Darlington Quakers U12’s

Darlo Vs Bishop Auckland

The stage was set for a tense encounter as the Darlo boys entered the match knowing that just a single point from their remaining three fixtures would be enough to secure the league title.

From the opening whistle, the intensity was evident. BA, determined to delay the celebrations, pressed aggressively and forced the home side into a physical and tightly contested battle. Chances were at a premium in the early stages, with both teams showing defensive discipline and composure under pressure.

Early injury niggles saw Jackson make way for Olly and Zach making way for David. A quick re-jig of positions saw Leo move to right back, a position new to him, thanks to Archie P being on a ski holiday 🎿😅, leaving us short defensively. Sam and David onto the wings.

As the match progressed, Archie B and Ruben began to assert more control in midfield, using their creativity and composure to dictate the tempo. The breakthrough eventually came after sustained pressure, with Olly G finding the back of the net, shifting the momentum firmly in our favour. 🤗⚽️ Olly! Olly! Olly!

Bishop responded with resilience, pushing forward in search of an equaliser, creating a couple of nervy moments and soon levelling the score from a corner. Good goal ⚽️

Jackson was re introduced to the game and immediately started causing trouble proving himself the handful he is and finally being rewarded with another goal to add to his fast growing collection. 2-1.

A solid defensive performance from Lee, his experience shining through with the organising of his back line, making sure Floyd and Leo were where they should be, all 3 having fantastic games.. Seb wasn’t challenged too much in goal but cleaned up whenever needed. Our attack were a force, David regularly weaving his way through the defence with Sam and his relentless energy causing chaos throughout the second half.

At the final whistle, relief turned to jubilation. The victory not only secured the three points but officially confirmed us as league champions, marking an incredible THIRD consecutive division one title. Absolute Scenes ❤️

It’s been a tough couple of months for the boys. Losing 2 players to academy trials, another player leaving, welcoming new faces (thankfully they’ve fit in great), adapting, some games not playing their best football but still digging in to get the results (for the most part).

Last night that fire was there and every single one of them did themselves proud 🔥
We went to the pub afterwards to toast the boys and coaches 🫶🏻

Buzzing for them!!

2 more league games to go and let’s see what happens with the cup run 🏆

Still lots to play for 💪🏻⚽️

Goals:
Olly Griffiths ⚽️
Jackson Baker ⚽️

Darlo Vs Auckland Moors

The lads made the perfect start. Within minutes, the ball broke kindly to Jackson, who showed great composure to control and fire a low shot into the net, giving Darlo an early 1–0 lead 🙏

The remainder of the first half was a scrappy affair, heavily influenced by the blustery conditions. Both teams struggled to find rhythm, and a series of robust challenges saw the referee kept busy, awarding multiple free kicks and briefly halting play for minor injuries.

A defensive lapse from the boys allowed Auckland Moors back into the game, as their forward capitalised and finished past Seb in goal to level the score at 1–1. With little else of note before the break, the sides went in all square, with Darlo knowing they would have to contend with both slope and wind in the second half.

After the restart, the quality improved significantly. Both teams began to play with more control, turning the game into a much better spectacle💪🏻

Darlo regained the lead through an excellent move down the left. A driven ball flashed across the box and found Leo, who calmly converted with his left foot to make it 2–1 ⚽️🤗

Momentum stayed with Darlo, and they soon extended their lead. Archie Brown reacted quickest to another attacking opportunity, finishing well to put Darlington 3–1 ahead⚡️

As the game progressed, both sides continued to raise their level, but Darlington showed greater determination and game management, battling hard across the pitch to maintain control.

Late substitutions added fresh energy, and Sam made an immediate impact, winning a penalty which Jackson confidently converted to seal a 4–1 victory.

After a tightly contested first half, Darlo’s strong second-half performance ensured all three points. Their resilience, organisation, and attacking quality ultimately proved decisive, further strengthening their position in the league.

A performance full of grit and determination—one the players can be proud of. Onward.

Goals:
Jackson ⚽️⚽️(one P)
Leo ⚽️
Archie B ⚽️

Darlo Vs Pools Youth

Pools Youth were our kryptonite last season, So heading there mid week, coming off the back of a loss on Sunday, was a cause for concern especially now it’s getting down to the ‘nitty gritty’ in the league 😬🫣🙏

Today is a new day though and thankfully it saw a dominant performance from start to finish seeing us bounce back in style after last week’s setback. From the first whistle, we controlled the tempo, moved the ball with confidence, and kept constant pressure on the opposition.

