. A French passport holder, the 6'2 defender holds 2 caps for Comoros. He's joined by a team-mate from Droylsden, as we finally secure the signing of midfielder Nicky Platt. The 26 year old also cost a measly £500, and will fit right into our midfield. A former Liverpool and Burnley youngster, but making the grade at neither, he signs on a 3 year contract. The next two in the door are attacking midfielders, and both will be hoping to give veteran Drewe Broughton a hard time holding down a position that he doesn't actually want to play in. The first is 6'4 Bermuda International, Tumaini Adams. At just 20 years of age, he already has 8 caps and 2 goals for his country, and this is his first experience of football outside his country. Signed from Bermuda Hogges, he has more International experience than Club experience right now. He signs a 3 year contract, no work permit issues as he has dual British nationality. 26 year old Cypriot, Charis Charalabous, will be the alternative option to Adams. At 5'11, this lad falls under the flair player category. If a change in tactic requires a ball player rather than a target player in our attacking midfielder role, this will be the guy we go to. Also on a 3 year deal, he joins from APS Atromitos Geroskipou of the Cypriot second tier. Finally, for the moment at least, arrives 20 year old Jeremy Villeneuve. A 7 times capped Mauritian International with a French passport, the diminutive left winger is a right footed dead ball specialist and a great crosser of the ball. He's bounced around a few teams in France, namely RC Strasbourg, Guingamp and Stade de Reims, but made no impact at any of them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 To the delight of the supporters, a new striker arrives at the club. He's 29 year old Matt Harold, who will be a Player/Coach for us. The 6'1 frontman is a proven goalscorer in lower League football and signs a 3 year deal with the club. At his highest level, he made 36 appearances for Southend United in the nPower Championship. He dropped right down from nPower League 2 with Bristol Rovers into the Northern Premier League last season with Matlock Town, where he notched 16 goals in 39 games for a team that just missed out on the Playoffs. Sean Gregan, Jo Tessem, James Wood, Sam Jones and Leeroy Chinthengah are notified that they have no future at the club, and all are released on free transfers. It was mentioned earlier that we'd looked to go shopping in Sweden again, and we were successful with a second attempt. Norrkoping are a top tier team, currently a couple of places above the relegation zone. We are alerted to the availability of a lad currently languishing in their Reserve side, Estonian central defender/striker, Joonas Tamm. He's 22 years old, 6'3, left footer, and certainly looks more capable as a striker than he does as a defender. Uncapped at full International level, he does however have 14 Under-21 caps for his country and has 3 goals at that level. He was actually signed as an 18 year old by Sampdoria of Italy's Serie A. He failed to make a breakthrough there, and signed for Norrkoping where he has spent 3 seasons and a spell on loan at Sylvia of the First Division South. He signs for 4 years, and is certainly a bit of a project, but could prove to be a diamond in the rough. We turn our attention to the backroom staff for the moment. As we are moving through the leagues, more staff are able to added. We find that the better value comes from bringing in staff from abroad, the bonus being that in certain staff roles we also benefit from their knowledge of other countries, opening up more avenues for players too. 45 year old Malaysian goalkeeping coach, Ahmad Sabri Ismail joins the club. He's quickly joined by 51 year old countryman, Nor Ikhmar Madarsa, who will be the clubs new fitness coach. Adam Green is added to the scouting pool, a 39 year old Englishman from High Wycombe. He's joined by 30 year old Marcos Peixoto, who is a very interesting pick up, an Indian with no backroom experience who has retired from playing to join our staff, but has excellent stats for coaching. A new assistant manager is also required, Brian Atkinson has proved to be not quite cut out for the move up the levels, and will be replaced by 30 year old Englishman, Anthony Beacher. 37 year old Malaysian scout, Gilbert Cassedy Gawing, also joins the ranks as well along with 29 year old Indian scout, Mama. He has scouting knowledge of Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and Ghana amongst others. The season review names the club as one of those with the biggest upturn in profile in the last 12 months. Steven Topalovic was named Fan's Player of the Year. Once again, the Board ask for a respectable performance in the League in the coming season, and once again I play the optimistic card and tell them we can achieve a third consecutive promotion. With the squad we have here this season, I have no reason to doubt this group of players can achieve that. This prompts the Board to throw another £500 a week into the wage budget. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 England fail to qualify from Group G in the World Cup...shock! They earned just a solitary point from a draw with Costa Rica, losing their other games to Germany and Colombia. Also out are Italy, who finished bottom of a Group C that saw Australia bow out with them, and Ghana and Chile qualify for the round of 16. France have also been knocked out in the initial Group stage, Argentina and Switzerland progressing from that particular Group. The Republic of Ireland are also out, finishing bottom of Group H, earning draws against Holland and Paraguay, but then losing to Honduras when a win would have seen them qualify. As the World Cup drew towards a close, pre-season drew ever nearer for us, and we had a 5 game schedule mapped out for us which included some away trips to teams we have left behind over the last few years, and a pair of home games against Halifax FC and Barnsley. Our recruitment drive wasn't finished just yet, five more players signed on the dotted line for Darlington, and two in particular were potentially reasons for the loyal supporters to get excited about watching our team in the coming season. The first was the signing of 30 year old Welsh right winger and centre midfielder, Arron Davies. Signed on a free transfer from Exeter City after spending last season on loan with Newport County in the Blue Square Premier, the lad is a former £1m player, and has the ability to be a real class act in this League. He has over 200 appearances to his name, the majority of which came in League 1 with the likes of Yeovil Town, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Peterborough United. He has been capped once by Wales as a full International, while scoring 6 goals in 14 caps as an Under-21. His arrival will really give Martin Brittain some issues hanging onto his starting spot. But the left side of the pitch is now well catered for, as Darlington sign a Brazilian! Well, sort of. Fabio Cesar was born in Parana state and as a youngster was with Sao Paulo before moving on to Santa Cruz in 2000. He moved on to Europe for the first time in 2000/01, signing for Czech side, Viktoria Plzen and then Udinese in Serie A. After very little football over those 2 seasons, he moved to Napoli, who were in Serie B at that point. He spent 3 seasons in Naples, returning 6 goals in 77 outings. He moved on to Avellino, but the winger really came of age when he moved to Qatar in 2005/06. A season with Al-Arabi Sports Club, then 4 seasons each with Umm-Salal and Al-Rayyan followed by a season with Al-Sailiya Sports Club, which ended in relegation, and his release. After taking Italian citizenship, he also became a citizen of Qatar during his 10 years in the Middle East. 181 appearances in Qatar returned 31 goals, and he has tasted International football with the Gulf state too, capped for the first time in March 2008 against Iraq, and to date has appeared in 35 Internationals and scoring 12 goals. Now 35 years of age, the pace has diminished, but the talent still appears to be there. Left footed, a dead ball specialist, of course. Very much a flair player, it's hoped that Fabio Cesar will be a crowd pleaser who will shine in the twilight of his career at a lower level than he is used to playing. He will also be a member of the backroom staff as a Player/Scout. His knowledge of the countries he has played in is top drawer, and could be valuable opening doors to help us sign young talent. One of the players