Simon Weatherill looks back at the home win over Workington on 1st March 1969 in this week’s Memory Match.

Darlington kicked off the 1968/69 season in fantastic form, with a fourteen-match unbeaten run. Eight wins and six draws meant that the Quakers topped the Division Four table and were the last unbeaten team in the Football League. Their incredible run included eleven clean sheets and hopes were high that the team could repeat the promotion exploits of the 1965/66 squad.

Manager Ray Yeoman had made two key signings in the summer to add to the squad that had finished in 16th place in the previous season. Ken Hale was brought in from Oxford United and immediately installed as team captain. He was an experienced midfield player with nearly 200 league appearances at Newcastle, Coventry and Oxford. Yeoman also persuaded former Feethams favourite Lance Robson to return to the club after four years at Gateshead. The two players were influential as Darlington stormed to the top of the table. At the beginning of October, the squad was strengthened further by the signing of Allan Gauden, a right winger from Sunderland, for £5,000.

The good form continued so that by the beginning of December the Quakers still topped the table with 27 points from 20 games, but then bad weather began to play its part as several postponements enabled other teams to take over at the top.  By the end of February, they were still challenging but they were two or three games behind their rivals and faced a crowded fixture list for March and April. (7 games in March and 9 in April.) The Quakers would kick off their busy run in with a visit from Workington on March 1st. Darlington sat in third place in the table with 35 points from 27 games. They trailed Doncaster and Aldershot by two points but had three games in hand on both of them. In an incredibly tight league Workington sat in seventh place but were only one point behind the Quakers. 

The poor weather had continued, and the game was in danger of being called off due to waterlogging. The pitch was passed as playable but was sure to cut up and provide a heavy, treacherous surface. Darlington had selection problems and were struggling to put a team out. Centre forward Jimmy Lawton had a long-term knee problem that had kept him out since January and would eventually lead to his retirement from the game. Centre half Bill Thompson would be missing with a broken collar bone, full back Neville Chapman failed a fitness test with a bruised foot and Brian Keeble missed out because of flu. Alan Sproates had also been suffering from flu and winger Harry Kirk had a slight thigh strain but both players were deemed fit enough to play. With Chapman and Keeble both missing, inside right Ken Felton deputised at left back in a makeshift defence.  

A disappointing crowd of 4744, the lowest of the season, was at Feethams for the game, which was being filmed by Tyne Tees TV cameras for their “Shoot” highlights programme. They witnessed an entertaining game with both sides making light of the muddy pitch and playing some excellent football. The Quakers grabbed an early lead courtesy of inside right Les O’Neill. There seemed to be little danger when Lance Robson played the ball forward down the right wing, as Workington centre half Tommy Spencer looked to have the ball covered. He delayed his clearance though and O’Neill whipped the ball off his toes and slotted it past Mike Rogan in the visitors’ goal. The home side were quickly back on the attack and soon doubled their lead. Allan Gauden crossed from wide out on the right and Robson climbed at the far post to head towards goal. Rogan seemed to have the header covered but the greasy ball slipped through his fingers and dropped into the net. Gauden, having his best game in Quakers colours, then made it three when he cut in from the right and hit a fierce drive that was too strong for Rogan. Workington’s enterprising play was finally rewarded just before half time when Spencer pulled a goal back for the visitors. Half time: Darlington 3 Workington 1.

Workington began the second half strongly and got themselves right back into the game with a second goal just after the restart by substitute Derek Trail, who had replaced Eric Banks at the break. The visitors had a period of supremacy now and looked well capable of getting something out of the game. Their hopes were dashed on the hour when Gauden claimed his second of the afternoon. He cut in from the wing and lashed home a terrific left footed cross shot from an almost impossible angle. The Quakers were now back in control and increased their lead further in the 75th minute when O’Neill smashed home his second of the game. Gauden went close to completing his hat trick, but his goal bound header was deflected over the bar by Workington full back Joe Wilson and it was left to Ken Hale to complete the scoring when he crashed home an unstoppable shot in the final minute.  

The 6-2 victory lifted the Quakers to second place in the table, a point behind Doncaster, but still with three games in hand. Things then went horribly wrong after that. The next seven games saw two draws, followed by five straight defeats which dropped them down to ninth place. They rallied, with an unbeaten nine match run which lifted them back into contention. The last game of the season would be a winner takes all contest at Feethams against Bradford City. City sat in fourth place in the table. Darlington sat two points behind them but had a slightly better goal average, so victory would lift the Quakers above City into a promotion place. 11631 crammed into Feethams to see City win the big game 3-1 and so condemn Darlington to another season in Division Four. A season that had promised so much ended with a final day defeat and an agonising fifth place finish.

The programme for the 1968/69 season cost 9d and consisted of 16 pages, of which more than half were adverts. The programme comprised of an editorial piece, an action photo of a previous match, half time scoreboard, a star spot, pen pictures of the opposition and fixtures, results and tables for first team and reserves. The team line ups were on the centre pages.

Team v Workington: 1 Tony Moor 2 John Peverell 3 Ken Felton 4 Alan Sproates 5 Brian Albeson 6 Joe Jacques 7 Allan Gauden 8 Les O’Neill 9 Lance Robson 10 Ken Hale 11 Harry Kirk Sub Tony Lee (not used).