Dan Is Our Darling, With A Goal To Wake Us Against The Quakers!
The curtain came down on the regular part of another National League North season in the same way as it had done at the end of the previous four campaigns – with a home match for County.
But on this occasion, there was a huge difference, following the guarantee of a play-off place that the Hatters had secured at Chorley 11 days earlier – meaning that their meeting at Edgeley Park with Darlington was not to be their final match this term.
And now they will definitely be back in SK3 on Wednesday, after Dan Cowan’s equaliser earned a draw against the ‘Quakers’ that not only assured them of a fifth-place finish – and another crack against Chorley in the Elimination Round of the play-offs – but also broke their own attendance record for the National League at Step Two (North/South Divisions).
County’s line-up was much changed, largely with subsequent commitments in mind – such that seven players who had not started at Blyth a week previously now did so. Ian Ormson replaced Ben Hinchliffe in goal, while, as part of a 4-2-3-1 formation, Harry Brazel (making his first league start of the season), Michael Clarke, Bohan Dixon, Sam Minihan, Stephen O’Halloran and Darren Stephenson, all began the game. Of the players to stand down: Hinchliffe, Chris Smalley and Paul Turnbull were named among the substitutes; Jimmy Ball, Jason Oswell and Adam Thomas were rested; and Jamie Stott was back at Oldham, after being recalled from his loan spell at EP.
Despite these changes, the Hatters looked much the livelier team as proceedings got under way. And after only six minutes, Matty Warburton went close with a shot that was cleared off the line by Josh Heaton.
Harry Winter then fired just wide of the left post from distance, before Stephenson saw a shorter-range effort held by visiting goalkeeper Aynsley Pears, Winter again narrowly missed the target with a header from Scott Duxbury’s corner on the right that soared over, and Dixon cut in from the right to shoot into the near side-netting.
Having made all the running, County fell behind just after the half-hour mark when the Quakers converted their first chance of the afternoon. A slip by Clarke inside the home half saw ‘Darlo’ break in numbers – with captain Reece Styche squaring to Stephen Thompson, who took a touch before drilling past Ormson from 12 yards out.
HALF-TIME : County 0, Darlington 1 (Thompson, 32).
The Hatters – inspired by committed tackling from the likes of Winter and Minihan, and urged on by the home contingent of an astonishing 6,000-plus crowd that smashed by 380 the previous highest attendance (at EP, in the end-of-season game against Gloucester a year earlier) for a regular fixture in non-league’s second tier – were playing with a renewed sense of purpose upon the resumption. And, just after the hour was up, their efforts were duly rewarded.
Not that the scorer of County’s leveller would have been on many betting slips, mind! A lay-off by Dixon saw Cowan – hitherto without a goal to his name as a Hatter – run with the ball, before letting fly from over 20 yards with a shot that flew into the bottom-left corner.
And that, pretty much, was that. Teenage scoring sensation Szymon Czubik made his first-team debut when he replaced Winter with just under a quarter of an hour left on the clock. And a couple of Darlo youngsters were also brought on in the 89th minute – but found themselves with no more than a handful of seconds to enjoy the experience, as Referee Speedie lived up to his name by quickly blowing for time without seeing the need for time added on!
All good fun – and enjoyed in the right spirit with old friends from our Football League days. Now for those play-offs – and a chance for County to move one step closer to where we both once belonged…
FULL-TIME : County 1 (Cowan, 64), Darlington 1 (Thompson, 32).
Team: Ormson, Cowan, Duxbury (Smalley, 62), Winter (Capt.) (Czubik, 76), Clarke, O’Halloran, Minihan, Brazel, Dixon, Warburton (West, 46), Stephenson.
Unused Subs: Hinchliffe, Turnbull.
Man of the Match: Cowan.
Attendance: 6,163 (411 away).
Reporter: Gareth Evans.
Photographer: Mike Petch.
