Darlington Women still have a chance of finishing in the top four of the Durham County FA Women’s League after they beat Chester-le-Street United 2-0 on Sunday.

Two goals from Chloe Ryan gave them victory and set their sights on a top four finish.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “Overall, I’m really pleased with the three points and the clean sheet. We didn’t really get going in the first half and for all the possession we had, we didn’t create too many chances, although we still should have come into the break winning the game.

“Second half was a lot better and we just needed that bit of quality in the final third. You always get that with Chloe Ryan and she stepped up and scored the penalty early in the second half which was a crucial point in the game and I think that goal settled us down a bit. We started to keep the ball on the floor and switch the play a lot better and we should have been a few goals up if we were more clinical in front of goal. 

“I was really pleased for Emily Taylor who came on for her debut, she’s been training with us for a couple of months and we signed her on the last day of the deadline in March. She’s been working really hard in training and deserved her chance. She’s very direct and has a lot of potential and she showed that when she came on. She got at the full back straight away and got her shot off which resulted in Chloe Ryan tucking away the rebound. 

“We will need to be a lot better next week and start well if we are going to get something from the game as we welcome second placed Consett to Eastbourne for our final home game of the season. Thanks to the fans who turned out today, we always appreciate your support and it would be great to see you next week.”

Here’s the match report from Chris Barrett:

Darlington were the favourites for the game and did start the better with Hattie Raine getting an early chance after 6 minutes but struck just over and wide from distance.

The game settled and Darlington started to regress with the work off the ball lacking, making it difficult to create good opportunities and allowing Chester-Le-Street to play simple football in the middle of the park. Darlington fashioned a good chance after 20 minutes with a corner played deep to the back post for Chloe Tinkler to head just wide. Around the half hour mark, Darlington got a couple of decent chances with Chloe Ryan putting the ball just wide after a ball from Chloe Bright was played into the box and it was also Ryan who went close after breaking through the defence for the keeper to come out and smother the shot from a narrowing angle.

Chester-Le-Street had a good chance when some high pressure allowed them to win the ball just inside the Darlington half with a free run at goal but the recovery pace of Alice Wearmouth allowed her enough time to get back and calmly pressure the striker into forcing a poor pass to put the ball out to safety. Darlington went into half time after an underwhelming performance looking for a spark to make the difference in the final 3rd in the second half. 

On the 48th minute, Katie Sheridan provided that spark and drove into the box from the right hand side and before laying it off had her ankle caught to take her down and the referee awarded the spot kick. It was Chloe Ryan who stepped up and purposefully smashed high to the left past the keeper to give Darlington a relieving one goal lead.

Darlington had a bit more of an attacking presence in the second half and it was Ryan who was in the right places getting shots in on 56 and 64 minutes but unable to convert. On 73 minutes, Darlington came close with a ball flicked over the top from Millie Garnett to Lily Wilkinson who took it well but struck just wide across goal.

On the 80th minute the ball was played into the Chester-Le-Street box and it was picked up by Darlington debutant Emily Taylor who struck well for the keeper only to parry it away into the path of Chloe Ryan who smashed it home for the win.

There was a late opportunity with Leanne Mulligan picking the ball up in the final third and her delightful cross to the back post was met by Lily Wilkinson, for her to head against the crossbar and then fall into the keeper’s hands. Darlington finished off the game and managed it well, once two goals up, even if it was a sub par performance. There were hard working efforts from Chloe Bright and Emma Carter who were up and down the pitch all game. 

Player of the match was awarded to Katie Sheridan who had a strong performance in the middle of the park winning her battles and getting the decisive turnovers of the ball to dominate the possession.

Darlington have their final home game next week and will face a difficult challenge against Consett Ladies but will look to finish the season strong.

Here's the league table

https://fulltime.thefa.com/table.html?league=901345664&selectedSeason=85293540&selectedDivision=371387182&selectedCompetition=0&selectedFixtureGroupKey=1_97264698

We'd like to thank the following kit sponsors

Ellen Atkinson:

Home: LW & GM Atkinsons & Son

Away: Harker Coaches

Evie Whittaker: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Premier One Filtration

Emma Carter:

Home: Direct Flooring 

Away: SMS Tech (Smart Manufacturing Solutions Technology)

Alice Wearmouth:

Home: Direct Flooring 

Away: SMS Tech (Smart Manufacturing Solutions Technology) 

Lou Brown:

Home: Saddington Taylor LTD

Away: vacant

Gabi Paduriaru:

Home: David Stothard

Away: Colin Bromley

Millie Garnett:

Home: Eco Hair Salon

Away: Phil's Fine Finishes

Lily Large:

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation  

Away: Vacant 

Chloe Tinkler: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Brinkburn Pub

Chloe Bright: 

Home: Jordan Hanratty Personal Training 

Away: Active Kids Play Scheme

Toni Upton

Home: Dawn Fire Safety 

Away: Dawn Fire Safety

Emma Doudican 

Home: Winroths Hairdressing  

Away: Winroths Hairdressing 

Olivia Whitworth

Home: Terry Farley MBE

Away: Vacant 

Aimee Dagnall 

Home: Andrew Scullion

Away: Vacant

Hattie Raine: 

Home: Thomas Watson Auctioneers 

Away: Thomas Watson Auctioneers 

Katie Sheridan: 

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation 

Away: Ingleton Site Management LTD

Lacey Baldwin: 

Home: Lineside Fencing NE Ltd 

Away: Lineside Fencing NE Ltd 

Chloe Ryan: 

Home: Arthur Wharton Foundation

Away: The Little Quaker Distillery 

Nicole Graham

Home: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Away: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Leanne Mulligan:

Home and away: Stockton Town Rugby Club

Management team:

Shaun Mackenzie training kit: John Vickerman

Assistant manager training kit: NC Group LTD

Dan Lupu training kit: Vacant

Chris Barrett training kit: Vacant