Chorley 1-2 Darlington, Saturday 24th January 2026

Chorley 1-2 Darlington, National League North, Victory Park, att. 1402 (202 away)

I’ve a rare free Satdy and Kev gives me an offer I can’t refuse: Darlo are away at Chorley. I’m not sure how I’ve missed this. Too busy looking at (even) lower league fixtures. I’d been putting off Chorley, waiting...hoping...for Darlo to play them midweek some season (given the pair seem to be entwined in National League North for the foreseeable.) Also, being a Satdy, the chance of going by rail and enjoying more than a beer. Let’s go!

We’re on the same train into Manchester Piccadilly, though it’s rammed and we meet on the platform. A change of platform, a game of Wetherspoons Top Trumps, a beer on the train and we’re in Chorley before…well, before I had time to win the game of Top Trumps. I was winning as well.

We are met with a bold statement across the way from Chorley railway station: ‘Chorley, the best of Lancashire all in one place.’ Wow. Go big or go home. Now I’ve been to Chorley, I need not bother myself with the rest of the county.

We have a beer in the first hostelry we find (not great) but further down the street is the Shepherds’ Hall, a grand place with plenty of choice. Then it’s off to the ground, and it’s a simple, if boring walk, alongside the dual carriageway. Kev’s got the (digital) tickets in, in advance. 15 quid for EFL season-ticket holders (that’s me!) whereas he, a mere ST holder of a National League North side (spoiler: Chorley’s visitors Darlington) has to pay full price, whatever that is. Needless to say nobody checks my EFL credentials at the turnstile.

The ground today is segregated. I presume Darlo’s reputation precedes them. (They once knocked down a fence at Spennymoor.) But it’s fine, we’re all together and not split around Victory Park. (The folks of Chorley are confident types, aren’t they?) There’s a tall terrace behind the goal, albeit a quarter the length of the byeline. There’s grass banking either side. Was this once terrace too? Dunno, but it’s fenced off behind cheerless mesh. Still, the stand has an old-school pitched roof and is dark and cosy. So Kev’s family (cousin, nephew, great-nephew, Kev) decide to stand at the perimeter fence, near the goal, in the cold. No amount of hint-dropping will dissuade them. Supporting Darlington is MEANT to be an endurance, right? Or perhaps they don’t want to be near the Darlo yoof with their infernal drum?

The touchline to our right also has some grass banking and an odd, small stand perched above it on the halfway line, the Dave Prescott Stand. I think this doubles as Chorley’s ‘exec area’ and it must afford some grand views. Opposite is a sizeable main stand, an old pitch roofed all-seater that straddles the halfway line, while behind the goal the terrace at this end stretches the entire width, as does the roof. Nothing here looks like it was built after 1960 and it’s all the better for it.

Being cold, we’ve procured another beer from the refreshment hatch (took ages) and a pie each. I had the last meat and potato in town (till the new batch arrived) while Kev went for local delicacy ‘butter pie’. This does not do what it says on the menu, more of a creamy mashed potato. Not for me, tho Kev lives a semi-vegan life anyway, so it’s no skin off his nose.

We’re further perked up by the score. Darlo go ahead on 23 as the winger beats the offside trap and knocks it across goal for Cedric Main to apply a simple finish. This is Darlo’s bogey ground, I’m told, and it’s true: 2 draws and 5 defeats in 7, including an 8-0 tonking a couple of seasons back that Kev was lucky to be away on holiday for. Eight nil. Against Chorley.

Normal service is resumed after the half hour mark as a scramble ends with the ball hooked into Darlo’s net, and Chorley enjoy their best spell. Cuz moans as the ref indicates 3 minutes of added-on time, but he’s not moaning after 4 minutes of it, as Will McGowan scores an improbable second for the Quakers, curling the ball in first time from 25 yards. Improbable, cos we were right behind it and it was going over all the way till it suddenly dropped over the keeper. Stick it up yer, Chorley. Have some ‘best of County Durham’!