he'll be looking to hit with his crosses, is potentially Northern Irish attacking midfielder and striker, Jordan Owens. Another huge guy at 6'4, this 24 year old will add even more physical presence to our attacking options, and will challenge for Drewe Broughton's role as well as for a striking berth. Playing outside Northern Ireland for the first time, this is his 10th season as a pro, spending 8 years with Crusaders, and last season with Lisburn Distillery, all bar one year in the IFA Premiership. During that time he has 178 appearances, and 59 goals, and has also received 1 full cap for his country. One for the future is left sided utility player, Jonathan Nyamekeh. The 19 year old Ghanaian signs on a free transfer from Hellas Verona in Italy's Serie B, where he has been for several years, but never managed to make a First Team outing. The final signing completed to date is another centre back, Christian Burgess, a 22 year old picked up on a free from Middlesbrough. At 6'4, he also adds size to our backline, and will strongly challenge the existing personnel for a First Team spot. He has currently made just 6 appearances in his career, accumulated over loan spells with Macclesfield Town and Nuneaton Town last season. A few more guys leave the club, Grant Brown, Jason Mok and Liam McClair have all been released, Chris Porter leaves the club as both a player and goalkeeping coach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Parker Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Great update. Good luck next season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFuller Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Good stuff again, but if Darlington aren't in the Conference North by next season, I shall be very disappointed! Keep it up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks Gary. Thanks CFuller, with this squad, and in this League, I won't just be disappointed if we don't get promoted, I think I'll be joining the queue at the job centre! Fabio Cesar has certainly brought in more options to the club in the transfer market, and wasted no time in recommending a young Brazilian striker with a Portuguese passport. With a host of clubs from Portugal's lower leagues chasing Matheus Coelho, we snap him up on a 5 year contract. We're pretty well off for strikers right now, and I think the likelihood is that we'll take a look at him in pre-season with an eye to sending him on loan either in the UK or Portugal, but with an option to recall him. Joe McGee leaves the club, signing for Garforth Town. Anthony Hernandez leaves the club on loan, going to West Auckland Town for the season, with an option to recall him if required. Joe Day was superb for us last season, ultra reliable when we had very little in the way of cover. Peterborough United have once again made him available for loan, and Day will spend the season at Heritage Park again. He'll be in a straight fight for the starting goalkeeper's position with new signing, Nick Pope. The best solution would be to rotate the two I think. The World Cup Final will be an all South American affair at the Maracana. Argentina beat a Germany side who were without a suspended Thomas Muller, coming from behind to win 2-1 in extra time. The Germans missed a penalty while winning by a goal, Lionel Messi levelled the game, Sergio Aguero got the winner 5 minutes into extra time. Spartak Moscow midfielder, Romulo, got the extra time goal to send the host nation through to the Final with a slender win over Portugal. The Final that the World wanted to see, but it was a one-sided affair when Argentina pressed the self-destruct button early on. Nicolas Otamendi picked up two quick bookings to see red in the 17th minute. Brazil were already a goal to the good by then through Dede, they quickly scored again after the red card with a goal by Fernandinho. They made it 3-0 before the break with a goal by Neymar. Argentina tried to make a game of it with a goal from Sergio Aguero, but moments later Esteban Cambiasso took a second booking as well and Oscar finished the game off. Edison Cavani was the top scorer at the tournament with 7 goals. With just days before the pre-season opener, its clear we have too many strikers in the squad. It's decided that two must go. Drewe Broughton is called to the office and told that he no longer has a future at the club. The 35 year old insists he wants to stay, but when he's told he's unlikely to figure, he accepts his fate and accepts mutual termination of the final year on his contract. The second striker called to the office is Aristote Guerin-Lokonga. He was surprised to be told he was being transfer listed, and pleaded his case to stay at the club, stating he was being treated unfairly. He was told it was the opposite, and that I didn't want to leave the lad sat in the Reserves when he could be getting First Team football elsewhere. He accepted this, and reluctantly agreed to leave the club if a buyer came in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Saturday 19/7/14 - Pre-Season Friendly Brewery Field, Spennymoor Spennymoor Town (0) 1 Darlington (1) 3 Scorers : Matt Harold (10), Babis Stefanidis (70), Matheus Coelho (90+1) Attendance : 223 Nick Pope (Joe Day 45); Steven Topalovic (Ross Smith 45), Michael McNaughton (Christian Burgess 45), Mansour Assoumani (Karlton Watson 45); Brynjar Vidisson (Louis Longridge 45), Nicky Platt (Charis Charalabous 45), Fabio Cesar (Babis Stefanidis 45), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 45); Tumaini Adams (Jordan Owens 45); Nichlas Schon (Stuart Nicholson 45), Matt Harold (Matheus Coelho 45). Forty five minutes each for 22 players as we ease into the pre-season against a familiar foe. Matt Harold got himself off to a flyer, taking possession on the edge of the area with plenty of time, and picked his spot and rolled the ball past the keeper into the corner. The rest of the first half was uneventful, Nick Pope having virtually zero to do apart from deal with a few back passes. All 11 players were changed at half time as normal for the opening friendly, and unsurprisingly, there was distinct lack of cohesion, with 6 of the players coming on donning the Quakers jersey for the first time. Babis Stefanidis didn't get the memo regarding how to deal with corners defensively, shoving Keiran Edwards to the floor. Edwards picked himself up and netted from the spot. He made amends by putting us back in front with a header from a swirling Karlton Watson cross. The last 5 minutes were end to end, and a mistake from the Spennymoor defence allowed Jordan Owens to play Matheus Coelho into space, and he was ruthless with his finish to confirm the victory. The following day, the country awakes to the news that Brendan Rodgers is the new England manager, tasked with getting them to the 2016 European Championships and then putting in a good display once there. Pep Guardiola becomes the new Spain manager, Walter Mazzarri leaves his role with Napoli to take the top job with Italy. There was a job vacancy with the National Team in Oman. I applied, but my application was laughed off. Tuesday 22/7/14 - Pre-Season Friendly Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 0 FC Halifax Town (0) 1 Scorers : None Attendance : 687 Nick Pope (Joe Day 45); Steven Topalovic (Ross Smith 45), Michael McNaughton (Christian Burgess 45), Mansour Assoumani (Karlton Watson 45); Brynjar Vidisson (Louis Longridge 45), Nicky Platt (Charis Charalabous 45), Fabio Cesar (Babis Stefanidis 45), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 45); Tumaini Adams (Jordan Owens 45); Nichlas Schon (Stuart Nicholson 45), Matt Harold (Matheus Coelho 45). Pre-season is all about preparing your team for the season ahead, I get it. But when we have visitors from higher divisions arrive at our ground, we have to take the opportunity to make a big noise about our club and remind the footballing world that Darlington FC still exist. We didn't even get close to doing that today. A tepid performance from a still disjointed team, searching for match fitness. But no-one was asked to play more than 45 minutes at this point, the wages a lot of these players are on for this level of football, I think entitles the club to expect them to put up some kind of performance. We created very little in either half of the game. Fabio Cesar came closest in the opening half, but his shot from outside the box was always rising. Matheus Coelho had a chance to move in on goal in the second half, but he took too long to make up his mind, and was dispossessed without getting a shot away. With nearly an hour on the clock, the visitors got the only goal. Moke crossed from the left, defender Karlton Watson was still jumping for the cross when youngster Edward Howard took the ball down and slotted home. We take a few injuries from this game too, Tumaini Adams will miss 3 weeks with a damaged elbow after falling awkwardly, Christian Burgess will be out for a similar amount of time with a gashed leg. