Darlington Vs AFC Telford

The Bucks travel to County Durham this weekend to take on Darlington in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round.

Kevin Wilkin’s men came away from Blackwell Meadows with a point after coming from 2-0 down to earn a draw on August bank holiday Monday. It was very much a game of two halves; the Quakers finishing the first half well on top, but the Bucks battled back to after the break and earned a share of the spoils thanks to Dylan Allen-Hadley’s 96th minute equaliser.

The Quakers finished eight points outside of the playoff places in 11th place last season. But while Darlo have tended to finish in and around that spot, last season marked their highest points total since they finished 5th in the 2016/17 season. Currently 18th on 10 points, Darlington made a very inconsistent start to the season, but then went six unbeaten before last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Buxton.

The man in charge at Blackwell Meadows is former Gateshead and Chester boss, Steve Watson, who was appointed in December 2023. Watson has kept much of his squad the same but has strengthened with a number of youthful arrivals. Of the Quakers’ 10 summer signings, seven are aged 22 or under. In fact, the only arrival aged over 25 was keeper Peter Jameson, who signed for Gateshead in the summer as a player coach but returned to Darlo on a season-long loan. Another loanee, Charlie Lennon, has impressed since arriving from Middlesbrough at the very end of August.

Watson’s side beat Bootle and Fylde to progress to this stage, but despite their overall uptick in form, Darlo have still been struggling on home soil. The replay win over the Coasters was their first win at Blackwell Meadows this season, having lost two and drawn three in front of their own fans. Telford have a decent enough overall record against Darlington too, although the Bucks haven’t won on any of their last four visits to Blackwell Meadows.

Having already seen off Kidderminster, the Bucks made it into the fourth qualifying round for the first time in eight years after beating Evesham 4-1 in the last round. Darlington have also endured a sizable wait, reaching this stage of the competition for the first time in 5 years. The Quakers made it to the second round that year, winning 2-1 at Swindon before eventually succumbing 6-0 to Bristol Rovers.

The Bucks have made it to the first round five times since reforming as AFC Telford. Kevin Wilkin’s men will, of course, be looking to make that six and for the first time since the 2017-18 season.