Darlington Spartans FC

Unfortunate defeat today. 1-0 down after a short back pass was gobbled up by the forward who made no mistake. From there it was a pretty even affair, neither team creating many chances in a cagey game.

We threw caution to the wind in the last 10 minutes and created two massive chances, one which saw an inch perfect tackle deny a one-on-one and a point blank save from the keeper deep into injury time.

A positive performance despite the result with another injury-hit team out.

MOTM Andy Wilson

Tomorrow we welcome Staindrop Wheatsheaf FC

10:30 KO at Springfield

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A tough day at the office. Stanhope were excellent opposition and we never got going. With 4 injuries during the match, we had to finish the game with a makeshift team. Josh Walshaw finishing well for our goal and Charlie Carrigan industrious throughout the only positives to take today. At home to Staindrop next Sunday looking to bounce back.

Our Division One opener sees us host Stanhope Town Sports & Social Club FC at Springfield.

A tough test facing last season’s runners-up but one we’re looking forward to.

10:30KO💙🤍

THANK YOU! Totals have been finalised for our Chris Greaves & Andy Blair Memorial Day and we have raised £2,472 for Mind and Cancer Research. A massive thanks to everyone involved!💙🤍

Another 90 mins in the legs as we beat Barnard Castle Youth 6-3.

The pitch was changed last minute to a pitch slightly bigger than 9 a side size and we struggled in the opening exchanges to find our passing range. After 7 mins we took the lead when Louis O’Neill fired in from the edge of the box into the bottom corner. Luke Upex drove inside to lay off Zak Bowman to make it 2-0 in the 35th minute. A few minutes later, Adam Lamb fired a pass into Andy Wilson to turn his defender and slot home to go into the break with a 3-0 lead.

Barney got a quickfire double to make a game out of it and we needed to sharpen up, and did so accordingly when Blair crossed the ball in for Andy to take a touch and finish to make it 4-2. The goal of the game saw Zak Bowman cut inside, play a one-two with Andy before calmly putting into the corner to make it 5 in 3 for our new signing. Barney scored another goal after some slack defending but the 3 goal lead was restored when Luke Upex tapped home after a defensive mix-up. Not the best game for us defensively but arguably our most prolific friendly yet, with the keeper having to pull off a number of incredible saves.

All the best to Barney as they go into their first season in men’s football. A lot of parallels to ourselves 8 years ago and nice to see a group of good young players go into Sunday football.

A big thanks to The Harvey McWilliams Foundation for the 12 matchballs which we won this week. An excellent charity in memory of Harvey, they have helped around 3000 people play the sport with their boot library and other sports equipment. Please visit their site on Whessoe Road to help them continue their good work across the North East helping those who need it most.

Goals:
Louis O’Neill ‘7
Zak Bowman(Luke Upex) ‘35
Andy Wilson(Adam Lamb) ‘38
Andy Wilson(Alex Blair) ‘59
Zak Bowman(Andy Wilson) ‘65
Luke Upex ‘83

MOTM: Andy Wilson

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Our penultimate pre season game sees us travel across the A67 to play Barnard Castle Youth FC at Green Lane Primary School.

10:30KO

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We tasted defeat for the first time in 2026 in our friendly against Rollies tonight.

First 10 minutes we had more of the ball but from that point onwards Rollies started to control possession and held a deserved 2-0 lead going into the break.

Shortly after the break Rollies made it 3 and that seemed to spark us into life. Benji Keating was bright in midfield and Luke Upex and Sam Thompson linked up well to see us start to put together some good moves. Harry Bates finished well under pressure to make it 3-1 on 62 mins and 2 mins later Sam Thompson capitalised on a keeper mistake to roll into the net to make it 3-2. We had multiple opportunities to equalise then with the Rollies keeper making 3 good saves and the post denying Batesy for a potential leveller.

The game finished 3-2, but a great workout for the lads ahead of the season opener vs Stanhope in a fortnight.

All the best to the Rollies this season.

MOTM: Sam Thompson/Ben Keating

Goals:
Harry Bates(Luke Upex) ‘62
Sam Thompson ‘64

We travel to Barnard Castle to play their youth team that are stepping into adults football this season on Sunday.

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Tough friendly tonight as we face Rolling Mills FC at Springfield.

6:30PM KO.

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