The second half is a bit of a no-show, to be frank. I miss the one bit of action, a Chorley player being sent off, as I’ve wandered towards the corner flag to take some photos and to confirm that the goalposts at this end were LEANING BACKWARDS. ‘Nobody even appealed it’ says a mystified Kev, as in, appealed for the sending-off. It’s not comfortable, but Darlo see it out and cement their place in 6th, a play-off place. And as la famille bid us farewell, we hook up with a couple of Darlo and hit a fantastic pub near the station, the Malt ‘n’ Hops. Busy, great beer choice, and sarnies and pies. It pays sometimes to go the wrong side of the tracks and we’ve found it: Chorley, the best of Lancashire all in one place.

The Damage
£15 ent
= £15

beer and pie on Kev!

BFC 2-1 Blackpool, Saturday 17th January 2026

‘Autistic child on board.’

What a difference a last minute winner makes. Before then, folk were openly grumbling...as the Reds were crumbling. We’d tossed away a 1st half lead to a goal everyone said ‘was coming’ and Cleary had been subbed for some bloke who struggled for a game at Guiseley (Leo Farrell for non-regulars). Blackpool were pegging us back, our midfield couldn’t get hold of the ball, and the only positive appeared to be the new bloke in goal looking unbeatable save for an outrageous deflection.

THEN IT HAPPENED. We suckered Blackpool, the fools. As they hunted for the winner their 2nd half dominance possibly deserved, they piled forward for a long throw. The defensive header reaches the edge of the box where Kelly, hitherto very quiet, bursts into action, beating a Tangerine, carrying it 60 yards at pace, then laying it off for McG. (I’m still not having any of this ‘Didzy’ nonsense. He’s not my mate). Not having the pace to take it in his stride, he controls it, lets the defender pass him, then does him with one of his trademark stepovers and buries the ball into the far corner. Unimpeachable.

The crowd go wild...and so does Praise or Grumble, which has not one, not two, but three Reds callers going overboard about how amazing we were today. As I said, what a difference a last minute goal makes. In truth, with Cleary and Kelly not reaching previous heights, we were average. But well done the defence, who still had to defend a corner in what was left of injury time.

We went ahead with an absolute GIFT. I thought only our keepers did this? Stand miles out of goal, then give away possession to the centre forward. Didzy (ho ho) controls it and hits it first time from distance with his WRONG foot. Well done him. And well done Bailey Peacock-Farrell, just for having one of my favourite names in football.

At the other end, we have a comedy moment of our own. New signing O’Connell (he’s no Brendan, I’ll say that now) trips over his own feet and gifts them a 2 on 1. The ball is squared and the recipient simply slides it first time into the net from 10 yards. Oh, hang on, what’s he doing? He controls it, takes a touch, cuts back inside some desperate challenge and has his shot well saved. Fair play to Goodman (for it was by he) but once that player has cut inside, there’s only one place that shot is going, though Goodman does good, man, by getting across. He also makes a smart save from a near post drive.

Early second half, we spurn a great chance to extend our lead. Phillips lays it to Kelly who blazes the ball Phillipsesque into the crowd from 12 yards. Did it hit a bobble? Dunno, but Kelly’s not really been on it today.

Another one not on it, so much so he’s hauled at HT is the GOAT, or ‘Accident Waiting To Happen.’ Bland is booked halfway through the 1st half for pulling back their player having been outwitted. Then, before half-time, he chops down a breaking Tangerine. I suspect the ref gives him the benefit of the doubt as the ball bounced around 3 or 4 players on that centre circle (Bland’s natural habitat) before breaking. At least Conor realizes his mistake from earlier this season (leaving GOAT on to be booked a second time). Mind, I thought his replacement, Yoganathan, was dreadful. Couldn’t get hold of it, and when he did, gave it away.

(At this point, I must make mention of 2 super passes from Bland. One was a crossfield ball to Cleary on the left wing, and another was to put O’Keeffe clean through. Naturally, by the time O’Keeffe got his shot off, the defender who was BEHIND him was in front of him to block.)