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Sky Bet issue their odds on the Northern Premier League promotion race this season, and not surprisingly, we've been made favourites for the one automatic promotion spot. While it's not a shock, the club have not been made favourites in either of the two previous seasons, so hopefully the additional bit of pressure galvanises the players... 7/4 favourites - Darlington 3/1 - Northwich Victoria, Workington 5/1 - Vauxhall Motors, Carlton Town 8/1 - Ossett Albion Saturday 26/7/14 - Pre-Season Friendly New Ferens Park, Durham Durham City (0) 0 Darlington (2) 3 Scorers : Matt Harold (12), Nichlas Schon (34), Matheus Coelho (47) Attendance : 230 Nick Pope (Joe Day 45); Steven Topalovic (Karlton Watson 72), Michael McNaughton (Chris Doyle 85), Mansour Assoumani (Ross Smith 45); Brynjar Vidisson (Charis Charalabous 72), Nicky Platt (Louis Longridge 85), Fabio Cesar (Babis Stefanidis 85), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 72); Jordan Owens (Jeremy Villeneuve 45); Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 45), Matt Harold (Joonas Tamm 45). We put up a much better showing on a trip to Durham, but then, so we should. The halfway point of the pre-season schedule, and some of the players are given longer run outs to make sure they're ready for the season opener in 2 weeks time. Jordan Owens and Nichlas Schon mugged a defender who couldn't make up his mind what to do with the ball, Owens sliding a pass in for Matt Harold, who held off a defender and slotted home the opener. Schon netted number two himself after we counter attacked from a Durham free kick, Arron Davies picking out Schon in space, and the Swede kept his left footed drive low, back across the goal, and finding the bottom corner. We played some good stuff without really threatening to give Durham a hiding, but did notch one more early in the second half with some substitutes combining. Jeremy Villeneuve made an instant impact in his first pre-season action, curling a through ball into the box that Davies couldn't quite reach, but Matheus Coelho showed good instincts to get on the end of and slip the ball past an out of position keeper. Tuesday 29/7/14 - Pre-Season Friendly Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 1 Barnsley (3) 6 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (23) Attendance : 1,765 Nick Pope (Joe Day 56); Steven Topalovic (Karlton Watson 56), Michael McNaughton (Ross Smith 45), Mansour Assoumani (Chris Doyle 56); Brynjar Vidisson (Jeremy Villeneuve 56), Nicky Platt (Charis Charalabous 45), Fabio Cesar (Babis Stefanidis 56), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 45); Jordan Owens (Joonas Tamm 45); Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 56), Matt Harold (Stuart Nicholson 56). Our `glamour' game of the pre-season schedule, a home game against nPower League One side, Barnsley. A summers evening, a big crowd, and an embarrassing humiliation for us, that hopefully will serve as a real kick in the backside for the team going forward from here. The 3-4-1-2 was always going to leave us a bit exposed against this level of opposition, but we can't afford to change up as we still have new players learning their roles for the coming season. We fell behind in the 9th minute, Digby with a header from a cross that Pope looked to have covered, but Tyrone Ming popped up right in front of him, and got enough on his header to divert it away from the keeper and inside the far post. We drew level midway through the half, a bizarre goal, Barnsley missing several chances to clear the ball effectively, Arron Davies heading back towards the penalty area from the touchline, Matt Harold hooking ball back over his head into the 6 yard box, and Nichlas Schon beat Mings in the air and his header dropped in off the underside of the bar. That was as good as it got for us. Franck Guela scored from Wiseman's cross from the right and then added a second when Michael McNaughton didn't do a good enough job of marking him from Akilu's free kick. 3-1 down at the break, we make some changes, but they made no difference. Guela turned provider 4 minutes into the second half, swinging in a cross from the left that O'Brien volleyed home at the far post. Guela completed his treble in the 55th minute, Wiseman again the provider with a cross. This prompted more changes, but they made no difference. O'Brien got his second, almost a carbon copy of his first, and was only denied a hatrick of his own when Joe Day flung himself to his right to keep out O'Brien's penalty kick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Saturday 2/8/14 - Pre-Season Friendly Hillheads Park, Whitley Bay Whitley Bay (0) 1 Darlington (0) 2 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (65), Mansour Assoumani (79) Attendance : 183 Nick Pope (Joe Day 79); Steven Topalovic (Karlton Watson 79), Ross Smith (Chris Doyle 86), Mansour Assoumani (Michael McNaughton 79); Fabio Cesar (Louis Longridge 86), Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 79), Babis Stefanidis (Jonathan Nyamekeh 52), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 67); Jordan Owens (Jeremy Villeneuve 67); Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 79), Matt Harold (Stuart Nicholson 79). The final game of what has turned out to be a pretty average pre-season, and that's being kind. A trip to the coast to play Whitley Bay, and it's been decided that we're not getting the best from Fabio Cesar out on the wing, and he's going to move infield to the deep playmaker role to try and utilise his passing abilities. This does however leave us very short of quality on the left with Colin Hunter retired, and Sesay only being on loan last season. An offer has been accepted and terms agreed with a very promising looking Italian winger, but with other teams in for him as well, we don't yet know if he's going to sign. For now, it's Babis Stefanidis on the left, with the Ghanaian youngster Jonathan Nyamekeh supporting him from the bench. A dour first half between two teams who looked like they'd rather be anywhere than on the football pitch with temperatures up around 30c. Our changes were spread out a little, but we fell behind early in the second half, Charilaos Liakopoulos capitalised on Babis Stefanidis making a real mess of a clearance, and the 17 year old planted his shot beyond Nick Pope. Going behind did seem to waken the lads up a little, and we got a leveller with 25 minutes to go, Matt Harold passing up a shooting chance, squaring the ball instead to the better placed Nichlas Schon who kept his composure to slot the ball home. We stole a win with around 10 minutes left, Fabio Cesar hit a great free kick in towards the penalty spot, Ross Smith's header downwards spun up into the air, and Mansour Assoumani reacted quickest to fire the loose ball home. After the game, we speak to Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, telling him he won't get a game this season, he's already quite far down the queue, and we have loan offers in place for a few centre midfielders. Bridge-Wilkinson accepted the mutual termination offer, and leaves the club straight away. The Italian left winger accepts our offer, and signs on the Tuesday. He's Ivan Reali, signing from Ascoli of Serie B on a free transfer. He has been left out in the cold by his club and was transfer listed and seeking a move. We beat competition from half a dozen Italian clubs to get his signature. 