Exeter City 4 Darlington 2.

Saturday 2 March 2002. 

Report by Craig Stoddart 

DESPITE another defeat, nobody can accuse Darlington of throwing Saturday's game at Exeter. Quakers put in a determined display, especially in the first half, and were unfortunate not to return from the West Country with a draw. A point would have been a satisfactory reward for the die-hard Darlington fans who made the 670-mile trip, unlike George Reynolds. The chairman wasn't at St James' Park, having explained: "I won't be travelling to Exeter to watch a pile of xxxx. That's how most of Saturday's national newspapers quoted him, while, on the subject of the team he was also quoted as saying: “If these players don't like what I or my wife has said, they can **** off."

But these remarkable comments, coupled with last Thursday's incredible allegations by Susan Reynolds, have served to form a strong bond between supporters and the players, who made their appreciation for the fans clear by applauding them before and after the match. Unfortunately for Darlington, they tasted defeat for the 12th time on their travels this season, which is scant reward for the supporters who've followed the Quakers up and down the country since August, not that Reynolds seems to care much for their support. At the now infamous fans' forum, one supporter told Reynolds how he attends 80 per cent of away games, spending around £50 on each jaunt. But instead of thanking this loyal fan for his time and commitment, the chairman merely responded by saying his £50 was of little relevance to the Quakers because most of it won't reach Darlington's bank balance. Reynolds' comments merely spurred fans into action as around 100 made the trip to Exeter, but on the return journey they had yet another loss to mull over. The Grecians' two-goal advantage was very harsh on Quakers as Tommy Taylor's team were the better side -until Neil Maddison opened the scoring. Taylor was disappointed his side could not maintain the momentum which saw them get the game off to a good start. He said: "Every time they scored we gave the ball away. It's criminal that we could have the ball at our feet, lose it and they broke away and scored. "I'm disappointed that, after everything was going well, we conceded a very sloppy goal just at the end of the first half."

Maddison, playing as a centre-forward, was part of a makeshift forward line which also featured Ian Clark. But he was a pivotal figure in the first-half as Quakers played some good football, but they faded in the second 45 minutes.

Taylor explained: "Madds wasn't in the game in the second half. In the first half everything went through him and everything was going nicely. "But in the second half he was chasing the ball because we weren't passing it very well. "There were one or two performances in the first half I was pleased with but I'm not happy with the goals we conceded. The way we let in goals was soul-de- stroying, especially after the way we played in the first half." Susan Reynolds revealed on Thursday she'd have preferred a move to Monte Carlo than to have seen her husband buy Darlington. So perhaps she should have joined the 18 fans on the official supporters' coach for the trip to Exeter, because the first half was played in bright sunshine more akin to her desired home. Had she paid the £23.50 to travel on the bus, she would no doubt have celebrated Maddison's first goal for his home-town club with the same relief the former Middlesbrough player must have felt after 27 games in a black and white shirt. Not only was his personal wait over, but Darlington were just as relieved to have finally scored, having bossed the first 33 minutes without earning reward for their attacking play, which put Exeter in the shade. But this goal spurred the hosts into action and nine minutes later they equalised when Andy Roscoe sprinted through the Darlington back-line to latch on to a clever pass over the top before scoring with an expertly executed lob. Christian Roberts, a target of Taylor's five months ago, put the hosts in the lead when he dribbled down the right, and with the Darlington defence backtracking he unleashed a tremendous right-foot shot from 18 yards into the top corner, giving Keith Finch no chance.

Exeter added a third just before the hour as a cross from the right found Roscoe, who doubled his tally as he drifted into the left- side of the area unnoticed and accepted all the time and space pre- sented to him before scoring from close-range. The best move of the game cre- ated Darlington's second goal as Mark Convery made a forward pass from the halfway line to Mark Ford. Ford laid the ball off to Neil Wainwright on the left and from 12 yards the former Sunderland winger finished coolly. But Quakers never looked like recreating the passing and move- ment they demonstrated in the first half and with 15 minutes left Roberts completed the scoring. A mistake by Ford in the centre circle presented the striker with possession and after racing towards goal unchallenged he made no mistake. As they sat glued to Teletext for the latest Third Division scores, George and Susan must have felt devastated, but although their favourite side lost again, at least Darlington weren't a pile of *****.

Goals:

Goals:
Maddison (33mins, 0-1)
Roscoe (42, 1-1),
Roberts (50, 2-1),
Roscoe (57, 3-1)
Wainwright 62, 3-2),
Roberts (74, 4-2)

Bookings: Whitworth, Ampadu (fouls)

Referee: Rob Harris (Oxford) 

EXETER (4-4-2):
van Heusden 7; McConnell 7, Curran 6, Whitworth 7, Power 6; Breslan 8 (Buckle 80), Ampadu 7, Cronin 6, Roscoe 8; ROBERTS 9 (Tomlinson 85), McCarthy 6 (Read 68, 6).
Subs not used: Fraser, Barlow.

DARLINGTON (4-4-2)
Finch: Not at fault for any of the goals 6
Harper: Allowed Roscoe time to notch third goal 6
Brightwell: Sometimes struggled with Roberts' pace 6
McGurk Made vital tackles 8
Heckingbottom: Proved he'll be a loss if he decides to leave 7
Campbell: Injured after just nine minutes (Convery, 9mins: Lively all game and unfortunate to be substituted 7) (Hodgson, 81)
Ford: Lost possession for Exeter's fourth 6
Atkinson At the beginning of plenty of Darlington attacks 6
Wainwright: His goal finished off a good move but could've scored two more 8
Maddison: Not in his usual role but did well in the first-half 7 (Sheeran, 81)
Clark: Involved in a lot of the attacking build-ups 7

Subs (not used): Brumwell, Rundle.

Attendance 3117 with 86 away fans.