Hebburn 2 Darlington 2

Poor finishing cost Darlington two points when they were held to a 2-2 draw at Hebburn in the Durham County Women's League on Sunday.

Quakers fought back from 2-0 down, but couldn’t get the winner with all the chances they created.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “We are obviously disappointed to come away with only a draw and it feels like two points dropped rather than one point gained. To be honest, I don’t know how we’ve had that many chances to score and still come away without the win. I don’t often speak about refereeing decisions but their first goal comes from a free kick right on the edge of the box which is never a free kick. The first goal is always so important in the game and Hannah clearly got the ball, so that’s a decision that’s gone against us.

“Conceding a second shortly after, gave us an uphill task but we knew we had plenty of time left on the clock to get back in the game. We showed that we can be patient and not force things and eventually our efforts were rewarded with a great team goal before half time. We knew that more chances would come in the second half and were confident at the break that we could win the game. The equaliser came from Leanne and I’m very happy that she’s got her first goal for the club. I don’t know why she was taking the corner, but we probably won’t hear the end of that now!

“We still had over half an hour to force the winner and I don’t know what more we could have done. We have to give credit to Hebburn for putting their bodies on the line and being determined to get the point. But we have got to find a way to start winning these type of games if we want to get out of this league. I am pleased with the character shown to get back into the game from 2-0 down and we can take that as a positive. We will keep working hard on the training pitch and we look forward to what will be another tough challenge when we welcome Durham Cestria Reserves to Eastbourne on Sunday, who have had some excellent results recently, scoring goals for fun.”

An early controversial decision from the referee saw him award a free kick to Hebburn right on the edge of the box on the 7th minute. Hannah Billingham seemed to clearly get the ball and actually kicked it out for a throw in but the referee saw something different and a free kick was awarded. Gibson stepped up for Hebburn and made no mistake putting it in the top corner.

Darlington reacted well and created a few chances of their own but found themselves 2-0 down after a quarter of an hour with no pressure on a ball from midfield, which caught out the defence and Bunce finished well to make it 2-0. 

The Quakers picked themselves back up again and continued to create plenty of chances. Grace Dobson coming close on a few occasions, Chloe Bright hitting the crossbar and Lily Wilkinson also hitting the crossbar. It felt like the goal was coming and it finally came when Grace Dobson cut the ball across the box after some great work down the left hand side for Ella Leach to tap home for her 6th goal of the season to make it 2-1 and game on.

The second half was more of the same and Darlington’s attacks continued to come. Two half time substitutions saw Bailey Ryder-Ingledew and Chloe Ryan introduced to the game and were both an instant attacking threat. Chloe Ryan coming close to an early second half equaliser. It was the 55th minute when the equaliser did come. Leanne Clennett with her first goal for the club, a great ball direct from a corner that went straight across the box and into the far bottom corner.

Darlington continued to drive forward and the last 20 minutes was one way traffic. Hebburn sat in and defended well and were always a danger on the counter. But the crossbar and post came to Hebburn’s rescue a few more times in the second half as well as Gibson who opened the scoring being determined to not concede again, as she made three goal-line clearances. The last two chances fell to Aimee Dagnall from a corner and Chloe Ryan late on but the winner would not come and Darlington shared the points for the first time this season.

Player of the match was awarded to Aimee Dagnall, she won every ball in the air in central midfield as well as continuing to drive the team forward in search for the equaliser and winner. 

Thanks to everyone who came along to support today and thanks to Hebburn Town F.C Women for the game. We wish them the best of luck for the remainder of the season.

Here's the league table

https://fulltime.thefa.com/index.html?selectedSeason=65571865&selectedFixtureGroupAgeGroup=1&selectedDivision=371387182&selectedCompetition=0

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