23 years old, 6'0, a good dribbler and crosser of the ball. He was worth £75k when we bid for him, however his value has now dropped right down to £12k, though we haven't paid a penny, not even a signing on bonus. A 4 year contract at £500 a week, he's a former Inter Milan and Vincenza youngster, but failed to make an appearance for either, he then had a spell at Foggia before moving to Ascoli. He's spent last season on loan in Serie C2A with Arezzo. We fail in our bid to get Gunnar Porsteinsson on loan from Ipswich, the lad doesn't want to play at this level. We get the knock back from Korey Smith of Norwich City too, he goes to Blackpool on a full transfer instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Saturday 9/8/14 - Northern Premier League Kellamergh Park, Kirkham AFC Fylde (1) 1 Darlington (1) 1 Scorers : Ivan Reali (22) Attendance : 287 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 74), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Babis Stefanidis 74); Jordan Owens; Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. The opening day of the League season, and our starting lineup contains 9 debutants, so we're not expecting a huge amount right away in competitive games, especially given the sub-standard pre-season. It will take a few weeks for these players to gel. Ivan Reali starts on the left wing just a few days after arriving in the country. We still have loan offers pending for a few midfielders. We fall behind in the 11th minute, cut open far too easily, Milligan putting a low cross in after good build up play, and Barnes firing home from about 8 yards. We fought back, and Reali makes an impression right away, collecting Arron Davies cross on the edge of the box, stepping inside his marker, and firing a right footer into the top corner. We were under a bit of pressure late on, Nick Pope making a smart stop low down, and Fabio Cesar making a last ditch saving tackle. Hopefully as the season progresses, these will be games that we'll be getting comfortable victories from, but right now, a point is ok. Once again we sell our full allocation of season tickets for this campaign, 1,615 sold, so we'll be playing in front of large crowds at Heritage Park once again. We get more disappointment on the loan front. Cameroon midfielder, Paul Essola, who currently plays for Walsall, rejects our loan move after the club accepted a season long offer. No new bodies are in before the next game, our first home game of the season, a Tuesday night fixture with Workington. Tuesday 12/8/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (5) 6 Workington (1) 3 Scorers : Ivan Reali (1), Nichlas Schon (15,28,85), Jordan Owens (20,45+2) Attendance : 1,877 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic (inj - Michael McNaughton 35), Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar (inj - Brynjar Vidisson 9), Nicky Platt, Ivan Reali (Babis Stefanidis 66), Arron Davies; Jordan Owens; Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. Offensively, this performance was light years ahead of anything we've produced for months, but we simply have to find a way to stop shipping goals. I'm not a fan of changing up formations frequently to deal with different opponents, or changing the shape on the fly. But in this one, I did experiment with changing the teams mindset during the game. We usually play a standard strategy, it was changed to counter at 2-0, and then to defensive at 4-1, but didn't really seem to make any real difference. A new tactic that can be utilised during the game without a huge disruption is implemented into the training with immediate effect. If the team are going to be successful, they have to learn how to defend a lead. The result of this one was hardly in doubt after a dominant first half hour that had us 4-0 up. Ivan Reali had us in front after just 36 seconds, Arron Davies hit a beautiful cross first time, Reali took it down and beat the keeper at his near post. We lost Fabio Cesar to a knock early on, but it didn't seem to have a great impact. Reali set up the second, playing a cheeky backheel to Nichlas Schon on the edge of the box, the striker picking his spot and sidefooting home number two. The Italian made number three as well. He chased back and won the ball defensively, and was straight off down his wing as Mansour Assoumani spread the ball out to the other side of the pitch. Arron Davies attacked at pace, then played Reali back in on the left, and a simple first time through ball sent Jordan Owens through, he rounded the keeper and slotted home the third. The fourth wasn't long in coming, Arron Davies toying with his marker, slinging a cross in to the edge of the 6 yard box, Schon using his first touch to round the keeper, and his second to tap home another goal. Workington got themselves a goal back when Craig Farrell volleyed from close range after Avery's cut back, but in injury time, we reasserted our big lead. Arron Davies again caused havoc down the right, his deep cross found Reali. He recognised he had nothing to shoot at, and cut back inside and lifted a cross that Owens headed against the post, but got onto the rebound with two defenders in attendance, and got enough on it to bundle the ball over the line. Avery blasted another goal back for the visitors about 5 minutes into the second half, and Farrell got his second from almost the same position with 15 minutes left as they tried to make a game of it. Schon completed his hatrick with 5 minutes left on the clock to seal our win, good passing in the build up, Owens slipping the ball to him for a low finish from 10 yards out. Matt Harold deserves a mention, he caused problems all afternoon for their defence, and was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet. We sit 2nd in the League very early on, Blyth Spartans are the only team with 2 wins, we face them next. My name is now starting to get mentioned with job vacancies. I must admit to starting to get itchy feet a little here, but it would need to be something really good for me to leave here while the job isn't done. That being said, there are some good jobs around, and some good opportunities in the pipeline potentially with managers struggling to hold on to their jobs. 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neilhoskins77 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Saturday 16/8/14 - Northern Premier League Croft Park, Blyth Blyth Spartans (1) 3 Darlington (3) 5 Scorers : Matt Harold (2,17), Nichlas Schon (4,54), Ivan Reali (65) Attendance : 698 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 72), Ivan Reali (Babis Stefanidis 72), Arron Davies; Jordan Owens (Jeremy Villeneuve 72); Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. Another goal-fest. We don't do too many boring games. Another great start was the foundation for this victory, smashing through the Blyth defence time and time again in the opening stages. We were in front after less than 70 seconds. Fabio Cesar cracked a free kick at goal from all of 35 yards that hit the crossbar, Ivan Reali threw himself at the rebound, and the ball bounced right to Matt Harold for him to convert easily. It was 2-0 inside 4 minutes, in almost comical fashion. Good passing sent Reali away down the left and he crossed into the middle. The keeper came rushing out to claim the ball, but the defender either ignored his call or doesn't have much faith in him, he attempted to head the ball clear, it struck Nichlas Schon and trickled into the net. You get the feeling its going to be your day when stuff like that happens. It was 3-0 after 17 minutes, Reali again providing the cross, Nicky Platt couldn't find space for a shot, but found Harold who tucked the ball into the bottom corner. Blyth got one back in the 21st minute, Bishop broke into the box, and squared the ball for dangerman Robert Dale to volley into the bottom corner. Dale netted again 5 minutes into the second half, Reali didn't do a good enough job against O'Hara down out left, and he swung in a cross that Dale had time to bring down, and then strike low past Joe Day. We restored a 2 goal advantage within minutes, Arron Davies breaking up play on the edge of his own area, and picking out Jordan Owens on halfway. He lofted the ball over the defenders where Schon was running in, he rounded the keeper and got his second of the afternoon. Arron Davies reached the byline 10 minutes later, cutting the ball across the goal where Ivan Reali was running in to continue his impressive form for his new club. We did ship another goal at the back before the end, Tinnion's cross from the left sidefooted home by Bishop. Another impressive effort up front, but once again, too many goals conceded the other way made life more difficult than it needed to be. The draw was made for the Northern League Challenge Cup First Round, and we'll travel to Divisional rivals, Carlton Town, in late September. Saturday 23/8/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Buxton (0) 0 Scorers : Matt Harold (57) Attendance : 1,900 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt, Ivan Reali (Babis Stefanidis 85), Arron Davies; Jordan Owens (Brynjar Vidisson 78); Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. Just a 1-0 win, boring boring Darlington! Maybe we'll call that a line for the press and media, personally, I'm over the moon that we got a clean sheet, though we had to work hard for it. We dominated the first half without breaking down Buxton, at least not without the linesman's flag cutting the celebrations short. Fabio Cesar curled another free kick against the bar, Arron Davies hammered home the rebound, but the flag was raised. Borderline decision I think. Shortly after Fabio Cesar stood over another dead ball out on the left. He curled this one to the edge of the 6 yard box where Nicky Platt headed home unopposed. Again the flag went up, but Platt looked onside to me. Still level at the interval, I asked the team to keep pushing, and we got our reward, somewhat fortunately, in the 57th minute. Nichlas Schon collected Ivan Reali's short throw on the left and sent a cross over. Arron Davies caused confusion by sliding towards the ball, Matt Harold was the calmest head, and the big striker toe-poked home from short range. With around 10 minutes to go, we gave our new formation a brief outing. It's not perfect, definitely needs some work. We gave up a few chances that may have cost us on another day, but overall, very happy with the win and clean sheet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Saturday 30/8/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (3) 5 Stamford FC (1) 3 Scorers : Matt Harold (24,40,82), Ivan Reali (34), Jordan Owens (79) Attendance : 1,877 Joe Day; Steven Topalovic, Ross Smith (Michael McNaughton 80), Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt, Ivan Reali (Babis Stefanidis 80), Arron Davies; Jordan Owens; Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 80), Matt Harold. Another afternoon of madness at Heritage Park. Once again, while we terrorise the oppositions defence, our own suffers as well. The first goal was a gift of sorts, though Matt Harold did superbly to finish it. Stefan Ritchie tried a header back to his goalkeeper from way too far, and too wide, out. The keeper hesitated, and Harold flung himself at it to connect with a diving header and net the opener. Joe Day was feeling generous, and handed the visitors an equaliser. His poor goal kick went right to Chris Smith, who ran in on goal, but smacked his shot against the post. A defender got back to slide in front and block his rebound effort, but that went right to Moreman who scored. Ivan Reali put us back in front, Arron Davies put the ball to the back post, the Italian beat his marker in the air and his bullet header found the corner of the net. The third didn't take too long to arrive, Nicky Platt playing a fine long ball to send Nichlas Schon clear. He kept his shot low, but the keeper used his legs to keep it out, Matt Harold was following up and drove his shot high into the net to send us in at the break 3-1 up. Stamford hauled themselves back into the game just after the hour, Moreman involved again, then playing a great reverse pass to Hibbert, who was unmarked and slotted past Day. With 11 minutes to go, the points looked safe, Schon broke down the left and used Reali as his decoy to beat his marker, crossed to the far post where the keeper played a blinder to keep out Arron Davies half volley, again using his legs. But this time the ball ricocheted off a defender and fell for Jordan Owens to plant home our fourth. We soon had a fifth, Fabio Cesar's corner delivered into the heart of the 6 yard box, Assoumani and Owens both had efforts blocked, Matt Harold smashed it home to complete his treble and secure the win. We still shipped another goal, Chris Smith allowed to run into the box and square the ball for Thompson to net a consolation. There is an interesting situation developing in Paraguay. Perennial challengers, and one of the biggest clubs in the country, Nacional of Asuncion, are favourites to be relegated with one game remaining. They could go down before they even play their next game. I took the step of declaring my interest in the job, and was pretty surprised that I didn't get the knock back. If they go down, they will almost certainly sack their current manager, and it would be a really good project. We'll see what happens from here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 A meeting with the staff to discuss how we go forward. I'm concerned over the cricket scores in our games, and it'd decided the best way is to return to a flat back four. There has to be a compromise, I still want the team to have some attacking bite as well. Fabio Cesar will be deployed in a deep lying playmaker role in the middle of a second bank of four. It makes sense, he's our best passer of a football, and it means we can play around him rather than relying on his ageing legs to go looking for the ball. Nicky Platt will play a centre midfield role, with Ivan Reali and Arron Davies either side of him as wide midfielders. We're going to be relying heavily on Platt's work rate, as he will almost always be outnumbered in midfield. Matt Harold continues as the deep lying role, playing as a Trequartista, Nichlas Schon in front of him as the out and out striker. We need a left back, and find the perfect answer, signing Matt Fry on loan from Doncaster Rovers for the season. He looks a quality player, but needs some match sharpness. Tuesday 2/9/14 - Northern Premier League Seel Park, Mossley Mossley (1) 1 Darlington (0) 1 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (61) Attendance : 225 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 70), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies; Matt Harold; Nichlas Schon. Day One of the new formation, and it was partly successful, in that we didn't concede a glut of goals. However, there were times where we were clinging on, and we certainly have lost a fair amount of our offensive spark as a consequence. We were behind after 90 seconds. Matt Fry and Fabio Cesar weren't on the same wavelength, and coughed up the ball near our own area. Some short passing sent Banks away down the right, and his cross picked out Gregory, who's diving header found the corner of the net. We pushed them for the remainder of the first half, but it was all quite cautious. Half time provided an opportunity to give the players some further instructions, and they seemed to take them on board. We found an equaliser on the counter attack just past the hour point. Ross Smith made a crucial tackle and the ball came down the right through Steven Topalovic and Arron Davies. He played it back inside to Matt Harold, and then on to Nicky Platt. His through ball was weighted perfectly for Nichlas Schon, who curled the ball around the keeper and just inside the near post to earn us a point. We're now placed second, but are level on points with AFC Fylde, with Trafford FC and Droylsden a point behind us. Saturday 6/9/14 - Northern Premier League Marston Road, Stafford Northwich Victoria (0) 1 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Brynjar Vidisson (43,87) Attendance : 129 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Matt Harold 72); Brynjar Vidisson, Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Babis Stefanidis 45); Nichlas Schon. Another victory, another variation of the formations. This one was what has become commonly known as the Bayern Munich formation. A flat back four, 2 central midfielders to offer protection and playmaking, 2 wide men with an advanced midfielder and a single striker. I like the look of this one, but as always, it can always be improved. Brynjar Vidisson had drawn a blank in the goals department until today, but he came up with 2 big goals for us. He put us in front just before half time, running from deep to reach Nicky Platt's pass and drilling his shot low inside the near post. Josh Rothwell levelled the game with a direct free kick in the 53rd minute, and the game seemed to be drifting towards a draw. We pushed another man forward to try and take advantage of the home side's struggles at the back, and we stole it late on. It was Matt Fry who played the through ball this time, and Vidisson opened out his body and sent the ball wide of the keeper and low into the bottom corner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 There are a lot of tycoon's getting themselves involved in football at the moment seemingly. Aldershot Town have a Japanese investor with money who has given the manager £26.5m to spend on new players, and now Thurrock are being touted as the next team who will get heavy investment. FC