So there. Kelly missed, and Blackpool took control, helped by some lenient officiating. I thought shirt-pulling was an offence? Presumably only if your name’s Bland. Jonathan Bland. In fact, one such shirt pull DID prevent a break, a la Bland, but it was just outside our box. Too far away to be considered ‘dangerous’? How did we score our winner? Then there’s the challenge on Cleary, clattering him from behind. Not even a free kick. It was grating, but we weren’t playing well. Goodman made a few more regulatory saves before being beaten by ex-Red Fletcher thanks to a deflection.

But well done Reds. Hung in there and nicked it. I heard we’re now 7 pts behind a play-off place with 5 games in hand. That’s incredible. But I refuse to look at a table till we’ve won 2 in a row. What does 1 win do? Take us to ----teenth in the table? Big wow.

Onwards and upwards!

*** McGoldrick. Held onto the ball, played in teammates (lovely flick 1st half to send Cleary away), never stopped working...oh, and bagged 2 superb goals.
** O’Keeffe. Threw in some great challenges on the halfway line and looked to get forward. (I’ll ignore the early aberration where he gets done with a throughball.) If the ball’s in front of him and to be won, he’s got a chance. (On being the official MOTM, a caller to Praise and Grumble asked if his wife chose it!)
* Goodman. Till the winner, I was thinking about making him MOTM. He saved everything, came out and caught or punched. But one thing bothers me…he never seemed to stop anything cleanly, needing 2 goes at most things.

Official MOTM: O’Keeffe (announced before McG’s winner)

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. McGoldrick 2. O’Keeffe 3. Goodman

Despatches:
We were looking remarkably threadbare by the end. Farrell looks like what he is, poor lad, a junior over-promoted. Reminds me of Karl Rose (hopefully without the underage sex). Completely anonymous when he came on, but we had no-one else. Well, not now Conor’s got rid of Russell (who’s now getting rave reviews off Mansfield fans). I had to laugh at the remark that ‘we could only name 6 subs’. How many does a team need? Though this was ours: Flavell, Yoganthan, Gent, Farrell, Barrett and MdG. Still, Connell injured, and DKD ‘ill’ (and definitely NOT sold...as of Saturday, 5pm)...a pensioner is forced to play 90 minutes.

Cleary had a mixed game, thank the Lord. (No-one wants to see him sold). Got into lots of good positions 1st half, but the cross always ended up at the front post, to nobody (like in the Cadden years). Either he needs to put it somewhere else, or someone needs to get on that front post. As for folk blaming him for their equalizer...by keeping it in and kicking it to Ogbeta...well, Ogbeta shoulda done beta!

POTY Kelly was very quiet, save for that miss. Saving his energy for the 94th minute, obviously. In defence, Shepherd had another strong game. That’s 2 in a row. (BTW, who had 13 minutes for the ‘Shepherd Flop’ wins a fiver. Hilariously, now we’re not playing at Anfield, these League 1 refs keep giving him the free kick.) I was intrigued by Conor’s tictacs…when in possession, we’d go to a back 4, Shepherd coming wide left and Ogbeta going into central midfield. O’Connell didn’t make a 2nd mistake, but one was worrying enough. Watson was solid, while Ogbeta wasn’t really used down the wing (see earlier). Was it his fault for the goal? Was he fouled? Dunno. Then there’s Phillips, who, even when he's invisible, still manages to set up Kelly, or blaze a good chance (1st half.)

Drink du jour: Verdant Lightbulb at Spiral City. Where Jude became the ‘lucky’ recipient of not one, but TWO half and half scarves from the Liverpoo game. Great minds think alike, D. Wood.

Away: 860 (10,266). Even the official number of home supporters is now less than 10 thousand. Come on Tykes. LET’S BE ‘AVIN YOU!!!!!!! Or just let us die a slow death.

The Damage:
c.£7 petrol
= c.£7

Liverpool 4-1 BFC, Monday 12th January 2026

‘Jim’s gone right down in my estimation, that’s all I’m saying.’

