Darlington Women bounced back from two league defeats with a good 5-0 away win at Hebburn on Sunday.

Goals from Hattie Raine (2) , Chloe Ryan, Lily Wilkinson and Nicole Graham gave Quakers three morale-boosting points.

Manager Shaun MacKenzie said; “I’m really pleased for the girls, a really good performance and a deserved victory. It feels good to get back to winning ways after a difficult few weeks. I said after last week’s result that I wasn’t worried as we weren’t playing badly and were still creating plenty of chances. I reiterated before the game that the performances were still there and the results would come.

“We showed why we finished second in this league last season and got to the League Cup Final. I know what this team are capable of and it’s my job to instil the belief in the girls to go out there and get the job done and get the results. Hopefully the win gives us that bit of confidence we have lacked in recent weeks and we can start building some momentum and climbing back up that league table where this team belongs’ 

Match Report from Chris Barrett:

Darlington started well, playing like they had a point to prove and after only a few minutes they got a good first effort on goal with Grace Taylor starting her first game of the season shooting just over from the edge of the box. 

With Darlington pressing early there was space available for the counter and Hebburn did manage to break through and it took pressure from the onrushing Evie Whitaker quick off her line to force the shot wide.  

After 7 minutes, a good battle in the middle of the park from Sara Ellis saw her manage to get the ball down and through to Chloe Ryan down the left hand side of the box who pulled the ball back across goal for Hattie Raine to nip in and tap the ball into the net for a Darlington lead. 

After a quarter of an hour there was another team goal, this time with Ellis heading the ball onto Raine who lifted the ball into the 6 yard box for Chloe Ryan to get across her defender and poke the ball in for 2-0.

Hebburn still posed a threat and on the half hour mark managed to break through and it took a great recovery run from Nicole Graham who managed to get back and put pressure on the striker and make the shot difficult to force a good save from Whitaker to keep the ball out. 

After 40 minutes Darlington came close again from a corner with Raine floating the ball deep and Ava Pearson coming close with a header but just narrowly wide.  After 43 minutes, Darlington got a third with an audacious effort from Raine who was far out on the left but struck a high looping shot that looked to be going over but just dropped with the keeper unable to grasp it and keep it out of the net. 

Darlington started the second half much more solid than they had in previous games maintaining discipline and dominating the possession. Darlington came close with a mazy run from Krista Williams who was consistently breaking the lines and managed to get a good shot away but it was well saved.

Soon after, it was Williams who came close again with a double effort on goal with 2 shots that were really well saved by the Hebburn keeper.  On the 78th minute, Darlington had a free kick from distance and it was a very dangerous ball put in from captain Lou Brown which the keeper couldn’t hold on to and it was forced over the line from close range by Lily Wilkinson for Darlington’s fourth goal and Wilkinson’s sixth of the season.

Darlington continued with their intensity and were rewarded when Katie Bragg persevered to win the ball back after a suspected foul on Wilkinson on the byline, the ref waved play on and Bragg won it on the goal line and manoeuvred well to pull the ball back for Nicole Graham to calmly slot the ball in for the game winning fifth goal. 

After the exciting release of the new Darlington black and gold kit, the Quaker Women put in a golden performance to take the 5-0 win with a lot of fine performances all over the pitch. 

Ava Pearson was solid at centre back, and player of the match Krista Williams was a thorn in the Hebburn side all afternoon with her mazy runs and her great control of the ball throughout. 

Darlington will look to continue this performance into their next games and look to build positive momentum to get back on track. They travel to Newton Aycliffe F.C on Sunday in the league.