The Quaker Women put in a 10 out of 10 performance in Sunday’s league opener. A perfect 10 with no reply, with nine different goalscorers on the day! What a way to kick off the league and secure the first three points of the season.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “We’re absolutely delighted with the result and overall performance. We were at it from the first whistle and it really was a joy to watch. We played some lovely stuff today and Hebburn struggled to cope with us going forward.

“It’s always difficult when you play the same opposition twice in a row and after last week’s 2-0 win in the FA Cup, we knew we could punish Hebburn this weekend if we took our chances and were clinical. I think the pitch last week was a bit of a leveller and I knew if we played the way I know we can then it would be a different game . We started the game really well and the first half we scored some excellent team goals.

“We spoke at half time about not needing to score more goals but ensuring that we managed the game well and also the importance of another clean sheet. I made two subs at half time and then another five in the second half, so it did disrupt the flow of the game a little but the fresh legs brought more energy into the game and we 

“We ended up scoring another 4 as well as keeping the clean sheet. I was happy for Laura and Ella to get their first competitive goals for the club after both scoring in pre season and we look forward to welcoming Ponteland to Eastbourne next week in the FA Cup.”

It didn’t take long for Darlington to open the scoring and it was 1-0 after 6 minutes. Some good football down the right hand side, and a delightful ball from Hattie Raine, found Nicole Graham who composed herself and finished well to give Darlo the lead. It wasn’t long before Hattie was on the scoresheet herself with Chloe Ryan feeding her through to score her 92nd goal for the club. 

A few minutes later it was Chloe Bright on the scoresheet. Ryan the provider again, a good run from Bright at the back post saw her free and put it in the net with her second attempt to make it 3. Chloe Ryan was then on the scoresheet herself before the half hour mark to make it 4. A great assist from Lily Wilkinson who played a well timed pass for Ryan to break free and finish one on one with the keeper. 

Lily Wilkinson was then on the scoresheet herself after a Hattie Raine effort was tipped onto the post from the Hebburn keeper and Lily was first to react to score her second goal in successive weeks to make it 5. It was Aimee Dagnall who finished off the scoring for the first half, 7 minutes before half time. A good counter attack saw Bright pick out Dagnall and she picked her corner and made no mistake to make it 6-0 Darlo at half time. 

The second half was more of the same and it took less than a minute for Darlington to get their 7th. Hattie Raine with yet another assist, beating the left back on the right hand side and smashing the ball across the box for Lily to tap home for 7. A few minutes later, Hattie registered her 4th assist of the game with a great delivery from a corner which Laura Hodgson got her head too and it looped in over the keeper’s head. A first competitive goal for summer signing Laura Hodgson to make it 8-0.

A few substitutions and fresh legs in the second half saw two of the subs link up for Darlington’s 9th. In the 78th minute, a great delivery again from a corner, this time from Grace Dobson, saw Ella Leach meet the ball and score her first competitive goal for Darlington Women. The afternoon was rounded off with a 10th goal in the 86th minute after a fantastic through ball from Chloe Ryan, saw Grace Taylor make a perfect timed run to take it round the keeper and put it in the empty net to make it 10-0.

Player of the match was awarded to Hattie Raine in her 100th competitive appearance for the club. Just 60 minutes on the pitch today, but 1 goal and 4 assists was enough to be awarded POTM. Hebburn could just not live with her today.

Many thanks to Hebburn Town F.C Women for the game and good luck for the rest of the season. 

Thanks for all your support, always appreciated!

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