Billingham Town 0 Darlington 3

[quakersam]

Just back from the game...
Was nice to see the lads back in action again and Darlo were the better side overall and should have made the margin even bigger.

Darlington Line-up...
Knight, James, Plummer, Miller, Starosta, J Smith, G Smith, Lumsdon, Convery, Windass, Thorpe
Subs...Liversedge, Groves, Bennett, Gray, Riley

We made quite a slow start to the match which is fair considering its the lads first time playing a competitive match together.
Lumsdon was a rock at the heart of the midfield cutting balls out left right and center whilst remaining comfortable on the ball.
Convery made a few neat runs beating his man down the right hand side on more than one occasion.
A cross from the right hand side gifted us our first goal as 40 year old Dean Windass picked up his old legs to give us the lead with a marvellous overhead kick.
Deano was once again the scorer of Darlo's second goal with a marvellous freekick in to Moody's top left hand corner.

Half Time Score : Billingham Town 0 Darlington 2

At the interval, Todd made a couple of changes bringing on Josh Gray, James Bennett and Danny Groves. From the outset Josh Gray was full of running down the left hand side creating lots of chances which we failed to capitalize upon.
We began to take control of the match as Billingham became tired and we were passing it around them comfortably.
This allowed Bennett and Gary Smith to take control of the midfield allowing Groves and Gray to forage forward at every opportunity, while Thorpey was knocking down balls or running on to through balls in which most were given offside.
Not long after Knight was replaced for Liversedge and Craig James made way for Dan Riley who played on the right wing.
Just moments after coming on Riley smacked the ball against the crossbar, going agonizingly close. Town then had a few chances at the Darlo end, making Liversedge turn out some comfortable saves.
As the game was coming to an end, The Quakers got their third. A ball in from Convery on the left hand side left Thorpe with the goal at his mercy but facing the other way.
He managed to quickly turn and finish into the bottom right hand corner.

Full time score : Billingham Town 0 Darlington 3

Sam

[cameron-darlo]

sounded like a decent game, you sure it was windass tht scored the overhead kick lol

[cwisstoffhur]

thought deano was brilliant tonight, was impressed with convery too. Thorpe got into good positions to score but never seemed to be able to trouble the keeper too much im sure he'll improve.

overall wasn't too bad but lots of work to do before the season starts

[wardie]

Was there no trailist tonight then

[cwisstoffhur]

convery was the only trialist on show tonight, was a pretty small squad there considering it was a pre-season game which might suggest theres going to be a fair few trialists out tomorrow at RA

[micra3]

In the first half Deano ran the show-please keep fit and play at least 60 mins per match

[MikeinBlack]

I see Curtis Main didn't play, is he injured?

[TeessideQuaker]

Curtis will probably play against the RA today.

[doc_64]

was a good game to watch, i was talking to someone who said we were poor, we wernt that bad, considering it was there first competative match together, there is some promise there, the more they play together

[Eaststandbaldie]

sounds like Deano is well up for it,long may it continue.
interesting to see convery back,was surprised we let him go,hope he
does well.
has Poole found a club .would be worth having back on a reduced wage.
baldie

[fat tony]

Glad to hear about big Deano scoring, hope he's got a taste for regular action now.

What type of player is Bennett? Did he play centre mid when he came on?

[real_darlo_85]

Thought we looked alright considering it was their first game together. Most of the new guys played well, Lumsden was the pick of them I'd say and was also impressed with Knight. The left side looked the weakest area for us, I thought as soon as their right winger/full back was beyond J Smith they had the run about on James - still I'll give him a chance.

I know it was 1 pre-season game and against non-league opposition, but from last night I'd say our starting 11 looked fine. The downside was that we did look a little disjointed when most of them came off and some of the youth players came on 2nd half - squad depth will be an issue unless we get some decent loanees in. All in all though the signs were promising.

[wylam_rangers]

Me and the lad were there and were pleasantly surprised by the match. Lots of endeavour by both sides and Darlo played well considering this is the first time they have played together. Trying to play attractive football on the floor and hardly any hoofball.

Miller was immense in defence (and skippered the side)

The midfield was much more effective than expected and played some great cross passes out to the wings but the crosses into the box still need some work.

There already seems to be a good team spirit with the lads playing for each other whilst there will still be competition for some of the places.

Windass just oozes quality and enthusiasm and he will be a handful in L2. I hope that he starts most matches so that we can get the game won - rather than coming on as a sub and chasing the result.

I "counted" 200+ there, nearly half were Darlo supporters. Stayed behind for a beer in their social club and pleased to report a good friendly club and worth another visit.

Also worth a mention - good pitch - courtesy of Poolies using it for their reserves. Also seemed quite a bit wider than the Arena.

[wylam_rangers]

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/ ... th_double/

Sadly, some more nonsense from t'Echo. Which makes it look as though we scored all 3 in the last eight minutes. No mention of half-time, substitutes, etc....

[BishopQuaker]

Not wanting to look like I'm counting the pennies but how many people were there at the match then?

Hopefully got a good turnout for the start of the pre-seasons.

[wylam_rangers]

Not wanting to look like I'm counting the pennies but how many people were there at the match then?

Like I said - over 200 and about half from Darlo


Hopefully got a good turnout for the start of the pre-seasons.

[BishopQuaker]

Hmm, that and the fact that it was at Billingham won't have much to do with our kitty!

Good to see we sent a contingent though.
Fingers crossed for big turn outs for the big three games!

[wylam_rangers]

Hmm, that and the fact that it was at Billingham won't have much to do with our kitty!

Good to see we sent a contingent though.
Fingers crossed for big turn outs for the big three games!

I know it's early in the pre season but that has to be the best non-league pitch I can remember seeing. Pools have certainly invested there for their reserves.

Also a nice friendly atmosphere in their clubhouse so I'll probably go again on a spare Saturday.

[DL5]

I only made part of the match last night but still caught all 3 goals. From what I saw I liked the lad down the right in the 2nd half, (was it Dan Riley?) Well taken goals, not pretty at times but we were in control, can't expect too much especially as it's their first outing together.

[quakersam]

Yeah, it was Dan Riley. Was really impressed with Josh Gray last night too. He's come on alot considering he's still 17/18. Obviously parts of his game will need to be improved but he could be a star this season, he has pace to burn

[TeessideQuaker]

Aren't Blackburn meant to be looking at Josh Gray?

[TinShedDarloFan]

It wouldnt suprise me if higher league clubs are looking at Josh Gray, when he got his chance last season he looked like one for the future, so much that Darlington made sure they kept hold of him when others were told they could leave, its great to see the likes of Main and Gray starting to come from the youth team

Also what league are Billingham in, is it roughly the same as Darlington RA, it would be nice to see us send our 1st team down there, give everyone an easier chance to see them plus it would help the R/A a hell of a lot

[TeessideQuaker]

Was Gray the young lad who came on against Drolysden and got abuse off some idiots in the South Stand?

[quakersam]

Billingham are in ANL Division 1, Darlo RA are in Division 2. The Youth team played at the RA today.

[darlomilo]

Was Gray the young lad who came on against Drolysden and got abuse off some idiots in the South Stand?

yes it was he only came on for the last 10 mins and people were baying for his blood.
Thought gary smith played well in the middle, billy town tried to rattle him early doors maybe expecting him to kick out or something but he just kept playing, josh gray was excellent when he came on.