Jackson opened the scoring and basically didn’t stop 🤣a standout performance, he was simply unplayable. movement, finishing, and overall presence caused problems all game and set the tone for our attacking play.

Credit to the whole team! Every player stepped up. The energy, focus, and determination was clear, and it showed in how we won battles across the pitch and stayed disciplined throughout.

We are all really proud of the lads for the reaction tonight. A strong response and a performance to build on going forward.

Well played to Pools Youth, despite the score they fought to the end and were very lively going forward on the break and bagged a nice little goal early on to stress us out 🤪

Goals:
Jackson ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ ⚡️🔥Hatrick Hero 🔥⚡️ and some more 🤣
Leo ⚽️
Zach ⚽️ (P)

Darlo Vs Boro Ranger Whites

A thrilling well balanced match ended in defeat for the Darlo boys today 😫

First half we took the lead early ish after a strong attack from David and Jackson ended with J putting the ball in the net 1-0. The game looked promising with the opportunities we were creating but sadly didn’t capitalise and this proved costly for the boys.

The second half we knew we’d be up against it with our opposition coming back stronger just as they had a couple of weeks back. The half was end to end for a large chunk with both teams having a number of good chances.

Eventually the whites found their equaliser and from there, frantically hunted for the winner. This came with a couple of minutes to spare leaving Darlo with nothing to take from the match but the lessons to learn.

1-2 (the reverse score from our last encounter). Really well played to the whites . A game played in good spirits, deserved the win for that second half performance.

We had a few stand out performers but I’ve got to give a shout out to Seb for some of the saves he pulled out of the bag. Tremendous keeping 👏🏻⚽️🧤

Goals:
Jackson ⚽️

Darlo Vs Boro Rangers Whites ⚪️

The top two teams (current standings) clashed this morning. The Whites came into the game on an impressive run of form so this was always going to be a stern test. Add in the heavy, uneven pitch and 2 of our players being out on trial and we were definitely going to be in a battle.

From the first whistle, the game demanded focus. Every player was putting in a shift, competing for first and second balls on a surface that made flowing football difficult.

A few opportunities arrived, nothing majorly challenging the keeper UNTIL 🙏a clever bit of play from Jackson sent into Archie B who then showed composure and quality in a key moment, sending a rocket to the back of the net 🚀 . During this period of the match Darlo had the upper hand with possession and capitalised once again when after another great bit of ‘strikers work’ from Jackson, saw his shot parried by the keeper, only into the path of David who calmly placed the ball exactly where he wanted it making it 2-0.

Soon into the second half one of their players scored an absolute worldie sending hope through the BRW players and a reminder to us that it was very much still ‘game on’. *que sideline stress 🤣😅

A couple more chances came our way with Leo just putting the ball wide after finding himself in great space and another where the crossbar was pinged followed by a manic aftermath with bodies everywhere trying to gain control of the ball until it eventually found their goalkeeper.

The final 15 minutes brought relentless pressure. The opposition threw everything at us, committing numbers forward and testing us with direct play and deliveries into the box. Our defensive unit (Lee, Archie P, Zach and GK Seb) stood firm 💪🏻 . Clearances, blocks, tackles, and sheer determination defined the closing stages as we dug deep and refused to be broken down.

In the end, it was a hard-fought victory against a solid opposition. The lads showed resilience and maturity to grind out a massive three points and each and every player stepped up in their own moments.

Goals:
Archie Brown ⚽️
David Ravenscroft ⚽️

Next Up: Cup match against Div 2’s Hartlepool Blues next week.

Let’s Go!

Darlo Vs Darlington RA
Cup Match - Round 2

The game started with RA giving the lads a little wake up call, nearly scoring in the opening 10 seconds. Our boys responded immediately with Sam getting our first goal, all within a couple of minutes of the match starting.

Clearly this is going to be a lively game! 🔥🍿

David followed almost immediately with our second goal, and their goalkeeper didn’t get much of a break for the following 55 minutes.

Midfield dictated the tempo, winning everything, while the forwards showed no mercy in front of goal, turning the match into a showcase of skill and confidence.

