At last! The much-anticipated first game is finally upon us when we travel to Farsley on Saturday.

Manager Alun Armstrong has re-energised the club since he arrived in late May, and the fans have been very encouraged by the brand of attacking football that the team has displayed in pre-season friendlies, with ten new signings. There could be as many as 500 Darlington fans at the game on Saturday.

Team news: Midfielder David Atkinson is carrying a knock,  otherwise manager Alun Armstrong will choose from a full squad which is:

Chris Elliott, Luke Trotman, Terry Galbraith, Jordan Watson, Louis Laing , Michael Liddle, Omar Holness, Will Hatfield,  Osagi Bascome, Joe Wheatley, Jarrett Rivers, Jamie Holmes, Adam Campbell,  Tyrone O’Neill, Stephen Thompson, Lucas Bell.

We expect clearance from the FA and the league to put Justin Donawa in tomorrow's squad, however Josh Heaton's signing won't be confirmed until next week.

At least eight players will be making their Darlington debuts.

Here’s manager Alun Armstrong’s thoughts on pre-season so far -- this interview was played on the website yesterday

https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/alun-were-really-looking-forward-to-the-start-of-the-season-1

Farsley recent history:

2018-19 NPL Premier Division champions

2017-18 NPL Premier Division – 5^th

2016-17 NPL First Division North – 2^nd, won play offs

2015-16 NPL First Division North – 9^th

The manager: Adam Lakeland

Here's an interview with the manager after their 4-0 win over Albion Sports in their last friendly

https://www.farsleyceltic.com/videos/farsley-40-albion-sports-friendly--adam-lakeland-on-winning-the-final-preseason-game-147813.html

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mark Bower, Kyle Trenerry

Defenders: Isaac Baldwin, Daniel Ellis, Jack Higgins, Callum Hill, Lewis Turner, Adam Clayton, Jordan Richards

Midfielders: Ben Atkinson, Chris Atkinson, Will Hayhurst, Dave Syers, Nathan Turner, Paul Walker

Forwards: Mark Bett, Matthias Britton, Nathan Cartman,  Jack Dyche, Luke Parkin, Jimmy Spencer

Connections: Nathan Cartman and David Syers, Jordan Richards was on trial with us two seasons ago. Syers hasn’t played much in pre-season because of injury.

Last time we met:
24^th February 2015

EvoStik First Division North

Farsley 3 (Priestley 7, Savory 21, Hancock 73) Darlington 2 (Cartman 46, Galbraith 50 pen)

Farsley AFC: Taylor, Aspin, Grant, O'Brien (C), McQuade, Harris, Riley, Daly, Priestley, Savory, Hancock (Serrant 88). Unused subs: Nightingale, Welsh, Tonkinson, Lofthouse (GK).

Darlington: Jameson, Brown (C), Watson (Hatch 74), White, Hunter, Portas, Thompson (Mota 60), Galbraith, Armstrong (Dowson 80), Cartman, Mitchell. Unused subs: Cartwright, Bell.

Here's some data about the game on the Farsley website:

https://www.farsleyceltic.com/news/matchday-information-farsley-celtic-vs-darlington-030819-2449492.html

Ground: The Citadel LS28 5BE

Admission £10 adults, £6 concessions, Under 13s free