Darlington Under 23s came back from 3-0 down to earn a valuable point against Sunderland West End Reserves.

Jack Mortimer scored twice to give him 38 for the season, and Kayne Williams scored the other as they fought back well and keep their top two hopes firmly alive.

Darlington manager Grant Cuthbertson said; “A hard fought point that was made harder by not starting correctly but to come from 0-3 down to earn a point shows the fire and determination that this group of players have.”

Here’s the league table

https://www.wearside-football-league.org.uk/leagueTables/

From the kick off Sunderland Westend Reserves were the much brighter side and showed they wanted it more.

In the fifth minute, from a badly placed throw in deep in the away teams half, West End countered playing a long ball through to which the Darlington defence was out muscled and the ball was slotted home for 0-1

A couple of minutes later and a mix up in the Darlington defence fell nicely to Westend to make it 0-2. 

Within a couple of minutes Sunderland made it 0-3 with another long ball through, using their speed and physicality to make it 0-3 after just 20 minutes.

This eventually made Darlington wake up. They dominated possession and tried to play football and eventually just before half time they were awarded a penalty and who else but Jack Mortimer stepped up to make it 1-3. 

Half time came and Darlington started to impose themselves on the game with some delightful play and eventually they pulled back another to make it 2-3.

The U23s definitely had the bit between their teeth and constantly applied the pressure and Kayne Williams finished to make it 3-3. Darlington had the opportunity to find a winner but a resilient Westend ensured that the game finished 3-3.