LOSING to Leek Town is still regarded as an ‘if only’ moment for Darlington supporters old enough to remember what was a bitterly disappointing defeat. It was in March 1990, the quarter-final of the FA Trophy, with Brian Little’s Quakers expected to progress past a team from a lower division, yet they suffered a shock 1-0 loss and the road to Wembley came to an abrupt halt. The missed opportunity rankles still, and Saturday’s defeat to Hornchurch will be filed in the same category, forever a source of regret. The difference in 1989-90 was that Quakers quickly healed those wounds by going on to win the much more significant Conference title, whereas in 2021 the Trophy was all Alun Armstrong’s team had to play for.
DARLINGTON S Wembley hopes are over. They were favourites to win today’s FA Trophy quarter-final with Hornchurch, but were second best and lost 2-1 at Blackwell Meadows. Playing the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, Quakers simply never got going and now their season is over. With the National League North campaign null and void, Darlington had only the Trophy to play for and they hoped to celebrate their 2011 Trophy win by returning to Wembley, but those hopes have been dashed. Hornchurch started strongly and went ahead after 26 minutes, captialising on Darlington giving the ball away sloppily in midfield. Erico Sousa’s pass went straight to Remi Sutton, and he burst forward, exchanging passes before breaking into the penalty area and teeing up Liam Nash to sidefoot home.