Darlington Under 23s 6 Wynyard 2

Darlington FC U23s produced their best performance of the season on Saturday with an excellent 6–2 victory over Wynyard Village, combining some outstanding attacking football with clinical finishing in front of goal.

The highlight of the afternoon was a superb hat-trick from Jack Mortimer, while Steven Dawson, Harry Frazer and Connor Armstrong also got on the scoresheet as the goals were shared around the team.

The U23s were excellent both in and out of possession, maintaining a good team shape throughout the game and showing real composure when on the ball. The lads created plenty of opportunities and, on another day, could easily have added a few more goals to their tally.

Manager John Walters said: “Today was a very pleasing performance from the lads, and I thought we were excellent in all areas of the game. We had a couple of new lads making their debuts, which was great to see, and the whole team performed really well.

“One of the most pleasing aspects was how we used the ball in possession. We didn’t rush things, we made better decisions and showed patience when building our attacks. Out of possession, our shape was excellent, and we worked hard for each other throughout the game.

“Our midfield three of Dominic Stacey, Oliver Walters and the very impressive Connor Armstrong dominated the middle of the park, which gave us a great platform to build from. We created some fantastic attacking opportunities and were clinical in front of goal.

“The only disappointment was conceding two poor goals, which we’ll look at and work on in training. However, these are young lads who are learning and developing, and we shouldn’t be too critical after such a positive performance.

“Overall, I’m delighted with the result and, more importantly, the way we played. There’s a lot to be pleased about, and hopefully we can take this performance into our next game.”