Well, that was some performance we put in Tues nite, considering the 2 divisions and 57 places between the sides. The effort was undoubtedly there, and no shortage of skill either. Not a single player let us down (there’s not a lot you can do sometimes if someone is simply better than you) and Coach Conor even joined in, proving he doesn’t have to be tactically intransigent. In came O’Keeffe (from the wastelands of Stockport) to be the right hand side of a back 5. No Roberts (hurrah!) and De Givigney and Tennai Watson joining Shepherd in a back 3. Ogbeta, too, was back.

Not that we entered with any hope. I was at Man City v Exeter on Satdy. 10-1. I’ve seen how easy it is for these teams to destroy these other teams. ‘Ah, but Man City are better than Liverpool.’ That’s as maybe. And Exeter are better than us. What level of hiding would we accept tonite? 6? 7? ‘Not double figures.’

And it was all us for the opening 28 seconds, as we pile forward and DKD has a header off the post. It was at the far end, mind, (The Kop End). Typical. There’s our shot for the evening and I’m not even sure how we got that. (I am now, I got home yesterday...went from Liverpool to County Durham for a dental appointment, such is my desperation to keep my NHS dentist...and Sarah had bookmarked the match on TNT. So I came home, had my dinner, then watched Liverpoo v Barnsley all over again. It was great!)

Where was I? Yeah, so we didn’t just have a DKD header. He had another (soft) long shot saved, Bland hit a 25 yard half volley the keeper had to dive across goal for, and Cleary put in several crosses and generally terrorised them down our left. And these weren’t their under 21s either, these were fully paid up members of their Championship-winning squad last season. Van Dijk, Gomez, Andy Robertson...Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Scottish Argentinian MacAllister and Sir Boz Lie. They were all there. But don’t worry if you think you’re missing out on British record transfer (£120m) Wirtz, or 70 mill Ekitike, they’ll be on later, along with Konate. (OK, he’s rubbish.)

We’ll forget the bit where we held out for all of 8 minutes before Szoboszlai (yes, I looked him up) rocketed it into the net from 25 yards. I was a bit critical of Cooper at the time, but let’s be honest, there isn’t a 3rd division player can kick a ball as hard as he hit it. Similarly, their 2nd flew over Cooper’s head before he saw it. Still, 36 minutes in and only 2-0. I think we’d have settled for that.

But then we’re BACK IN IT. Whatthehell just happened? Did their bloke just GIVE Phillips the ball with an open goal? When’s the linesman gonna stick his flag up? Surely they can think of SOME reason to disallow it, but no, Adam Phillips (allowed beyond the centre circle by Coach Conor) has rediscovered his scoring touch, albeit in bizarre circumstances, Szoboszlai backheeling it into his path in the 6 yard box. I’ve never seen a goal like it, and I get Coach Conor’s rant that it was disrespectful to little old Barnsley, this world class player thinking he can take the p*** out of some 3rd division yokels, but honestly, I couldn’t give a monkeys. I wish he’d done it half a dozen more times! Half-time, and I saw this thing I haven’t seen at half-time since...ooooh….August? September? Smiling Reds fans!

2nd half, Cleary continues to take the game to them. The champions of England are so petrified, they have 2 players on him, yet he still manages to beat Sir Boz before going down in the box. Penalty? I’ve seen em given, but I didn’t think so. I thought he was looking for it. The endless debate on telly brought a split decision, so, really, it’s whatever the ref decides. Shades of Liddell at Old Trafford, 1998? If we didn’t get that one, we’re not getting this one.

Then, on the hour, the cavalry. Wirtz, Ekitike and Konate come on, followed on 73 by Gravenberch. We reply with a free transfer who’s not had a club for several months, and POTY Kelly (why was he not starting? Ill? Tactical genius (possibly!!!)) Then a pensioner, and Georgie Gent. And it tells, as the Scousers nick a couple of late goals, another world class finish (this time from Wirtz) and a sweeping move in the 95th minute for 4-1. ‘It was never a 4-1 game’ moaned Nice Guy Chris later. And perhaps he’s right…the xG was 1.98 v 1.19.

