International Stadium Tuesday, March 8th, 2011   Conference Attendance: 1,204         Gateshead 2-2 Darlington
2010 /11

Comments :

I went to this match with Oli, Simon Matt & a few others. Met with Oli in Sunderland, and took the Metro to the Gateshead Stadium’s Metro station. We went for a few drinks at Simon's flat before going to the ground, as sadly there is no bar at the International Stadium for away fans. Entry was only £13 to an all-seater stand, though the stewards didn't mind standing and a good number of fans, including ourselves, took advantage of this. After heading through the turnstiles I picked up a program and stood at the back of the stand in a concourse-like area while Oli got some food, which he reported was cheap but pleasant. Sight lines were good, with no support pillars in the way, though the stand is set some way back from the pitch, with a running track & long jump pit between us and the pitch. The running track was the setting for Ian Miller's celebration for the first goal, where he ran over to the track, got down into the starters blocks, and jogged up the track, followed by his jubilant team-mates. A second goal soon followed, seeing Darlo take a 2-0 lead into the break. I was tempted to get a hot drink at half time, as it was a rather cold evening, but with only one concessions stand for over 500 fans the queue was a bit too long for my patience. Toilets were clean and modern, and located at the rear of the stand. The atmosphere was fantastic, with all of the away fans in the same stand to magnify the sound, compared to the Arena where the fans are much more spread out. There wasn't much singing from the home fans until their first goal, a penalty in the 71st minute. I'll admit I was some distance from the foul that led to the spot-kick, but it looked to me as though it occurred outside of the box. After that, the Quakers seemed much nervier, and given our track record for late goals it came as little surprise when Gateshead equalised late in stoppage time. Still, with Kidderminster also drawing at home to the now league leaders Crawley Town we remained 8 points from the prized 5th spot having played three games less. All in all, the game served as an interesting curtain raiser for the upcoming FA Trophy ties against Gateshead, and left Darlington still within reach of the play-offs. It was also a good experience, and after many years of urging I finally persuaded Oli to come to a Darlington game. Hopefully he enjoyed the experience enought that he’ll want to repeat it in the future.