1. One fleeting moment, which epitomised for me the grit, determination and strong emotional bond between the Darlington players and fans, took place on a wet and windy evening at Flixton when we played in-form Northwich Victoria. On a foul evening, in ever-worsening conditions, each and every Darlo player did their utmost to win the game and, thanks to a Graeme Armstrong opportunist goal, we gained the three points. One incident, which lasted only a few seconds, summed up the positive relationships between player and fan which have developed over recent seasons to render us “the twelfth man”!

The ball was heading towards us in the stand and was either going out for a throw-in or would be intercepted by a Northwich player and kicked towards our goal.

Suddenly, Tommo appeared from nowhere and slid in to block the ball and, indeed, he even managed to win the second phase and clear the ball down the touchline. To a man, the fans near to the incident shouted “Well done, Tommo lad, great tackle, mate.” He looked up at us, grinned and acknowledged our efforts with a bellowing ‘yesssss!’ After that, you just knew we were going to win.

2. Another moment which stands out as a highlight for me during the year was at the Play-Off Final against Bamber Bridge. Or, to be more accurate, after it. The game itself was something of an anti-climax after the excitement of the Spennymoor game a few nights earlier. Once we had taken a two goal lead the match was effectively over and, the Graeme Armstrong injury apart, nothing else of major note really happened. My abiding memory of that evening will always be of the trophy being presented and looking around the stand to see nothing but happy, smiling faces – directors, officials, management team, players and every one of the loyal band of fans who have stuck by the club through thin and even thinner! This was our moment and it was quite heart-warming to be part of so much mutual joy and happiness.

Mr Reynolds, Mr Houghton and Mr Singh, where are you now? Do you ever wonder where Darlington Football Club is? Well, I can inform all three of you that “Darlo’s On the Up.”

3. At the recent Hyde United away game, I witnessed a piece of genuine skill which would have left the so-called expert pundits on Match of the Day drooling with ecstasy. They would surely have uttered classic comments such as ‘world class’, ‘unbelievable talent’ or my own personal favourite ‘this level of skill is what makes our Premier League the best in the world.’ The match at Hyde was played at a high tempo, with a strong blustery wind making high balls difficult to judge. And let’s not forget that, for about half an hour in the second half (when, I think, this incident took place), the heavens opened and the players had to contend with driving rain. Anyway, one of our players had tried to clear the ball first time but had only managed to sky it, possible a good 25/30 yards in to the air – quite adjacent to our goal!

Our man judged the flight of the ball perfectly, took it on the top of his instep, killing it stone dead in the process. Having created plenty of time for himself with this skill, he then calmly played the ball out of danger and away from our goal. The player in question? Our very own Phil Turnbull!

[caption id="attachment_15965" align="alignnone" width="300"] Phil Turnbull[/caption]

Sadly, I don’t think he got a mention on MOTD that evening but he deserved to. Now I appreciate that our players can’t perform skills like that all the time, but let’s not forget that we have some very skilful players in our current squad and they deserve praise when it’s due. Please remember that next time they make the odd error – be patient and encourage them! If you do, they will be more likely to impress you rather than depress you with their skills.