This week's youth team round up
By Ray Simpson
How our youth teams are faring
Here's a round up of how our youth teams fared last weekend in the Russell Foster Youth League and the Teesside Junior Football Alliance League.
Because of FA rules, we're unable to publish the results of any matches involving Under 11s and below.
U11 Girls
Darlington Feethams vs Boro Rangers
A fantastic team display shown in todays game, with all players putting in 100% on what was a tough and heavy pitch to play on. Darlington came out strong with some quality passing play and some great play down both sides of the pitch. Darlington went ahead first with Boro Rangers putting in a battle to equalise, it was a close game and each goal Darlington scored was followed by an equaliser. A well battled and physical game from both teams, with the game ending as a fair result.
POM- Harriet
U11 Girls
Gateshead Redheugh Vs Darlington Quakers
Tough game against the league leaders today.
Started quickly but got caught on the counter twice in 5 minutes but a battling performance from all the girls were unlucky to concede with a offside goal just before HT.
Second half started well battling to win the ball back against very good opposition but again for caught on the counter attack. The girls never stopped working and it was a bruising and battling encounter. Proud of the effort we were unlucky to come away with nothing again.
PoM Sienna H
Sponsor TAK Therapies
U13 Girls
Hartlepool Vs Darlington
After a great result last week the girls were hoping for another good performance away at Hartlepool.We started quickly going a goal up in the first minute only for pools to equalise straight away .We then got a foothold and moved the ball around scoring a few more to go in 6-1 at half time.Second half we made a few changes and the game was played mainly in the middle of the park .
Another win for the girls although it wasn’t pretty .
POTM - Annie Anderson
Goals
Xienna ⚽️⚽️
Annie A ⚽️⚽️
Maizie ⚽️
Grace ⚽️
Freya ⚽️
Sponsored by Physique Health Club
U14 Girls
Darlington Fc Feethams Vs Felling Magpies
Today after a two week lay off at the beginning of the game we looked a little bit ring rusty but slowly our girls started to work their way into the game finishing off the half 6-0 in front.
The second half started exactly in the same way the first half ended with some lovely smart passing through the Felling defence and getting our just rewards finishing the game 11-0 winners.
A brilliant Clean sheet and plenty of great team and individual goals scored throughout the team.
Goal Scorers
A Curbeson ⚽️
C Neilson ⚽️⚽️
C Sheppard ⚽️⚽️
I Ross ⚽️⚽️
L Barber ⚽️⚽️
L Williams ⚽️
T Kushamba ⚽️
POM I Ross 🔥
Sponsors
Luxury Bed Company
Sofa and Bed Discount Warehouse.
U18 Girls
Darlington FC 1-0 Thornaby FC
Tough fixture on a really heavy pitch after a dominant game last week Darlington went out fighting to continue the recent run of form. The girls knew it was going to be a tough test but a masterclass defensive display kept Thornaby pretty quiet for the majority of the game. Darlington grabbed a deserved goal halfway through the second half and could of had a couple more goals but the chances weren’t put away.
The girls saw the game out and played a beautiful game of football. a great, entertaining game from both teams!
Goal
Rachel F ⚽️
Player of the match
Phoebe S
Sponsored by Zyrofisher
U9 Boys
Darlington v Trimdon
The boys move into the draw for the semi finals of the league cup,
U10 Boys
DFC v Whinney Banks
Darlington secured their semi final spot today on penalties after a great cup tie. Whinney Banks had some chances in the game but Darlington created far more and it was a deserved victory in the end, even though they did it the hard way. An early lead from a goal by JB should really have been built upon but a combination of bad luck and bad finishing kept the lead slender. Whinney Banks, who have beaten some top sides to get to this stage, kept harrying and pressing and had a good spell, eventually finding the net from a free kick. But Darlington should have been ahead by more at that stage and created several chances to regain the lead. The final ten minutes was all Darlo and it looked like we were certain to score on at least three occasions but a combination of woodwork and good goalkeeping kept us out. So it went to penalties and the boys showed a lot of bottle to take them. NH saved two of their three to make himself the hero at the end and SB took the MOTM trophy after a great display in defence. Quality performance from the boys again.
U11 Boys
Stockton Town Vs Darlington FC “Feethams”
Goalscorer: LE
PoM: TO
We started the game really well and applied good pressure which Stockton found difficult to deal with. In the opening 15 minutes we found ourselves with three 1v1 situations with just the Goal keeper to beat. Unfortunately for us we were unable to make any of the chances count. Our closest of these efforts was a OC shot that hit the post. Our boys felt hard done to when a long range effort by our opponents found the net and a dubious penalty decision followed. Sometimes you need to make your own luck and today our boys got none.
