John McReady bagged a hat-trick and Nathan Fisher also netted on a night when both sides made wholesale changes to their line-up for a first round tie not high in the thinking of either club.

With this weekend’s FA Cup tie at home to AFC Telford in mind, Town made 11 changes while only 18-year-old defender Matty Lovegreen survived from the Quakers team which won at the weekend as manager Martin Gray fielded almost an entire team of teenagers.

Experienced goalkeeper Mark Bell was given his first start of the season, but McReady and Fisher were among a handful of senior players in the Town team, including recently transfer-listed midfielder Keith Graydon.

They will have been hoping to take their opportunity to impress manager Jason Ainsley and McReady, who left Quakers for York City in 2012, could not have done much more having bagged a treble at the Brewery Field.

In front of a healthy crowd of 448, he opened the scoring before Fisher netted a penalty – his first goal for the club since joining from Quakers earlier this season.

It was 2-0 at the break and two further goals came in the second period, both by McReady, although there was question mark over his second as it appeared to hit a Darlington player last before beating Bell.

Match report courtesy of the Northern Echo.

Spennymoor Town: Atkinson, Groves, Jones, Sayer, Johnson, Willis, McReady, Graydon, Kenney, Fisher, R Brown

Darlington: Bell, J White O’Conner, Marley, Lovegreen, Wheeler-Andrews, Scarr, Cocks, Pennal, Preston, Walton

Attendance: 448