Spennymoor Town 1-1 Darlington, Sunday 26th December 2021

Spennymoor Town 1-1 Darlington, National League North, The Brewery Field, att. 2,404 (with officially 600 away)

Spennymoor v Darlington. Not a fixture that trips off the tongue of rivalries, but it’s been there for some time now, since 2012-13 when the latter reformed following insolvency and were forced to begin life in the 9th tier Northern League Division 1. Indeed, following earlier crowd trouble, this is the only game Spennymoor actively try to segregate. With Sunderland claimed by Tyne and Wear, and Hartlepool now a unitary authority, there is a technical claim to this match deciding who is the best team in County Durham. A 6th tier match in the county that provided the most England players in the 20th century! (I learnt that fact on a podcast last week, so don’t blame me if it’s inaccurate.)

Boxing Day, as some fans wish to literally turn this into. I expected feisty, and so it proved, both on and off the terraces. With a flare-up in the stands (objects being thrown between the two sets of supporters), the game was delayed during the first half. ‘Is it normally like this?’ asked my Barnsley-supporting buddy Molly. Well, since about 2012… (Darlington v Hartlepool used to be quite ‘tasty’ back in the day too.) It was a contrast to the 23rd minute applause for former Darlington player and friend of Spenny keeper Eve, Osagi Bascombe, murdered in Bermuda a week ago.

Perhaps events on the terraces influenced the on-pitch action as former Darlington legend Stephen Thompson (only the 2nd Quaker ever to hit 100 goals) launched into a tackle and got himself sent off. Was the red card justified? I couldn’t tell. But it would certainly change the manager’s teamtalk as half-time was nigh. Neither manager thought the sending off appropriate, but it was certainly careless, coming a minute after Spenny had equalised. I was in the the portaloo when I heard the roar of a crowd wronged. Without a basin to wash my hands, I was able to pop out early enough to see Taylor ram home a penalty. Earlier, Darlo had gone ahead with a simple unmarked header off a corner.

‘Would you rather be one down and have 11 men, or level and have 10?’ I asked Moll. He went for the former, me the latter. The feist wasn’t over though, as, with 5 minutes of normal time left, Spenny’s Curtis dragged Charman to the floor. Unfortunately for Charman, all the ref saw was the punch thrown in retaliation. A stupid way to even things out and Darlo’s threat was over. After a couple of earlier diving saves from Bermudan Eve, Spenny held on for the draw.

After a run of bad form cost the previous manager his job, this was a baptism of fire for the new duo in their first home game. Honours even, honour kept. On to the return game a week from now on New Year’s Day!

The Damage:
£10 ent
£3.20 Stella
= £13.20

Programmes? I didn’t see any…and the club shop was locked!

The Tunes:
BBC5Live