retired_knitter82

CRUEL WINTER

Football pitches are often in pretty bad condition during the winter. This is said to help the less technical teams. I have certainly not noted any such effect. Of course, it is possible that our opponents are even less technical than we are. Either way, I think it's time to adjust our tactical setup. I'll change our mentality to a more attacking one and give our strikers more freedom up front.

The loans of Alex Belley and Tony Stokes ended and neither one was interested in extending his deal.

Darlington 2 - 0 Walsall (Sat 3rd Feb 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

After the disappointment of our last game, the players were eager to show their worth. We were the stronger side throughout the match. It wasn't all good news, though, as Kristian O'Leary got injured 22 minutes into the game. Warne gave us the lead shortly before the break and Johnson made it 2-0 in the second half to give us a well deserved win.

Hereford 2 - 1 Darlington (Sat 10th Feb 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, Daivd Duke; Brian Close, Robert Garrett, Clark Keltie (c); Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

Hereford attacked right from the start, firing shot after shot at our goal. Most of them were harmless long range efforts, though, so we had little difficulty keeping the score even despite the home team's domination. They did finally get their goal shortly before half time. The second half was much like the first one. Ville Väisänen scored from a counter attack on minute 71, but Hereford restored their lead soon after. The match calmed down towards the end and we had little opportunity to get a second goal.

Bury 2 - 0 Darlington (Sat 17th Feb 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Darren Holloway, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Michael Cummins, Robert Garrett, Clark Keltie (c); Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

The first half was exciting end to end football. Until the 42nd minute, that is, as the referee then showed Danny Adams the red card. Bury got the lead in first half injury time and made the most of their one man advantage in the second half. They got a second goal after 62 minutes. Despite being a man down, we pressed forward, but Bury keeper Ben Hinchcliffe had a great game and stopped everything. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Adams hadn't been sent off.

Lincoln 4 - 2 Darlington (Tue 20th Feb 07)
Team: Paul Jones; Craig James, Darren Holloway, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Robert Garrett, Michael Cummins; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

Paul Jones was given a much needed opportunity to play for the first team, but it turned out to be a complete disaster. Lincold had four shots on target and all four went in. Jones made way for Russell after 62 minutes, and our players seemed to get some of their confidence back. Väisänen scored after 72 minutes and we continued to push forward after that. It wasn't until injury time, though, that Joachim made it 4-2. It was too little and too late, so Lincoln got a comfortable win in a match that could have gone the other way with better goalkeeping.

We've had bad luck and we've been playing away, but three straight defeats is always a bad thing. 22nd place is starting to slip away and we need to get our act together soon if we are to stay in the league.

Shermanez

As my old coach at school used to say "If in doubt, kick it out. They can't shoot if you give it the boot!" :thup:

Liking this.

retired_knitter82

I'M A WORRIED MAN

I think our performance has been decent at the least in our previous matches. It's the results that matter, though, and we need some improvent in that deparmant and we need it soon.

Darlington 1 - 0 Grimsby (Sat 24th Feb 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Patrick Collins, Karl Broadhurst (c), David Duke; Brian Close, Robert Garrett, Michael Cummins; Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

Grimsby got a penalty after fifteen minutes, but Russell saved it. The match was a very even one after that. Both sides had a couple of chances, but both failed to score. It wasn't until the 82nd minute that the deadlock was broken. Paul Warne got the important goal, giving us three points with a mediocrre performance. Just what the doctor ordered.

Barnet 2 - 1 Darlington (Sat 3rd Mar 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Robert Garrett, Michael Cummins; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

The first half of this match went by without much happening. 15 minutes into the second half, Barnet's Andy Hessenthaler was sent off, giving us a golden opportunity to get a second consequtive win for the first time since early October. Patrick Collins did put the ball into the net shortly after, but unfortunately it was our own goal. Hutchinson quickly equalised and we started again to push for that winning goal, but it wasn't to be. Captain Keltie was injured close to the end, and then Barnet rounded up a miserable night for us by making it 2-1 for them in injury time. We were the better side and were quite unlucky to lose. Still, these things do tend to even out over time.

Darlington 0 - 1 Stockport (Sat 10th Mar 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Darren Holloway, Karl Broadhurst (c), Joey Hutchinson, David Duke; Michael Cummins, Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

This match had just as slow a start as last week's. The only goal came after 69 minutes when Alun Armstrong scored for Stockport against his former team. We hardly threatened their goal and it could easily have been 0-2, but Tony Dinning shot a penalty kick wide of the goal.

