Darlington Reserves 0 Hartlepool 1

The reserves gave a debut to Gibraltar Under 23 international Richard Parral when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Hartlepool in the Wearside League on Saturday.

Richard, 18, is at University with team mates Joe Forbes and Matty Bancroft, and is a centre midfielder or defender. He has made four appearances for his country’s Under 19 side, and two appearances for his country’s Under 17. He made his debut after the club secured international clearance for him.

Unfortunately, he finished on the losing side against Pools.

Joint manager Mark Fanning said; “We gave away a soft goal for their winner, but we shouldn’t have been in that position because we didn’t take our chances.

“We huffed and puffed a bit, because we played into their hands, we played too many high balls towards their tall centre halves.”

Keeper Joe Forbes prevented a 2-0 defeat, stopping a penalty in the second half.

The lads have a free Saturday before their next game at South Shields Reserves on February 24^th.