Darlington FC U23s 2 Darlington RA 1

 

The Darlo Derby ended in victory for the U23s, who battled to a hard-fought 2–1 win in horrendous conditions, with strong winds and driving rain making life difficult for both sides.

 

The result means the U23s have now won three consecutive matches.

 

Both teams struggled to adapt to the weather, and the game quickly became a battle across every area of the pitch, with little fluent football on display.

 

The U23s opened the scoring with a thunderous free kick from Jack Mortimer, but they were unable to extend their lead, with the RA goalkeeper producing several outstanding saves.

 

RA equalised just before half-time with a free header following poor marking inside the U23s’ penalty area.

 

The U23s started the second half brightly, but RA continued to compete fiercely and made life difficult throughout.

 

The decisive moment came after a brilliant run from Stevie Dawson, who was fouled inside the penalty area. The ball ran through to Jamo Sheen, who made no mistake to put the U23s 2–1 ahead.

 

Both sides battled hard for the remainder of the game, but neither created many clear-cut chances as the U23s held on to secure a valuable derby victory.

 

Manager John Walters said: “Not the most fluent performance from my side, but the lads worked their socks off to secure an ugly 2–1 win. In conditions like that, you have to roll your sleeves up, compete and find a way to get the job done. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the three points are what matter, and credit to the lads for digging deep and getting over the line."

Man of the Match: Stevie Dawson

 

A hard-fought derby win in difficult conditions. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and today the lads did exactly that!