Just as things looked like they were improving, we again lost twice in a row. We had an interesting game against Swindon earlier in the season, and anything could happen when we play them again next weekend. Dennis Wise was fired in January and Gustavo Poyet took over from him. Paul Ince is still playing regularly for their first team. To add even more uncertainty to the mix, Sam Russell injured himself in training, forcing us to rely on Paul Jones for a while. Hopefully he just had a really bad day last time.

Swindon 1 - 0 Darlington (Sat 17th Mar 07)
Team: Paul Jones; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst (c), Patrick Collins, David Duke; Michael Cummins, Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

The start of this match wasn't exactly encouraging. Swindon took the lead after just four minutes. The rest of the first half was fairly even. Robert Garrett was sent off just before half time and Michael Cummins joined him soon after the break. With a two man advantage, Swindon naturally dominated most of the second half. We got a few attacks going, but failed to score, as did Swindon. Looking at the stats from this match, I was rather disappointed that we didn't complete a single cross in the entire game.

We now have nine losses from our last twelve games. This is quite alarming. Fortunately the other teams towards the end of the table have also been playing poorly, so the situation is not hopeless. I don't expect us to win every game. It is the poor results from the fairly even matches that has me worried. We have lost far too many games that we could have won.

retired_jgirl87

Good work for a first story, Qolumbo. :thup:

Hang in there, hopefully you'll save Darlo from the drop.

retired_knitter82

Thanks Spav, although this isn't actually my first story. I had a couple of attempts years back with my old username, but they were pretty pathetic and ended quickly.


I CAN SEE THE LIGHT

We now have 36 points after 38 games. We've even fallen behind the one point per game pace that I considered a minimum for us if we are to survive. We need to pick up the pace, and with just eight games left, there isn't much time to do it. We need wins now, not draws, so I fine tune our tactic to be slightly more attacking. Despite these recent changes, it is still essentially a defensive system. I think it's attacking enough for our purposes, though.

Mansfield 1 - 1 Darlington (Sat 24th Mar 07)
Team: Paul Jones; Danny Adams, Ian Cox, Patrick Collins, Karl Broadhurst, David Duke; Brian Close, Kristian O'Leary, Clark Keltie (c); Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

Both sides started this match looking for a win. It was Mansfield who took the lead with a goal from Lee Bullock after 33 minutes. It didn't change the flow of the game, though, as both sides were still keen to score. Paul Warne suffered an unlucky injury just before half time. The second half was much like the first one. Mansfield had about 55% possession of the ball, but the two sides were even as far as goalscoring opportunities go. It started to look like we would again lose to a team no better then us, when substitute Carlos Logan saved the day by equalising at the 89th minute. A win to either side would have been an unfair result today.

Darlington 2 - 1 Wrexham (Sat 31st Mar 07)
Team: Paul Jones; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

Our players seemed much more confident than they had in a while and it only took us 10 minutes to take the lead. O'Leary was the scorer. Simon Johnson made it 2-0 after the half hour mark. Wrexham improved as the match went on and got a deserved goal after 59 minutes. The last 30 minutes were quite exciting to watch with numerous attacks by both sides. Neither managed to score, though, so we got the full three points. This was a quality match by League Two standards.

Swiss winger Gaetano Giallanza was supposed to be a big signing for the club last summer. He was a regular under the previous manager, but has completely failed to impress me. Even though he only had a few months left on his contract, I decided to save a bit by proposing mutual termination. He agreed to it for a reduced fee and was quickly off back to his home country.

Paul Jones has played well in these last games and was even awarded as man of the match against Wrexham. That being said, Russell has clearly established himself as first choice and gets right back into the team after recovering from his injury.

Darlington 2 - 0 Accrington (Sat 7th Apr 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

Our form seems to be peaking at the right time. Wrexham at least put up a good fight, but Accrington were unable to do much in this match. Johnson gave us the early lead after seven minutes. Accrington's midfield was quite strong, but we easily bypassed it with our quick attacks. The visitors had a couple of chances of their own, but nothing serious. We had to wait until the 67th minute for the next goal. Väisänen was the scorer and this game was all but settled. Apart from a few minor scoring chances, the rest of the game was eventless and we finally managed to get consequtive wins.

This great results pushed us out of the relegation zone for the first time since I took over. The danger was far from over, though, as the bottom two were not far behind and a tricky visit to Wycombe awaited just two days later.

Wycombe 2 - 1 Darlington (Mon 9th Apr 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Patrick Collins, Karl Broadhurst (c), David Duke; Michael Cummins, Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

The first half of this match was a very even affair, with very few chances to score. Simon Johnson took advantage of one of those chances to give us the lead a couple of minutes before the break. Wycombe turned up the heat in the second half and we were forced to mostly just defend against their numerous attacks. It worked for a while, but a mistake by Collins allowed the home team to equalise after 65 minutes. Wycombe were clearly not satisfied with a draw and continued to push forward strongly. It looked like we we were going to get away with a draw, but then Wycombe got a penalty, which they converted, just minutes before the end. Wycombe did dominate for most of the game, but we were frustratingly close to get at least one point.

