12. Darlington Arena-Darlington

Darlington 0-2 Grimsby Town
Coca Cola League two
Saturday 24th April 2010

Ground: Darlington Arena
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: Adults: £16 Children: £8
Score: Darlington 0-2 Grimsby Town
Programme: £3
Attendance: 1,900
Capacity: 25,000 (Match day=10,000)
Seated: 25,000
Covered: 25,000
Town/City: Darlington
Opposition: Grimsby Town
Date: 24.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 4

Darlington is a large town in what is really County Durham, but Darlington is its own county anyway. The town has a population of just under 100,000.
In 1825 the Locomotion train went along the line between Darlington station and Stockton-On-Tees at a record 15mph (this was fast in those days). This caused it to grow into a cenre for trains and railways.
The main feature is then obviously The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum in the North Road station. This actually contains the original Locomotion.
By the riverside is St Cuthbert's Church. It got the name as monks carrying the Saints body from Ripon to Durham stopped here on the way. There is a huge Victorian covered market just next to the clock tower. The centre is a market place with plenty of Cafe's and Pubs.

Darlington were founded in 1889 when they joined the Northern league. The first 10 years brought two titles in this division. In 1908 they joined the North East league. In 1913 they were crowned champions of the league and had a bright future ahead of them. They joined the Football league division 3 north and got promoted to division 2 not long after but relegation followed this. The league was halted in 1939 due to the war. They were placed in division 4 in 1958 for the season ahead. In 1966 the team was promoted to division 3. A series of promotons and relegations meant in 1989 they found themselves in the Conference. By the new century the club had been put in the new Division 3 and had lost out in 2 sets of play offs. In 2005 the league was renamed League 2. In 1958 Darlington reached the 5th round of the FA cup, knocking out Chelsea 4-1 at home in a 4th round replay. The success was halted when they lost 6-1 at Wolves. In 1968 the side reached the Quater finals of what is now the Carling cup. They beat Millwall, Portsmouth, Southend and York to get there before losing 5-4 at Derby. The club reached the Semi Final of the FA Amateur cup twice, losing out to Bishop Auckland both times. The club only ever played in one FA trophy in 1990. They lost in the Quater finals 1-0 at Leek Town.

This was a game that mattered more to the away side than the home side. Darlington knew they would be playing Blue Square Premier football next season, and Grimsby would follow if they lost today. Therefore, spurred on by the fact they had something to play for, Grimsby took the game to clinch the 3 points they desperately needed. Some 300 Grimsby fans were in the East Stand, singing for the whole match while the Darlington fans sat in silence (obviously the chant 'Shall we sing a song for you?' came up quite often).
Lancashire put the visitors ahead by heading in a corner from 6 yards out. Akpa Akpro latched onto a cross to volley home from close range. That was Game, set, match and point before the first half could even finish. I'll tell you now Darlington didn't even look like they could score a goal in the second half and probably deserve to be where they are, at the foot of the table.
The result meant Grimsby were 4 points from safety with 2 games remaining. Darlington were 18 points adrift. Meanwhile Notts County, Rochdale and Bournemouth were already promoted. Rotherham, Aldershot, Bury and Port Vale had the play off spots at the time.

The Darlington Arena is one of the most wasted grounds in England. The capacity is 25,000, but the club is only allowed to use 10,000. One side is never filled and one end has rarely got people in it. All the home fans were kept in the South stand while the away fans were kept in two blocks in the East stand. The ground is one tier all the way round with red plastic seats. The words 'Darlo, DFC, Darlington and Quakers are picked out in black with a thin white background. Seeming as it is already the biggest ground in League 2, it will be very unusual for sides like Newport County and Salisbury City to come to the ground next season.
The ground's floodlights are contained in the roof of the stands.

Darlington matchday pictures