Darlington Women suffered a blow to their title hopes when they were beaten 3-0 at home by Boldon on Sunday.

Their cause wasn’t helped by a bad injury to Aimee Dagnall during the game which meant that she had to be taken to hospital.

The result leaves Quakers four points behind the leaders having played two games more.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “A really disappointing day all round and I do feel for the girls after working so hard all season. We actually started the game well and I thought we probably should have been two up in the first 15 minutes. But that’s football and it really is fine margins. Their keeper pulled off a couple of great saves and we just didn’t capitalise when on top. Boldon grew into the game and the constant pauses in play certainly benefited them more than it did us.

“The bad injury to Aimee Dagnall had a big impact on the game. And when a player is taken to hospital it can have an effect on the rest of them on the pitch and we didn’t really recover. We conceded two goals before half time and although we give it a good go at getting back in the game in the second half, we gave ourselves to much to do and it just wasn’t to be. There are no excuses and fair play to Boldon who were the better team on the day and deserved the three points, they’ve got a young talented squad with plenty of potential.

“All we can do now is regroup, continue to stay positive and try and pick up maximum points till the end of the season, we also have a league cup tie to look forward to and we will be looking to go as far as we can in the cup after losing out in the semi final a couple of seasons ago.”

Match Report by Chris Barrett

Boldon started with intensity and got an early chance with a break through the middle leaving a one on one with Evie Whitaker but she stood strong and held on to the first shot on goal. Darlington then got into the game and came close with a good strike from Aimee Dagnall just skimming low past the post.Darlington continued to push and came close from corners; first with a shot from Millie Soderman just going over and then another close effort from centre back partner Lou Brown.

The game took a significant turn when Aimee Dagnall went down from a significant ankle injury forcing her to be taken off.

Boldon got more into the game and took the lead on 38 minutes with a ball played down the right for the attacker to latch on to and to place it into the bottom corner. Darlington pushed back and had a good chance from a Hattie Raine free kick but it bounced across the six yard box with nobody attacking to take advantage. Just before the half time break Boldon got their second this time with the ball played over down the left hand side, the attacker cut inside and struck high and over the keeper to double the lead.

The second half was a balanced affair with both teams battling to dominate the middle of the park but struggling to create the opportunities to score. It took until the 83rd minute before Darlington came close again with Emma Carter making a good run down the left hand side to feed the ball to Chloe Ryan to strike the ball but it pinged out off the crossbar. Darlington continued to push and attack but were caught out late on with the ball being built up well and worked to the right hand side. The ball was played in low across the box and poked in at the front post to end the game giving Boldon a three nil win.

Boldon were hard working and industrious in their play and were fully deserving of the three points. It is a hammer blow to Darlington’s promotion chances who will need to win all their remaining games hoping for a lot of help from elsewhere.

Here's the league table

https://fulltime.thefa.com/table.html;jsessionid=997F7682D1CE77413CE36D7E16FCCDBE?selectedSeason=516237003&selectedDivision=371387182&ftsTablePageContent.fixtureAnalysisForm.standingsTableDay=20&ftsTablePageContent.fixtureAnalysisForm.standingsTableMonth=1&ftsTablePageContent.fixtureAnalysisForm.standingsTableYear=2024&activeTab=1

Thanks to our sponsors

We'd like to thank the following kit sponsors:

Evie Whittaker: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Vacant 

Emma Carter:

Home: Direct Flooring 

Away: 

Lou Brown:

Home: Saddington Taylor LTD

Away: vacant

Millie Garnett:

Home: Eco Hair Salon

Away: Phil's Fine Finishes

Lily Large:

Home: The Unknown Creative

Away: Lineside Fencing

Millie Soderman: 

Home: Corporate Personal Well Being 

Away: Kia

Chloe Tinkler: 

Home: Steve Halliday

Away: Brinkburn Pub

Chloe Bright: 

Home: Jordan Hanratty Personal Training 

Away: SR Entertainments 

Emily Taylor 

Home: Northern Renewables 

Away: Northern Renewables 

Aimee Dagnall 

Home: Durham Blinds

Away: Andrew Scullion

Hattie Raine: 

Home: CNA Electronics

Away: CNA Electronics 

Katie Sheridan: 

Home: Darl Knight

Away: Vacant 

Lacey Baldwin: 

Home: Lineside Fencing NE Ltd 

Away: Vacant 

Chloe Ryan: 

Home: Sign Lead

Away: vacant

Sara Waites: 

Home: Teesside University 

Away: Teesside University  

Nicole Graham

Home: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Away: Stuart Shanks Painting and Decorating

Leanne Clennett:

Home: Stockton Town Rugby Club

Away: Stockton Town Rugby Club 

Lucy Hart:

Home: Top Spec Boots

Away: D&G Trophies 

Lily Wilkinson:

Home: The Tuns at Sadberge 

Away: The Tuns at Sadberge 

Lucy Charlton

Home and away vacant

Management team:

Shaun Mackenzie training kit: John Vickerman

Stu Burkin training kit:Vacant 

Dan Lupu training kit: Vacant

Chris Barrett training kit: Vacant