In the second half we defended much better from front to back. We were dominant again with Stockton failing to register a single purposeful attempt on goal. A deserved goal by LE midway through the second half gave us hope of securing a positive result. A decent performance, well done boys.
U11 Boys
Darlington FC Quakers Vs Whinney Banks
The first half with the chances we had created and with quick play again on a very muddy pitch we should have been well in front by half time, especially with quite a few goal mouth scrambles in our oppositions box and some great heroic goal keeping by their goal keeper.
Unfortunately against the run of play we conceded to go a goal behind into the break.
We spoke to the boys at HT how we were very much in the game and reminded them how we always come roaring back in the second half’s of games, our boys agreed and took great confidence from this.
The second half we levelled with a great penalty taken by RP we continued pressing and putting pressure on our opponents but again unfortunately we conceded again, that did not deter our boys and with all our pressure we levelled again with a well taken goal by EB unfortunately we didn’t quite get the win we maybe should have deserved, but a very gritty performance by our boys.
Another step forward for our boys progression improving every week.
POM G L🔥👏🏽
Goal Scorers:
RP ⚽️
EB ⚽️
Match Sponsor: Skipbridge Signs
U15 Boys
Heaton Hawks 0 Darlington 1
Two title contenders went at it today in a feisty encounter, with Darlo coming away with the points.
Paddy scored the only goal after half an hour, rising in the box to head home a corner.
At the other end our rearguard action was superb, limiting them to a couple of half chances which didn’t trouble Kalvin in goal.
All in all a great all round display, and a big win on the road.
Goal:
Paddy ⚽️
MOM:
Josh 🏆
Sponsored by Support Solutions UK and Bristol St Motors
U16 Boys
Darlington 3 - 0 Leven Juniors
Darlington delivered an important win today in their bid for the league title. Bottom of the table Leven caused Darlo trouble in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, needing a last gasp winner to nick it 3-2. Today Leven failed to really lay a glove on the home side as Darlington ran out comfortable 3-0 winners despite a fairly flat performance.
Darlington scored midway through the 1st half when Ethan Mcloughlin collected Luis Atkinson’s pass, drove powerfully in from the right and struck a looping left footed effort over the keeper. Noah Graves in the darlington goal then saved superbly from Leven’ only attempt on target in the match, parrying away at full stretch from a good long range effort. HT 1-0.
Darlington were more energetic 2nd half, cutting through the opposition at times with one-touch passing. It took until the 60th minute though to get the second, Josh Scott received Matty Lenton’s pass and hit a powerful dipping effort towards goal. The keeper acrobatically tipping it onto the bar but the spin on the ball had it end up in the net via the post. A great moment for Josh scoring his first for the club.
MOTM Finn Talbot rounded off a fine individual performance with a well placed finish, kissing the post on its way in from 12 yards out; Luca Smith with the assist.
Overall, a really gritty performance with spells of quality. All 15 players getting lots of minutes too. The team will play better but we’ll take a W no matter how it comes.
⚽️ Ethan Mcloughlin
⚽️ Josh Scott
⚽️ ⭐️ Finn Talbot
Matchday Shirt sponsors:
Claire Hogg Mortgages and Protections Ltd.
U17 Boys
The U17s travelled away to Hartlepool to play Greatham. The team this week was depleted due to injury and we were down to our bare bones. Squad players had to step up and take their chance as well as players not playing in their usual positions.
The first half started well but we just missed a little bit of class and not taking our chances or risks to take advantage. We had most of the play but the first half still finished 0-0.
Second half started and it looked like we had no clue and a simple ball over the top with a Greatham player just nicking it past the GK to make it 1-0 to
Greatham. A couple of minutes later and some sloppy football in the midfield allowed a Greatham player to get the ball in space and shoot just outside the box to make it 2-0. This eventually seemed to wake the boys up as well as a change of formation and we came back in strength.
69 min who else but Raphael Oppong scored a worldie to start the come back.
72 min at the back post Alfie Fawcett slotted it away to bring it level.
75 min skipper Liam Murray took his chance and made it 2-3
84 min Harry Hodgson filled the onion bag to make it 2-4 to Darlington.
Chuffed with the boys today with their resilience and fighting for one another.
PoM Kayne Williams