In the latest edition of his Memory Match series, Simon Weatherill takes us back to the 4-0 away win at Barrow on 17^th April 1972.

The 1971/72 season was the second under the chairmanship of Mr George Tait. Even in the crazy, chaotic world of Darlington Football Club, some of the things that went on left supporters scratching their heads in disbelief. Manager Len Richley was sacked in August after only one league game and replaced by his assistant Frank Brennan. Brennan lasted ten weeks in the manager’s chair before he resigned in November. He left the club second bottom in the table. Tait announced that he would take his time appointing the right replacement and, in the meantime, Ken Hale would become “trainer/coach with responsibility for picking the team”. He would be assisted by Billy Horner.

The arrangement didn’t last long. After an argument with Tait about squad strengthening, Hale and Horner stepped back from team selection and for a period the team was selected by the chairman and directors at a weekly board meeting. There were often very few decisions to make as the club had a wafer thin squad and usually only had 11 or 12 fit players. (Club legend Tony Moor even came out of retirement and played two games when injuries meant the side had no keeper available.) The squad was depleted further in February when Alan Gauden was sold to Grimsby for £5,000 and keeper Jeff Wealands went to Hull City in a £10,000 deal. (Peter Walters moved in the opposite direction as part of the deal, on loan until the end of the season.)

By the time the Quakers visited Barrow on Monday, April 17 the situation at the bottom of the table had become critical. Crewe were bottom with 25 points, Stockport second bottom with 29. Then three points separated the next seven clubs. Newport and Darlington had 33. Barrow, Aldershot and Chester had 35 and then came Hartlepool and Northampton on 36. The scrap to avoid the bottom four re-election places was going to go right down to the wire and Darlington’s game at Barrow had become vitally important. The Quakers prepared for their visit to Holker Street with a 1-0 win at Lincoln City on the Saturday. Lincoln’s only home defeat of the season was secured by a Peter Graham goal, but the points came at a price. Captain Ken Hale twisted his knee and would miss the game at Barrow. His place would be taken by Mick Wright. 17 year old apprentice Barry Jobson would be on the bench. Barrow had injury problems of their own and had to play Bobby Knox in goal. Knox had joined the club as a centre forward, had played most of the season as a full back, but had been pressed into service as an emergency keeper for a couple of games because of an injury to regular keeper Harry Thomson.

A crowd of 2190 were at Holker Street for the vital game, and they saw the Quakers grab the lead in the 7th minute. Full back John Peverell made an overlapping run down the right and latched onto a Norman Lees pass. He made progress into the box and fired in a shot from an acute angle, across Knox in the Barrow goal and into the far corner of the net. The Quakers were playing all the football and created several excellent openings, with the home side relying on a more physical approach that very rarely caused a problem for the visiting defence. Colin Sinclair went close to a second for the Quakers, but his shot was cleared off the line by Bobby Noble, and moments later Norman Lees miskicked in front of goal when it seemed easier to score. In Barrow’s best spell of the game they nearly equalised when Peter Walters was put under pressure from a high ball. He only half cleared with his attempted punch and the ball fell to Mick Hollis, but the Barrow outside left fired his shot wide of the post. Darlington hit back and Peverell nearly scored his second of the game from a free kick. Sinclair was fouled just outside the box and the veteran full back hit one of his trademark piledrivers, but unfortunately it flew just wide with the keeper beaten. Then Alan Sproates fired a twenty yarder inches over the bar. The deserved second goal came in the 43rd minute when Sinclair broke into the box and fired home past the helpless Knox. Half time: Barrow 0 Darlington 2.

The second half began with the home side desperate to get back into the game, but their physical, direct approach had very little effect on the Darlington defence and the visitors always looked the more dangerous side on the break and created by far the better chances. Lees missed another open goal after good work by Peter Graham, who pulled the ball back across the face of goal, and in the next attack Sinclair should have done better when unmarked at the far post, he fired wide from eight yards out. The third goal came after a superb one two between Peter Graham and Alan Harding carved open the Barrow defence and left Graham in the clear to slot past Knox. The fourth goal quickly followed as Lees slipped the ball through to Harding who drove his left foot shot high into the net to complete the comprehensive away victory.

The 4-0 win lifted the Quakers above Barrow in the table on goal average and out of the dreaded bottom four. They had found some form at just the right time and followed it up with another win in their next away game at Northampton. After winning just 2 of their first 20 away games, they’d finished the season with 3 away wins on the trot that lifted them to safety, sixth from bottom in the table. Barrow weren’t so lucky and finished third from bottom and had to apply for re-election. At the League AGM in June they failed to gain enough votes and were voted out of the league, their place being taken by Hereford United, who had gained national popularity by knocking Newcastle out of the FA Cup in the previous January. It could so easily have been the Quakers, who only finished two points above Barrow, highlighting the importance of their crucial win at Holker Street.

Chairman Tait eventually found the manager he was looking for. School teacher Allan Jones was appointed in the middle of April, although he didn’t start work until June 1st. He had previously managed Blyth Spartans in the Northern League.

Barrow produced a 16 page programme, (perhaps rather prophetically called “Outlook”) costing 5p. There were two pages dedicated to their visitors, with a review of the season so far and pen pictures of the players. The team line-ups were on the back cover.

Team v Barrow: 1 Peter Walters 2 John Peverell 3 Peter Carr 4 Billy Horner 5 Geoff Barker 6 Mick Wright 7 Alan Sproates 8 Alan Harding 9 Peter Graham 10 Colin Sinclair 11 Norman Lees Sub Barry Jobson (not used)