Post by Rio Doherty on Mar 26, 2019 7:27:22 GMT
We will be back on the road tomorrow evening where we travel to County Durham to take on Darlington away, where we look to get back on track following our 12th blank Saturday of the season. Also, we will be returning to the North East which certainly hasn’t been our happy hunting ground in recent times. However, if we are to put those woes (along with our general away day woes) out of the window then we have to do it fast.
This fixture was postponed a couple of weeks ago due to a waterlogged pitch, so this gives us an opportunity to gain ground on other teams. We are now reaching crunch times with a cluster of vital games coming up thick and fast over the next few weeks. It has been 2 1/2 weeks since we were last in action, and although that could give us a boost fitness-wise, I sincerely hope that we will have the nous to deal with our packed upcoming fixture list. A few weeks ago I was feeling downbeat regarding our play-off hopes, but results elsewhere haven’t been too bad lately which still gives us a chance. We have two games in hand which gives us an advantage as we’re still 5 points behind 7th place, so if we can get as many points as we can then who knows.
Darlington have had a difficult season as they have spent most of it in the bottom half, although they are coming into this on the back of a 2-1 win at Nuneaton Borough. I’m sure they will make things tough for us as they aren’t out of the woods just yet, so will be wanting to get a couple of wins to ensure their survival. Also, our opponents will have learnt a lot from our deserved 3-1 win back in December so will be a tough nut to crack. This used to be a regular fixture back in our Football League days, but sadly a lot has changed since then. In 2010 we went out of business, and just a few years later Darlington folded as well. Then, in 2012 they reformed under the name of Darlington 1883 (although since then they have reverted back to Darlington FC), and immediately got a couple of promotions to return to the National League North. During 2012-16 Darlington had to groundshare with Bishop Auckland, but in 2016 they moved back into the town where they now play their games at Blackwell Meadows. Compared to Feethams and the Darlington Arena, Blackwell Meadows is somewhat of a dump due to Darlo groundsharing with Darlington Rugby Club, hence it doesn’t really look like a football ground. To their credit Darlington have built a couple of stands to improve the ground, but Blackwell Meadows is nothing like their previous homes.
We must come back with all 3 points to narrow the gap between us and the top 7. Draws just aren’t enough as this is the time of the season where everything matters. In the second half against Leamington we played okay, but we spent too much time dilly-dallying with the ball to eventually come out with two dropped points. Hopefully we will come up with a different game plan tomorrow to put us in a good position. Come On You Blues!
Score: Darlington 1-2 Chester FC (McKenna, Asante)
Attendance: 1,125 (91 Chester FC)
My predicted lineup:
Shenton
Jackson Howson Livesey Grand
McKenna Roberts McAllister Mahon
Asante Dudley
COYB!
This fixture was postponed a couple of weeks ago due to a waterlogged pitch, so this gives us an opportunity to gain ground on other teams. We are now reaching crunch times with a cluster of vital games coming up thick and fast over the next few weeks. It has been 2 1/2 weeks since we were last in action, and although that could give us a boost fitness-wise, I sincerely hope that we will have the nous to deal with our packed upcoming fixture list. A few weeks ago I was feeling downbeat regarding our play-off hopes, but results elsewhere haven’t been too bad lately which still gives us a chance. We have two games in hand which gives us an advantage as we’re still 5 points behind 7th place, so if we can get as many points as we can then who knows.
Darlington have had a difficult season as they have spent most of it in the bottom half, although they are coming into this on the back of a 2-1 win at Nuneaton Borough. I’m sure they will make things tough for us as they aren’t out of the woods just yet, so will be wanting to get a couple of wins to ensure their survival. Also, our opponents will have learnt a lot from our deserved 3-1 win back in December so will be a tough nut to crack. This used to be a regular fixture back in our Football League days, but sadly a lot has changed since then. In 2010 we went out of business, and just a few years later Darlington folded as well. Then, in 2012 they reformed under the name of Darlington 1883 (although since then they have reverted back to Darlington FC), and immediately got a couple of promotions to return to the National League North. During 2012-16 Darlington had to groundshare with Bishop Auckland, but in 2016 they moved back into the town where they now play their games at Blackwell Meadows. Compared to Feethams and the Darlington Arena, Blackwell Meadows is somewhat of a dump due to Darlo groundsharing with Darlington Rugby Club, hence it doesn’t really look like a football ground. To their credit Darlington have built a couple of stands to improve the ground, but Blackwell Meadows is nothing like their previous homes.
We must come back with all 3 points to narrow the gap between us and the top 7. Draws just aren’t enough as this is the time of the season where everything matters. In the second half against Leamington we played okay, but we spent too much time dilly-dallying with the ball to eventually come out with two dropped points. Hopefully we will come up with a different game plan tomorrow to put us in a good position. Come On You Blues!
Score: Darlington 1-2 Chester FC (McKenna, Asante)
Attendance: 1,125 (91 Chester FC)
My predicted lineup:
Shenton
Jackson Howson Livesey Grand
McKenna Roberts McAllister Mahon
Asante Dudley
COYB!