Groningen are already in the money, an Indian backer has given their manager £40m to improve the team this season, and attempt to lift them to Dutch domestic glory at the very least. Saturday 13/9/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (2) 2 Ashton United (0) 0 Scorers : Ross Smith (21), Nichlas Schon (37) Attendance : 1,878 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Maunsour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt; Brynjar Vidisson (Jordan Owens 78), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 78); Nichlas Schon (Matt Harold 78). We seem, for the moment at least, to have settled our defensive issues, fingers crossed anyway. I'd rather win two or three to nil than 5-3 or scorelines like that. The defence has to be tight to win titles in my opinion. Ross Smith connected with Nicky Platt's corner to score his first goal for the club, he simply wanted it more than the defenders. Nichlas Schon extended the lead with a sublime volley from Ivan Reali's left wing cross, and on this day, that was enough. AFC Fylde take a hiding away from home. A 4-1 defeat doubles the number of goals they've conceded this season, and leaves us top on goal difference from Matlock Town. The draw for the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup gives us a home tie with Harrogate Town of the Blue Square North, which will be played on Saturday, but we have a midweek League game to get through first. Wednesday 17/9/14 - Northern Premier League Gigg Lane, Bury FC United of Manchester (0) 0 Darlington (1) 3 Scorers : Matt Fry (19), Nichlas Schon (52), Ivan Reali (87) Attendance : 1,397 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic (Christian Burgess 79), Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Babis Stefanidis 79); Brynjar Vidisson (Jordan Owens 79), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies; Nichlas Schon. This is more like it. A good performance away from home against a team who were being quoted as favourites for this clash. Matt Fry and Ivan Reali are striking up quite an understanding down the left, and it's not uncommon to see Reali covering the space when Fry goes forward. When Nichlas Schon played a pass left just outside the box, it was Fry, and not Reali, who burst forward into the box, and lifted the ball over the keeper to get his first goal for the club. Reali made the second early in the second half, collecting Fry's knock forward for him to run onto, and skinning his marker to get to the byline and provide a cross that Schon couldn't miss from, and he easily sidefooted home. The Italian winger got number three himself with either impudent brilliance, or a huge slice of luck. From right out on the left wing, and a full 45 yards from goal, Reali appeared to look up and spot the keeper off his line, striking through the ball and lifting it over the desperately backpedalling goalie and inside the far post. Two successive clean sheets, we're back on form, and ready for the Cup on Saturday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Saturday 20/9/14 - FA Cup, Second Qualifying Round Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Harrogate Town (1) 1 Scorers : Ivan Reali (76) Attendance : 1,880 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic (Matt Harold 70), Matt Fry, Ross Smith (Christian Burgess 70), Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar (Nicky Platt 70), Brynjar Vidisson; Jordan Owens, Ivan Reali, Martin Brittain; Nichlas Schon. A couple of changes required as the games start to mount up. Martin Brittain comes into the right flank slot, Brynjar Vidisson drops back to a holding role with Jordan Owens centring the bank of three. We looked sluggish, and got nothing going at all in the first half, a series of poor passes meaning possession was given up all too easily. We paid for this in the 37th minute, Rea whipped in a free kick from the left, Mansour Assoumani didn't get enough to clear the ball, really just allowing it to hit him. Scott Phelan wasted no time in lashing the ball into the bottom corner. The second half was little better, and a goal just didn't look like coming. It was time for a risk, and we went back to the formation that had got us the promotions, knowing it was as likely we'd concede another as it was that we'd get a goal ourselves. It worked, and we got a leveller. A long ball from Nick Pope was flicked on by Jordan Owens and found Matt Harold. He lifted the ball left and Ivan Reali came on to it at pace, almost too quickly, it looked like he'd knocked it too far ahead, but he beat the keeper to it, shooting across goal and just barely inside the far post. Both teams had chances after that, but it finishes as a draw, and a replay in Harrogate in a few days that we barely deserved. The £40k in gate receipts that the club earned from the game with Harrogate is a new club record. The draw for the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup presents us with a trip to Northwich Victoria, should we get through our replay at Harrogate. Aristote Guerin-Lokonga moves to Farsley FC on loan for 3 months. In Paraguay, Nacional are presented with a last minute opportunity to avoid relegation. Sportivo Trinidense, who are in 10th place, are held to a 0-0 draw on the Saturday night, at home to already relegated, Sol de America. With a 2 point difference, a win for Nacional at home to mid table, General Diaz, would mean their safety, and the embarrassment of one of the country's largest teams would be spared. They did not take that chance, losing 2-0 on the Sunday afternoon. 62 year manager, Alicio Solalinde, is immediately sacked, and just as swiftly, I apply for the job. The media consider me as an outsider for the job. Wednesday 24/9/14 - FA Cup, Second Qualifying Round Replay Wetherby Road, Harrogate Harrogate Town (0) 0 Darlington (0) 1 - after extra time Scorers : Nichlas Schon (112) Attendance : 246 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Matt Fry, Ross Smith (Christian Burgess 70), Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt; Jordan Owens, Ivan Reali (Babis Stefanidis 70), Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 70); Nichlas Schon. Our FA Cup journey was almost over before it began. We started with a full strength team, but we were anything but that by the time the game was over. A tight and cagey affair, both teams struggled to create chances in the first half. The closest we came was Fabio Cesar clipping the top of the cross bar with a long range shot. The second half started in the same manner, and with 20 minutes to go we made the changes. Nichlas Schon had a goal disallowed for a push on a defender while climbing to head the ball home. As we went into extra time, we were struggling badly. Matt Fry, Fabio Cesar and Babis Stefanidis are all limping around, while Steven Topalovic, Nicky Platt and Jordan Owens all look out of gas. Schon was the only player left on the park who looked able to affect the game, and he managed just that by bagging the winner midway through the second period of extra time. Platt breaks the play up in midfield, and his ball wide finds Martin Brittain. His cross wasn't the best, and Platt looked like he was fouled trying to reach it, but it broke to Schon and he curled his shot into the corner. Harrogate's hopes of rescuing the situation were hampered by skipper, Adam Bolder, being forced off injured and they had already used their subs. We squeeze into the next round to travel to Northwich Victoria. