Darlington midfielder Tom Portas came through his comeback game against Seaham Red Star without any reaction to his injury tonight.

Tom, who has been out of action for over nine months, played for an hour of the reserves 4-2 defeat at Northern League Seaham Red Star.

"The game went well for me," he said. "It was nice to get back on the pitch. Playing again has been a long time coming, and there were times earlier in the year when I wondered if I would ever play again and it crossed my mind about packing in.

"But with everyone's encouragement, I kept battling away, and tonight has gone well, I haven't felt any after effects. I've looked after myself as well, and running round didn't bother me.

"It was a bit physical at times, and maybe I held back in tackles once or twice until I was more confident.

"I'm looking forward to the next game and then force myself into contention for a place when the league starts."

Joint reserve team manager Mark Fanning said; "It was good to get Tom back on the pitch and play 60 minutes. He'll push on now.

"He and several first team players all got some good minutes into them, and it was a good exercise for our young lads to see how those players cope against playing a good Northern League team like Seaham."

The reserves next game is at Guisborough Town on Saturday, and then they are at Shildon Railway on Tuesday in their last friendly.

Quakers' full first team are in action at Gateshead on Wednesday night, kick off 7.30pm.