Darlington were knocked out of the League Cup on penalties at Boldon on Sunday after twice coming back from a goal down in normal time.

Hattie Raine scored twice – her second right at the end of normal time – but that wasn’t enough to put Quakers through to the next round.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “We are gutted to go out of the League Cup at this stage and it’s never nice to lose on penalties but it is what it is. We actually had a 100% record in penalty shootouts before Sunday, so we were always going to lose one at some point. It’s almost a lucky dip, and all you can do is stay calm and try to keep your composure.

‘Massive credit to everyone who stepped up and took a penalty, there was some good penalties struck but it just wasn’t meant to be today. I am proud of the girls for not giving up and going right till the end to get the equaliser and force the tie to penalties. We showed resilience and some character to get back into the game twice. We now need to stay focused and ensure we finish the league in good form and finish as high up as we can in the league table.”

Here’s the match report from Chris Barrett

On a surprisingly warm day, Darlington started the brightest and looked lively early on but struggled to create any clear cut chances and came closest after 9 minutes with a strike from distance by Chloe Bright that went just wide.  Only a minute later Darlington were caught out with a ball over the top and a two v one against the defender allowed Boldon to break through and had enough time and space to take the ball around Billingham to score the opener. 

“Darlington continued to attack with good work from Krista Williams and Hattie Raine getting shots on goal but unable to get past the keeper. Just after the half hour mark, Grace Dobson picked the ball up on the left hand side and switched the ball across the pitch to Chloe Ryan who drove into the box and pulled the ball back across for Raine to meet the ball and tap it in for the equaliser. 

Darlington continued to work into the attacks and had further efforts with a header from Lana Williams and a volley by Sara Ellis but neither could add another goal to give Darlington the lead.

Boldon came out stronger in the second half and were rewarded on 54 minutes when a high press on the defence allowed them to win the ball to race through one v one with the keeper to smash the ball past the Billingham in the top corner, leaving her no chance. 

Darlington remained resolute in their attack and continued to press adding more attacking players as the game progressed and they came close with good play from Nicole Graham sliding in Chloe Bright for a strike from the right which was well saved by the keeper. There were further opportunities for both Raine and Ellis but neither could find the back of the net or get past the Boldon keeper. 

Time was running out for Darlington and their last chance came when a free kick was awarded for a hand ball about 25 yards out from goal. It was left for Hattie Raine to step up and she wonderfully struck the ball over the wall into the left hand side of the net to get the equaliser at the death and score her second goal direct from a free kick in successive weekends.

The match went straight to penalties and in a show of great quality from the spot it went down to one penalty and it was a save from the Boldon keeper that won them the tie. 

It wasn’t the finest performance from Darlington but they showed much resilience in getting back into the game and competing, despite losing two key players during the game due to medical issues. There was a lot of good work all over the pitch but they were just lacking a little bit more in the final third today. The player of the match was awarded to Chloe Bright due to her continual industrial work rate and providing an attacking threat throughout.

Thank you for your all your continued support. The Quaker Women are next in action in their final home league game of the season, against league leaders Birtley Town.