The lads were dangerous with the ball and relentless without it! Giving their opponent no breathing space whatsoever. Our goals continued to come - Some so impressive it was like watching 2009 Barcelona 🤣 no joke lol

An injury to Seb saw both Zach and Jackson have stints in goal - Jackson thrilled with his personal clean sheet 👌🏻😀

Despite the overwhelming scoreline, Darlington RA kept their chins up, fighting until the final whistle, showing how resilient they are as a squad.. They Scored an unreal free kick leaving our ‘stand in’ GK Zach with no chance ! Their goalkeeper made some unbelievably good saves, keeping it from getting into much bigger numbers.

Well played everyone it was a pleasure to watch.

Speedy recovery to Seb - like really speedy 😬🤗

Goals:
Sam ⚽️
David ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ 😮‍💨👌🏻🔥⚡️💥🤯⚠️⛔️‼️
Zach ⚽️
Jackson ⚽️
Olly ⚽️⚽️⚽️ ⚡️🔥Hatrick Hero 🔥⚡️
Archie B ⚽️
Leo ⚽️
Landy ⚽️

Darlo Vs Kader Rangers

The opening round of the Cup saw us at home to division 2’s Kader Rangers in an early afternoon kick off.

Darlo delivered a performance that was at times scrappy but also showcased moments of real quality, coming out on top against a hardworking and dangerous opposition.

The opening stages were physical, with both teams battling for control. While we enjoyed more possession, the visitors remained organised, making it difficult to break them down. Whenever the away team regained the ball, they looked sharp on the counter-attack, causing several nervous moments for the home defence.

Soon into the game Jackson showed what a danger he is with a Hatrick in the opening 10 mins 💥⚽️⚽️⚽️🙌🏻

Kader responded with a goal, and with a long way to go, showed they were still very much in the game.

As the match progressed, the home side began to find their rhythm. Quick passing and improved movement created a number of clear chances, and the opportunities and goals started to flow..

Despite the scoreline, the visitors never stopped competing. They continued to battle hard, pressed aggressively, and created a few promising counter-attacks that could easily have changed the momentum of the game.

In the end, our quality in key moments proved decisive. While there is lots of room for improvement, especially in managing the scrappier phases of the game, the team fully deserved to progress to the next round.

Well played lads

Goals:
Jackson ⚽️⚽️⚽️🔥⚡️Hatrick Hero⚡️🔥
OG ⚽️- after a fantastic run from David
Sam ⚽️⚽️
David ⚽️
Zach ⚽️
Olly G⚽️

Darlo Vs Marton FC Whites

From the opening whistle, Marton approached the game with high intensity, celebrating every tackle and treating the match like a cup final. 🔥

Up against a compact four-man back line, Darlo moved the ball patiently, but showed moments of rustiness after a long month of no games 🫣. We tried using quick passing and smart movement to stretch the defence and create space in wide and central areas but not quite finding the right ball through 🧐

Scoring opened after David weaved through a couple of players eventually being brought down in the box and making no mistakes from the penalty spot.

Marton responded bringing it back level and only a few minutes later Darlo regained their lead with some brilliant team play leaving one of their defenders in the unfortunate position of putting the ball into the back of his own goal.

Seb, our goalkeeper made a few important saves to keep the score in our favour dealing with the increasing threat from their lively striker.

The consistent pressure we applied started to pay off with opportunities coming more frequently and finally after a pinball style goal-mouth scramble, Jackson found a clear opening, striking with power, leaving the goalkeeper without a chance.

Darlo remained composed and disciplined on a heavy, muddy pitch, overcoming both the difficult conditions and an emotionally charged opponent.

An enjoyable game to watch and a shoutout to the Marton team, who without any subs, played with their heart and souls for the full game . I hope you play like that for the rest of your season (unless you get us in the cup 🤣) .🙌🏻

Goals:
David ⚽️
OG ⚽️
Jackson ⚽️

Due to two players going on trials, Darlington FC U12s are looking to sign a couple of High performing players to be part of an already talent packed squad. Currently sitting at the top of Division 1 in the TJFA.

We are seeking committed, technically strong players with the right mindset to train and compete at this level.

Please get in touch if you think your child would be suitable or if you have any questions 😀🙌🏻

Thanks