A trip to the North East awaits this Saturday in the FA Trophy, with The Shakers visiting National League North side Darlington FC on the back of successive 1-0 league victories.
Tuesday night saw Rustam Stepans cook up something special late on against league leaders Cleethorpes Town at Salford Van Hire Stadium, rounding off a week that saw The Shakers pick up 7 points from three games, climbing back into the Playoff places with games in hand.
Now, we turn our attention to the FA Trophy Second Round Proper, where a much-changed side saw off Northern Premier League West high-flyers Prescot Cables 3-0 in the last round to progress.
Our opposition sit 22nd in the National League North, four points from safety, after holding an impressive Oxford City side to a draw in their last outing. Darlington FC recently parted ways with long-serving manager Steve Watson, with former Bradford Park Avenue manager Craig Elliott expected to be in the dugout on Saturday.
In Opposition – Darlington
Founded in 1883, Darlington FC began life in the Durham Challenge Cup and became founding members of the Northern League in 1899.
No strangers to FA Cup success, Darlington have reached the last 16 on two occasions, 1910-11 and 1957-58, the latter of which they beat Chelsea after surrendering a three-goal lead in the first leg.
Darlington also beat Carlisle 3-1 in the first-ever floodlit FA cup match in 1955, as well as being the first team to lose an FA Cup tie and still progress in 1999-2000, with Manchester United’s involvement in the FIFA Club World Championship meaning they did not progress.
After relegations, administration, points deductions and expulsion from the football league in the last 20 years, Darlington FC is now 100% and fan owned, reverting back to their original name in the 2017-18 season.
Admission & Tickets
The supporters coach for this game is SOLD OUT.
Tickets remain on sale, Bury supporters should buy their tickets here.
Travel & Parking
Address: Blackwell Meadows, Darlington, DL1 5NR
Parking: There is limited parking at the ground on matchdays. Visitors parking in the areas around the ground are asked to be considerate to our neighbours and park legally and considerately.
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make the game, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
Live Stream: For this game, we will have no live stream. Keep up-to-date with all our video content via the club’s YouTube Channel. Click to subscribe and never miss highlights and match reaction across the season.
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and half time and full time updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
Up the Shakers!