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 I missed out on the Nacional job, they appoint Juan Ramon Jara, the man who was in charge of the other club that got relegated. I'm disappointed, that would have been a great opportunity. Saturday 27/9/14 - Northern League Challenge Cup, First Round Bill Stokeld Stadium, Nottingham Carlton Town (1) 1 Darlington (1) 1 Scorers : Tumaini Adams (24) Attendance : 90 Joe Day; Karlton Watson, Jonathan Nyamekeh, Christian Burgess, Michael McNaughton; Louis Longridge (Charis Charalabous 65), Jeremy Villeneuve; Tumaini Adams, Babis Stefanidis (Joonas Tamm 65), Martin Brittain; Matt Harold (Matheus Coelho 65). A Cup that we don't really have much interest in, or care for. Our opponents are plum bottom of the Northern Premier League, 9 defeats from their 9 games, and they have just 5 goals and have shipped 27 at the other end. With the First Team due a rest, it's very much a scratch side that take the field for us, 5 debutants are included. One of those puts us in front, Karlton Watson playing in Martin Brittain down the right channel, he gets to the byline and crosses into the 6 yard box, where Tumaini Adams heads it back across goal and inside the far post with the keeper stranded. We looked comfortable without ever really threatening to blow them away, still, it was a bit of a surprise when they equalised. Forrest played a one-two with Murty and found plenty of space, hitting the top corner with his shot. Neither side could get the breakthrough, neither side looked particularly bothered. A draw was probably the worst result, we now have to play them again on Tuesday night. The winners of the replay will get a Second Round home tie with either Chasetown or Hucknall Town, both of the Northern Premier League First Division South. Tuesday 30/9/14 - Northern League Challenge Cup, First Round Replay Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (5) 7 Carlton Town (0) 1 Scorers : Joonas Tamm (2,41,56 pen), Matheus Coelho (6), Babis Stefanidis (16), Ellis Storey (34 o.g), Christian Burgess (48) Attendance : 1,371 Joe Day; Ross Smith, Christian Burgess (Chris Doyle 63), Michael McNaughton; Brynjar Vidisson, Babis Stefanidis, Jonathan Nyamekeh, Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 63); Charis Charalabous; Matheus Coelho, Joonas Tamm (Matt Harold 63). With Carlton able to offer little in attack at home, I figure there's even less threat at our place in the Replay, so for this game, we go back to the three men at the back and have a go at them. And didn't it just work out well for us. It takes under 90 seconds to go in front, Matheus Coelho flicks on to the left, Jonathan Nyamekeh crosses low, Joonas Tamm gets a shot in a goal that barely has enough power to beat a keeper who should have done better. Coelho gets the second himself, reacting quickest to a loose ball after Nyamekeh had tried to dribble his way into the 6 yard box, the keeper getting a good hand to the Brazilain strikers shot, but only pushing it into the roof of the net. Number three was arguably the pick of the bunch. Michael McNaughton sprayed a wonderful long pass out to Arron Davies to switch the play. He pushed the ball to Tamm with his back to goal on the edge of the area, and he lays it off to Babis Stefanidis, who drives his shot low into the bottom corner. Number four was comical defending from the visitors, Christian Burgess crossing from the left, both Tamm and Davies making moves towards the ball, Ellis Storey panicked and headed right past his own keeper who had also come to collect the cross. There was still plenty of time for a fifth before the break. Brynjar Vidisson did excellent work on the left, firstly winning the ball, then making it deep into the opposition territory, before laying it off to Nyamekeh. He provided the cross that Tamm met with a diving header, which the keeper produced a great save from, but with no help from his defenders, Tamm was off the turf and half volleying home the loose ball for his second. Very little difference in the second half, Matheus Coelho delivered a corner from the right that Christian Burgess headed in for his first goal for the club, and Joonas Tamm was felled almost on the penalty spot, grabbed the ball himself, and hit a left footed spot kick beyond the keeper to claim his hatrick. Getting the clean sheet was too much to hope for, with around a minute or so remaining, Murty played in Whitehall, who thumped home a consolation goal. We'll face Chasetown at home in Round 2, but it's back to FA Cup action at the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 The win over Carlton Town is a new club record win, which is nice to have in the books. A new player joins the ranks. Very much one for the future, but a good extra goalkeeping option, 6'0 Turkish stopper, Yusuf Mersin, signs after a 2 week trial at the club. He's 20 years old, and was released by Liverpool in the summer after 5 years with them without a senior appearance. He won't be challenging for a starting spot just yet, but it negates the need for us to look for a new goalkeeper next summer, or have to bring someone like Joe Day in again. Nick Pope has established himself as the number one in the early stages of the season. Saturday 4/10/14 - FA Cup, Third Qualifying Round Marston Road, Stafford Northwich Victoria (0) 0 Darlington (2) 4 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (28, 45+1 ,89), Brynjar Vidisson (87) Attendance : 84 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic, Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani (Christian Burgess 80); Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 80); Jordan Owens, Ivan Reali, Arron Davies; Nichlas Schon. The First Team regulars are back for the FA Cup trip to Northwich Victoria. Maybe they were worried that some of the back up players who did a great job in midweek were in line to stay in the side, but they certainly upped their games. It took nearly half hour to find the net, Nichlas Schon hit a shot from the edge of the area that the keeper pushed away, Ivan Reali reached the ball first, but with the angle far too acute to shoot from, he pushed it back across goal, and Schon sidefooted in. The super Swede got his second in first half injury time, Nicky Platt got to the byline after a through ball from Arron Davies, and his cross found Schon unmarked for him to plant a powerful header home for two goal advantage, while a few defenders watched without troubling themselves to mark anyone. The second half was mostly keeping possession and refusing to let the hosts create anything worthwhile. A couple of late goals however, cemented a very good outing. Matt Fry delivered a cross from the left that was headed clear, but Brynjar Vidisson walked onto it, and caught a superb volley from 25 yards out that wouldn't look out of place in any goal of the season competition. As we entered the final minute, Schon got his opportunity to get a treble, Davies headed the ball into the box, and Schon simply reacted quicker than the defenders and fired inside the near post. Reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round matches the Board's expectations, but a tie away to Guiseley AFC of the Blue Square North should give us a chance of making it to the First Round proper again this year. They are currently 4 points clear of that Division with 10 games played, so it'll be a good test. Wednesday 8/10/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (0) 1 Whitby Town (1) 1 Scorers : Nichlas Schon (90+2) Attendance : 1,840 Nick Pope; Steven Topalovic (Matt Harold 72), Matt Fry, Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt; Jordan Owens, Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 72); Nichlas Schon. We return to League action on the Wednesday evening, this the first of a treble of home games in less than a week, with mid-table Whitby Town providing the opposition tonight. While we've been involved in the Cup competitions, Matlock Town have moved a point ahead of us at the top of the League, and this is the one game in hand we hold over them. Maybe our players prefer the glamour of Cup ties to the grind of the Northern Premier League, especially when its chucking down with rain, but they simply didn't show up in any way at all for this game. We fell behind inside 5 minutes. Some good, measured passing play from the visitors, firstly down the left, and then after the initial cross was half cleared, down the right hand side. Dangerman, Sandy, took possession on the edge of the area, and clipped it inside to Tim Sills, who gratefully tucked the ball low inside the near post. We didn't create nearly enough, and at half time, I tore into the team, questioning their commitment to the club. While they left the dressing rooms looking more motivated, it made very little impact on the park, though Nichlas Schon should have equalised near the hour mark after shooting first time from Ivan Reali's cut back, but firing just the wrong side of the post. With 70 minutes gone, we change up the formation, taking off right back Steven Topalovic, and bringing on an extra striker. This resulted in an upturn in tempo, but still not enough chances created, and it looked like we were about to fall to a defeat. Deserved or not, we found a leveller deep into injury time, Jordan Owens played a weighted ball through the middle, and Schon finished with a neat dink over the keeper. The Whitby defenders complained bitterly to the assistant for offside, which resulted in two of them picking up bookings, for the record, I thought he had just stayed onside and times his run off the