Darlington 1 Motherwell 5

Quakers were given a tough workout by Motherwell from the Scottish Premier League, and defeat was no disgrace.

The difference in quality was obvious, but Quakers will be proud of the way they kept battling away, and Harvey Saunders will have done himself no harm with a good second half goal.

Manager Tommy Wright started the game with five new signings in the side.

Motherwell, who reached the finals of both the Scottish League Cup and Scottish FA Cup last season, took the lead after 4 minutes when Quakers didn’t clear a cross by Alex Gorrin, and Cedric Kipre forced the ball in from a few yards.

And Quakers went 2-0 down to a goal they could do nothing about, when Danny Johnson, who played for Guisborough in the Northern League, scored with a superb left foot volley from a left wing cross.

Quakers replied with a header by Simon Ainge that keeper Trevor Carson saved under his crossbar, and as the half wore on, they get more into the game, and Luke Trotman had a shot charged down on 34 minutes.

However, Motherwell went 3-0 up on 35 minutes when Allan Campbell was found in space six yards out and fired past Maddison.

But Quakers kept battling away with plenty of spirit leading up to half time.

Half time

Darlington 0 Motherwell 3

Quakers made three subs at half time, Hughes, Collins and Nicholson coming off for Mitch Glover, Joe Wheatley and Alex Henshall.

Quakers pulled a goal back on 55 minutes when Harvey Saunders picked the ball up on the right, beat a defender on a run into the box, and fired past Carson for an impressive goal, one which prompted the Motherwell manager to ask for his details after the game.

Both teams then made several substitutions to give everybody a run out.

Former Darlington player Ryan Bowman – who stood by the club in the third admin in 2012 -- scored the fourth with ten minutes left, when he ran through and coolly chipped Jonny Maddison.

And then in stoppage time as Quakers wilted James Scott cut in from the right and fired into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Attendance 802.

Final score: Darlington 1 Motherwell 5

Quakers next friendly is at home to Sunderland on Tuesday night, kick off 7.30. Darlington fans only can now pay on the gate.

Darlington: Maddison, Trotman, Galbraith (sub Vaulks), Hughes (sub Wheatley), Collins (sub Glover), Burn, Nicholson (sub Henshall), Syers (sub Parnaby), Saunders, Ainge, O'Hanlon

Subs: Bancroft,  Parnaby, Coburn, Dunn, Moncur, Banks, Alderson.

Kieran Parnaby, Joshua Coburn, Kieron Dunn, Bradley Moncur, Ciaran Banks, Lewis Alderson are all from the youth set up.

Carson, Taylor-Sinclair, Kipre, Hartley, Donnelly, Gorrin, Rose, Campbell, Grimshaw, Johnson, Bowman

Subs: Gillespie, Frear, Dunne, McHugh, McGuire, Turnbull, Scott, Newell, Bidirimana, Brown