Here is the final part of the series.

Q is for qualifying round. Quakers played in two qualifying rounds of the FA Trophy, first comprehensively beating Scarborough Athletic 4-0 before losing 3-1 at St Neots Town in a competitive encounter in Cambridgeshire that saw Liam Hatch sent off in the fourth minute.

R is for red cards. Six red cards were shown to Darlington players, namely Gary Brown, Alan White (twice) Adam Mitchell, Liam Hatch and Peter Jameson. The total is twice as many as last season, when three saw red.

S is for Salford City. The only team to defeat Darlington home and away and the only team to finish above us in the table. Quakers’ failure to take three points at Warrington in the penultimate match handed the title to the Class of ’92-backed club.

T is for Tom Portas. Like Graeme Armstrong, a summer signing from Whitby Town who impressed since day one in a Darlington shirt. An integral part of the midfield, Portas hardly missed a match and also scored two cracking goals in the latter half of the season at Heritage Park, against Lancaster City and Bamber Bridge, the latter winning Goal of the Season.

[caption id="attachment_11904" align="alignnone" width="960"] Tom celebrates his goal of the season[/caption]

U is for understudy. Mark Bell was Darlington’s understudy, the goalkeeper providing back-up to Peter Jameson. In the play-off final he made only his third start of the season due to Jameson being suspended and Bell did not let anyone down by keeping a clean sheet.

V is for Victoria, Northwich. Northwich became only the second visiting team, after Ramsbottom United, to defeat Darlington twice at Heritage Park. They followed last season’s 1-0 win with another victory by the same scoreline in March, but Quakers exacted revenge at the end of the month when Graeme Armstrong scored the only goal. Northwich lost in the play-off semi-finals to Bamber Bridge.

W is for Weldon, Paul. A left back who first joined Darlington at the beginning of 2013-14, Paul Weldon returned to Quakers after completing his recovery from a cruciate knee injury while with Durham City in the latter half of last season. He was an unused sub a handful of times and played the final league game against New Mills.

X is for e-Xit. While the core of the squad remained the same throughout the season, a handful of players exited the club during the course of the campaign. Adam Reed, Nathan Fisher, Jordan Robinson and Ryan Noble all played a number of games each before moving on.

Y is for youth. The club is keen to encourage youth talent to come through the ranks and this campaign saw several teenagers given an opportunity in the first team, particularly against New Mills on the last day when Martin Gray made 11 changes in preparation for the play-offs. Seven of the starting XI were teenagers while a further four were on the bench.

Z is for Zoro. Jordan Robinson was briefly nicknamed Zoro when he returned to action wearing a protective mask following time on the sidelines due to suffering a broken cheekbone in the 2-0 win at Prescot Cables in October.