defenders shoulder perfectly. At least the team showed a bit of fighting spirit to get a draw, but I didn't point that out to them, locking them in the changing rooms for an hour after the game, and giving them a stern warning that performances such as this won't be tolerated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilhoskins77 Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Saturday 11/10/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (4) 5 Nantwich Town (0) 0 Scorers : Ivan Reali (1,19,35), Matt Harold (27), Nichlas Schon (71) Attendance : 1,896 Nick Pope; Christian Burgess, Mansour Assoumani, Matt Fry; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 45), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 81); Jordan Owens (Karlton Watson 45); Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. Maybe I should lock them in the dressing room for an hour after every game if this is the kind of performance it gets out of them. We went with the 3-4-1-2 for this one, again believing that Nantwich were not capable of offering enough in attack to leave our defence vulnerable. A blistering return to form, and it started after just 57 seconds. A long ball from Christian Burgess, Matt Harold flicks it on and wide for a speeding Arron Davies, he beat his man and whipped a cross in from the byline that Ivan Reali till well to reach, never mind volley home from an acute angle. The second followed in the 19th minute, Schon retrieving Jordan Owens long ball into the left channel. He cut back inside his marker, and found Reali all alone on the edge of the 6 yard box. The Italian winger did his very best to break the net, lashing it as hard as he could, high past the keeper. Reali provides the assist for the third, Davies' cross from the right skidded off the turf and went right across the box, Reali knocked it straight back into the centre where Matt Harold was running onto it for a simple sidefoot finish from close range. 10 minutes left in the first half, and the Italian completes his hatrick. Fabio Cesar's long free kick from the left was headed to the edge of the box, Schon couldn't find space for a shot so passed short to Jordan Owens, and he sent a through ball into the path of Reali, who kept his sidefooted shot low, and beat the keeper at the near post. At half time, we made some changes and reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 to protect our lead. The second half wasn't exactly a non-event, but the game was over as a contest, though Nichlas Schon did find the net himself in the 71st minute, the ball rebounding to him after the keeper had spilled Davies shot at goal. Tuesday 14/10/14 - Northern Premier League Heritage Park, Bishop Auckland Darlington (1) 4 Vauxhall Motors (0) 0 Scorers : Martin Brittain (25), Matheus Coelho (66), Matt Harold (83), Tumaini Adams (90+2) Attendance : 1,828 Nick Pope; Christian Burgess, Mansour Assoumani, Matt Fry; Brynjar Vidisson, Babis Stefanidis, Jonathan Nyamekeh, Martin Brittain (inj - Aaron Davies 51); Jordan Owens (Tumaini Adams 90); Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 51), Matt Harold. We're really starting to get back on track now. The players seem more defensively responsible, even playing in the 3-4-1-2 formation that has caused us numerous defensive problems in the past. Maybe playing the 4-2-3-1 has taught them more responsibility, and they are able to apply it even while playing a more attacking setup? Whatever the reason, this formation, with these players, has the capability of scaring the hell out of other teams at this level. Martin Brittain runs much more directly than Arron Davies, which in certain situations, is a good thing. Brittain gets his first goal of the season just over midway through the first half. Jordan Owens played a cheeky backheel to Matt Harold just outside the box, Harold slid the ball through to Brittain who got goal side of his defender, and curled his shot over the keeper and into the far corner. While the lead was just a single goal at the break, we were firmly in control here. Brittain came off early in the second half, cut down by a challenge from Prince Haywood near the corner flag, that the ref didn't even view as worthy of a free kick. Nichlas Schon came off at the same time as he was carrying a knock. His replacement was Matheus Coelho, and the Brazilian got his first Senior goal 15 minutes later. A counter attack following a Vauxhall corner, and Jonathan Nyamekeh tries a shot from range. It hits a defender on the heel and falls right to Coelho, he fires first time right into the top corner. The lad was suitably delighted, and celebrated with our fans behind the goal, joined by his team-mates, who were equally chuffed for him. Arron Davies delivered an 83rd minute corner that Matt Harold headed home via the underside of the crossbar. A late change, Jordan Owens coming off to give Tumaini Adams a late run out, a token gesture to be honest to give the lad some minutes on the park as a reward for his hard work in training. He had other ideas though, less than 2 minutes on the pitch, and he collects Brynjar Vidisson's pass on the edge of the box, turns and drives his low shot beyond the keeper's reach and into the bottom corner. He has goals at International level, and scored in the Challenge Cup, but this goes down as his first Senior club goal. It's been a good day, hopefully we can put in a performance in the Cup on Saturday. 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neilhoskins77 Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Saturday 18/10/14 - FA Cup, Fourth Qualifying Round Nethermoor, Guiseley Guiseley AFC (0) 1 Darlington (1) 2 Scorers : Matt Harold (2), Fabio Cesar (47) Attendance : 460 Nick Pope; Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani, Matt Fry; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt (Brynjar Vidisson 85), Ivan Reali, Arron Davies (Martin Brittain 74); Jordan Owens (Christian Burgess 74); Nichlas Schon, Matt Harold. A trip to the Blue Square North leaders for the final Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. We go with a full strength team, and sticking to the same attacking formation that's brought us success in recent games. And it didn't take long to work here, less than 2 minutes on the clock, and we have the lead. Nicky Platt breaks up play inside his own half, and finds Fabio Cesar, who delivers the ball right back to Platt. He feeds Nichlas Schon, and he starts to move towards the right channel, taking both centre backs with him, and playing his through pass into the path of Matt Harold. The big strikers low finish was clinical, and we have an early advantage. How that advantage was only one goal at the break is anybody's guess. Ivan Reali hit the bar with a volley, Harold heads against the post from point blank range, Jordan Owens misses a sitter, and Fabio Cesar forces a great save from their keeper with a free kick. But just as we did in the first half, we find the net again early in the second half. Platt's corner is headed down by Ross Smith, and Fabio Cesar sweeps home from 10 yards out to finally register his first goal for the club. We look comfortable, and are preparing the change to the formation to close up shop when the hosts drag themselves back into the game, Scott Spencer netting from Rothery's cut back from the byline. The changes are made, we switch to the 4-2-3-1 and ride out the rest of the game, to make it safely into Round 1 of the FA Cup. The draw throws up an all North-East matchup, we're home to nPower League One side, Hartlepool United. Wednesday 22/10/14 - Northern Premier League Shawe View, Urmston Trafford FC (0) 0 Darlington (0) 0 Scorers : None Attendance : 182 Nick Pope; Ross Smith, Mansour Assoumani, Matt Fry; Fabio Cesar, Nicky Platt, Ivan Reali (Jordan Owens 84), Martin Brittain (Arron Davies 84); Tumaini Adams; Nichlas Schon (Matheus Coelho 84), Matt Harold. A game against 13th placed Trafford FC. We never really got going in this one, shooting from range a lot, and often those shots were pretty wayward. We were always in control of the game, keeping Trafford at bay and often breaking up their attacking play before they got into areas where they could be a threat. The draw means we remain unbeaten 13 games into the campaign, and hold a 2 point lead over Matlock Town with both teams having played the same number of games. AFC Fylde are 4 points behind in third place, but do have a game in hand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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