Luckily for us, the team belows us in the table also lost, leaving us still in 22nd place. With just four matches to go, Chester has 49 points, Accrington 48, Hereford 45, Darlington 43, Barnet 42 and Torquay 41. Anything can still happen.

retired_knitter82

THE HOME STRETCH

Our last matches will be against Boston Utd (home), Hartlepool (away), Torquay (home) and Peterborough (away).

Darlington 2 - 0 Boston Utd (Sat 14th Apr 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

Boston were in a safe midtable position and only looked mildly interested in this game. We, on the other hand, worked hard and got two first half goals thanks to Patrick Collins and Simon Johnson. Boston improved for the second half and started attacking more. Sam Russell had a great game and kept a clean sheet to give us a deserved win.

This widened the gap to Barnet and Torquay to over three points. This still wasn't enough, though, because the most difficult of our end-season games was up next. Not only are Hertlepool our biggest rivals, they would also be playing at home. Unlike Boston, they still had a lot to play for as they were contenders for promotion.

Hartlepool 3 - 0 Darlington (Sat 21th Apr 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Patrick Collins, Karl Broadhurst, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Simon Johnson, Ville Väisänen

We managed to keep the score even for most of the first half. Johnson suffered a nasty injury after 42 minutes and Hartlepool scored just two minutes later. They made it 2-0 soon after the break. Hartepool then let us keep possession of the ball a lot and instead built up a rock solid defense. A late counter attack gave them the third goal. We weren't particularly bad in this match, but Hartlepool still outclassed us. This team was perhaps the toughest one we've faced all season and I have no complaints about the fairness of the result.

Chairman Houghton was disappointed with the loss against our rivals, but surely even he must see that Hartlepool were playing at a standard clearly above that of League Two. Anyway, this was the one match we could afford to lose. The same couldn't be said about our home game against Torquay who, just like Barnet, won their last match to pull our lead over them back down to what it was two games ago.

Darlington 0 - 0 Torquay (Sat 28th Apr 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson, Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

Neither side could afford to lose and it showed. Risks were avoided at all cost, and so scoring chances were extremely few and far apart. Both teams had just one shot on goal. Väisänen did hit the bar close to the end, but Torquay was overall the better team today.

Barnet won again, which meant we dropped to 23rd position. Torquay now had 45 points, Barnet and Accrington 48 and Hereford 49. We had 47 points and a goal difference of -16. Torquay and Accrington had a clearly worse difference and the other teams a clearly better one.

To summarize, we would get relegated if we lost away against Peterborough. A draw would only be enough if Accrington lost at the same time. Even a win would not guarantee safety in case Accrington and Barnet won and Hereford didn't lose. I instructed assistan manager Bill McKenzie to find out the scores from the other matches, but not to inform me or the players of them until our match was over.

Hartlepool 0 - 1 Darlington (Sat 5th May 07)
Team: Sam Russell; Danny Adams, Joey Hutchinson ,Karl Broadhurst, Patrick Collins, David Duke; Clark Keltie (c), Kristian O'Leary, Robert Garrett; Paul Warne, Ville Väisänen

It was obvious to anyone watching this match that we wanted to win more than Peterborough did. The home team didn't roll over or anything, but their attacking in particular was lacklustre. Despite our domination, the first half ended goalless. The first fifteen minutes of the second half was much the same. Then Karl Broadhurst came up for a corner and with a diving header scored his only goal of the season. The last half an hour was nerve wrecking. Warne and Adams were both injured, but I had luckily enough saved my substitutions until late in the game. In the end, Peterborough didn't even manage a single shot on goal. This was easily one of our best performances of the season, but was it enough?

I quickly asked McKenzie what the scores were in the other matches. He simply said "They all lost."

George Houghton soon joined us and handed me a two year contract and a pen to sign it with. I hesitated for a short moment. The club was in a poor position financially and there would be no money to spend on new transfer. The contracts of several important players were about to expire and not all of them were interested in signing a new one. To top things of, our only physio just left us for Leicester.

I quickly brushed those thoughts aside. This wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't also challenging. I signed the contract and felt like shouting "We're 20th in league two!" This, however, sounded rather daft to me, so I settled for "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

Note: I plan to continue this story, but am going to take a break from it for a while.

retired_milla0225

so did you only play once against Chester this season ? (the mangnificent, depending on your viewpoint) 2-0 win at your place ?