Onwards and upwards!

*** Cleary. Superb. Took the game to them. Ally McCoist’s MOTM.
** Shepherd. Is this the same player I’ve watched all season? Headed, blocked, never looked under threat when in possession. Like a cross between Terry Butcher and Franz Beckenbauer. (Tho the ‘Shepherd Flop’ didn’t get him his usual free kick. It gets given everywhere except Anfield. Funny that.)
* DKD. It’s incredibly brave to keep possession when you’re up against world class players, but he did. His movement and touch all nite were incredible, as well as his industry in getting back.

Londontykes’ MOTM: 1. Cleary 2. Shepherd 3. O’Keeffe

Despatches:
Take a bow, Coach Conor. He didn’t just fill the defence, albeit he went back 5. There was still an attacking outlet, and it’s a travesty we conceded 4.

Take a bow, the players. Cooper, for that amazing save onto the bar, 2nd half, and the times he CAME OUT and claimed crosses. (I saw it with my own ears!) Watson and MdG ably supporting Shep (tho MdG not getting many mentions on the commentary, cos McCoist had no idea how to pronounce ‘De Givigney’…and to be fair, who does?) O’Keeffe was magnificent at right back, tho less so with the corners. Is it a tactic to hit the 1st man, cos Connell does that too? (Tho another well worked corner has him pulling it back for Phillips to hit. That could have easily been a goal had one of our players deflected it in.) It was great to see Ogbeta back. I’d feel more sympathy for an injured Josh Earl were I not more bothered about potentially conceding double figures.

Bland and Yoganathan ably protected the back 4, and ably assisted the front 3. Is this the future? Is it even this Saturday, or will Luca be handed his place back? (No prizes for correct answers.) Phillips scored the goal, and made the cross for DKD’s header. (Oh, nearly forgot, McGoldrick nearly scored with a late looping header at 3-2.) So even when he’s anonymous, he's involved. He was also half the answer for my fave fact of the nite – we had more ‘products of Liverpool’s academy’ on show than they had – Phillips and Yoganathan. So next time I’m slating either of these two, I’m blaming Liverpool. (Can’t stand them.)

Pre-match, Reedy and I met up with Chris, in the Excelsior, where I was asked by some Reds fans whether I was a Liverpool fan. This despite wearing a Barnsley shirt and tracksuit top. Are Reds fans a bit…thick? And did the commentator for the 4th round FA Cup draw REALLY say ‘Liverpool will play Brighton at home in the next round’? Cos that’s what we all heard. Then we took the tee-total waif Gally to a craft ale pub wot would only serve two-thirds of a pint...’unless it’s lager in which case you can have a pint.’ I’m not sure they endeared themselves to Reedy on that score. By now Jim was in attendance.

Then, a taxi there and one back, though where’s Jim when we’ve arranged to meet at The Twelfth Man outside the ground? He’s INSIDE, having a beer. A crap beer, but a beer nonetheless. In town, did we have another one before I led us through a shopping centre to a bar that was closed (apologies)? Luckily, we’d seen a lively little street further back where Reedy got a taste for Cruzcampo. He’ll deny it, of course...

Drink du jour: Neck Oil and Erdinger in The Excelsior (excellent pub), Deya Lil’ Zombies pale ale in The Dead Craft Beer Company, San Miguel and Cruzcampo in The Twelfth Man, more San Miguel in The Grapes, a lively hole in the city centre. ‘Home’ at 1:42 am. That hole was still open.

Away: 6,000 (60,206). I thought it was a disappointing atmosphere from our end, especially from behind us. It never really got going. Too in awe? Everyone dotted around away from their mates? (It didn’t sound as bad when I watched it on telly.)

The Damage:
£24 ent
£4 meat pie
£4 badge
£5 scarf
£35 accommodation (Travelodge)
£19 parking
c.£15 petrol
= c.£106