Easington Lane Reserves 1 Darlington Under 23s 2

Our under 23s came from behind to win 2-1 at Easington Lane thanks to two goals by Jack Mortimer, and also bring up their century of league goals for the season.

Quakers weren’t at their best in the first half, but a second half fightback saw them take the points to stay ten points clear of second place. They need another fourteen points from seven games to guarantee a top two place.

The squad was very much depleted due to injury and illness which saw them barely getting 13 to travel.

With the numbers available the starting eleven looked very different from recent games and people playing in positions they aren’t normally accustomed too.

The game itself in the first half had very little rhythm for both teams and with the weather it turned into a bit of a stalemate for both teams until the 33rd minute when a long ball over the top was not dealt with by Darlington and allowed Easington to be on a 1v1 with the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 to the home side.

Half time arrived and with a change of personnel, a tweak in formation and some choice words by manager Grant Cuthbertson, the second half started very much better by the Darlington team. It remained 1-0 for much of the game which was down to some very resilient defending by the home team until a piece of magic by Jack Mortimer with a sublime free kick from 25 yards out to place the ball into the top left corner to make it 1-1.

With five minutes remaining in the game, Darlington kept up the pressure and they had a ball go through in to the box and Mortimer had a shot which was handled and the referee gave a penalty. Up stepped Mortimer again to make it 2-1 and that is how the game finished. He has now scored 36 goals this season in all competitions.

Manager Grant Cuthbertson said; “It wasn’t a good day at the office but a win is a win and it felt very much like a smash and grab. Nevertheless, the three points keep us on course for a top two finish.

“With these two goals, this made a total so far of 100 goals in the league, which in itself is a fantastic achievement and we still have seven games remaining.”