Darlington Women win again

By Ray Simpson

Aug 9, 2021

Good away win at Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland Ladies 2 Darlington Women 4

Just a matter of weeks after being formed, our women’s team won their second game of pre-season by beating Bishop Auckland 4-2 on the 4G surface at King James in Bishop Auckland.

After coming away 14-0 winners in their previous outing against Richmond, Bishop would be a much sterner test who play in the league above Darlington.

Quakers started the game well and were fast out of the blocks. A decent tempo for the first 10 minutes saw Darlington on top and create a fair few chances. A Darlington player was brought down in the box on around the 8th minute mark and the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Emma Doudican, who scored a hat-trick in the previous friendly and blazed it off the crossbar! A let off for Bishop and the game was still all square.

Bishop grew into the game and dominated a lot of the first half. Darlington had to defend well and if it wasn’t for a few spectacular Martina Cuccunato saves then they would have been behind earlier on. Bishop kept creating chances and Cuccunato kept pulling off the saves. Darlington were struggling to get out and Bishop finally got the breakthrough on the 41st minute mark. Shortly after, Bishop doubled their lead after another good save, the ball looked like it was rolling out for a corner before hitting the corner flag and staying in play. Bishop reacted quicker and a ball back into the box wasn’t dealt with and Bishop took a probable deserved lead into the break, 2-0.

A slight change of formation in the second half and a change of personnel for Darlington with two more trialists coming on saw a much more energetic and composed Darlington side. A fast start put Darlington on the front foot and new signing Sophie Curle was brought down in the box and the ref pointed to the spot for the second time in the game. Curle picked herself up and stepped up to put the penalty away to the keeper’s bottom left, although the keeper got a hand to it, she could only parry it into the net. A debut goal for Curle to put Darlington back in the game, 2-1.

Darlington continued to press in numbers and saw a lot more of the ball in the second half, keeping possession well and creating the better chances. Around the 60th minute mark, two trialists combined from a corner. A great ball in from the right-hand side went over everyone’s heads and a Darlington player was on hand at the back post to tap home the equaliser, 2-2.

The remaining half hour of the game was a very good watch and both teams were going at it with not much between them. Bishop went close a few times with a few free kicks but Cuccunato was determined to not concede another goal. It was Darlington who then pushed on and took the lead in the 82nd minute to lead for the first time in the game. A perfectly-timed ball from Curle saw another trialist through on goal and finish well with her right foot into the bottom corner to put Darlington ahead. 2-3.

Although a friendly game, having had a two-goal advantage, Bishop did not want to lose the game and pushed on for the equaliser. Darlington defended well and with just a couple of minutes left on the clock, they countered on the right hand side. A good throw in down the line saw Darlington catch Bishop on the break. Some good pace and a knock on from Chloe Bright, saw Curle take it in her stride and smash it into the roof of the net to get a brace on her debut and give Darlington the victory.

*Player of the Match*

Martina Cuccunato

A massive thanks to Bishop Auckland Ladies FC for hosting the game and we wish them the best of luck for next season.

#WeareDarlo

Here are the first two months of fixtures for our Women in the Durham FA League. Home games are on Sundays at Blackwell Meadows.

https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/womens-team-start-campaign-with-a-home-game

Starting X1

Martina Cuccunato

Trialist A

Sarah.Frew

Alice Wearmouth

Emma Carter

Trialist B

Emma.Doudican

Trialist C

Chloe Bright

Toni Upton

Sophie Curle

Subs:

Chloe Tinkler

Trialist D

Trialist E

We’d like to thank the following kit sponsors:

Hattie Raine (sponsored by Krystal Sells), Emma Carter (The Wine and Cheese Shop), Emma Doudican (Winroths Hairdressers), Sarah Frew (Chic Beauty Academy), Martina Cuccanato (Premier 1 Filtration), Caisey Lee (Engage to Learn), Olivia Whitworth (Terry Farley MBE)

Do you want to sponsor a player’s kit for £150 plus VAT? For details, drop us a line on kitsponsorship@darlingtonfc.org