Paul Hodgson has kindly agreed to let us publish his book, "When Push comes to Shove" -- here's chapter 6, covering our FA Cup ties against Manchester City, who were then in the league above us.

And here are the previous chapters: https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/when-push-comes-to-shove-chapter-5

Our first match in December was the long-awaited FA Cup second round tie at home to Manchester City.  

    On the night of the match, I met Mike and Ian in the Dalesman, and with it being a big game we were in there by half past five. The place was packed with fans from both sides, even at that early stage. Although the bar was heaving, the banter between the opposing supporters was very friendly.

    After a couple of pints, we left and headed for the Centre Spot. By the time we got there, the Sky broadcast was already underway and so we sat watching it whilst drinking our lagers.

    Extra floodlights had been erected by Sky to ensure that the illumination was sufficient for viewers to be able to see the game at home.

When Mike and I got to our place in the disabled area, we were amazed to see the pitch, which looked like a patchwork quilt. It had been crudely repaired in places and could only be described as an eyesore. Apparently, the club had bought some new turf and had replaced the worst parts of the pitch in an attempt to make it playable.  In fact, upon entering the ground, we noticed some off-cuts from this turf “carpet” which were rolled up near the cricket pitch.  Fortunately, this hasty patching process paid off – just.

    Despite the dodgy surface underfoot, the players managed to adapt quite well and we witnessed a really good performance by Darlo. We were even denied a blatant penalty when Steve Gaughan was hacked down in the box. The game ended 1-1 with veteran defender and former Manchester City player, Gary Bennett, heading our goal.

    After the match, we had a quick pint in the Centre Spot as the highlights of the game were being shown on Sky. All that the commentators went on about was the state of the pitch, saying that it was the worst they had seen in all the live games they had ever broadcast!

    On leaving the Centre Spot, Mike and I went into the town centre for a few more drinks. Our first port of call was the Nags Head, where the game had been shown on television. Everyone admitted that Darlo had played really well. I said that they should have been at the ground instead supporting the team rather than sitting in a pub watching it. All I got were blank looks.  Personally, I could never watch a Darlo game at home on the telly, but that’s me I suppose.

    By eleven o’clock I’d had enough to drink and headed home in a taxi.

Our next game was away at Oldham Athletic in the Auto Windscreens Shield. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, I couldn’t attend. However, John Gray did, and he later told me that Darlo had played really well and fully deserved their 1-0 victory, with Marco Gabbiadini scoring the all-important winning goal. Not only that, it was a so-called “golden goal” in sudden death extra time. It goes without saying that John got me a programme as well to add to my ever-expanding collection!

    I didn’t plan on going to our next game at Chester City because I was suffering with spasms and didn’t fancy making the train journey.

    However, at twelve o’clock I received a phone call from Ian offering to take me in his car.  He’d decided to go at the last minute and by half past twelve we were on our way. Although I was spasming slightly, I was comfortable in the front seat of his car.

    We didn’t have time for a stop and got to the Deva Stad-ium at a quarter to three.  The ground is in the middle of an industrial estate with no pubs in the immediate vicinity, but it didn’t matter on this occasion as we didn’t have time for a pint anyway.

    Darlo were terrible and lost 1-0.  Ian and I wondered why we had made the effort to go, especially with me not feeling well.  At one stage I was shaking so much that Ian had to feed me with my coffee.  Ian joked that Darlo never come to see me when I’m ill!

     After the game we stopped for a drink near Wetherby.  To Ian’s amazement, I ordered a coke. I just didn’t fancy any lager that day.

    Anyway, we got back to Darlington at around nine o’clock.  With me not feeling too grand, I went straight to bed, read my programme and then watched the football on the box. Incidentally, Chester was my first lager-free match for many years.

 Our next fixture was away to Manchester City in the FA Cup second round replay.

 I’d never been to Maine Road before, so I was eagerly looking forward to visiting a new stadium. Mike, by contrast, had been there on a number of occasions with his university pal Andrew Heydeman.

Mike and I travelled with Ian and Graeme by car, setting off at five o’clock.  Rather than going down the A1, Ian decided to take a different route, which involved travelling westwards towards Cumbria and then down the M62. With time being of the essence, we didn’t stop en route.

 On arrival in Manchester, we were unable to find the ground, and ended up asking directions near Oxford Road. The man who helped us was standing outside a pub and was obviously a Manchester United fan because he wished us good luck!

 We arrived just in time for the kick-off. Since Mike and I went in the disabled area, Ian and Graeme made their way towards the away end, not before arranging to meet us at the same place in the car park after the game.

Asking directions from a steward, Mike bounced me over the cobbles as we traversed the ground, only to finish where we had started. It was obvious to both of us that the disabled entrance was not as clearly marked as it is at Feethams.

By this time Mike was seething, as the game had already kicked off. The steward who had given us the faulty directions was still in the same position so Mike gave him a piece of his mind. To add insult to injury, we were then asked for our tickets. I referred the steward to a telephone conversation that I’d had with a club official who stated that we would be allowed in free of charge at the City end.        Once we managed to actually get in the ground, we found that we’d missed arguably Darlo’s best chance of the match, which fell to Glenn Naylor who had hit the crossbar and then put the rebound wide. This was after only three minutes.

What surprised me was the attendance, which was very poor, with only just over a thousand more than at Feethams. The game, however, was an evenly matched affair that went into extra time. During the first period, Danny Tiatto of Manchester City and Marco Gabbiadini were both sent off after Tiatto appeared to headbutt him and Marco was dismissed for retaliation. At around the same time manager David Hodgson was ordered to sit in the stand by the referee after he complained about the sending- off decision.

The match was settled by Hartlepool-born midfielder Michael Brown, who had previously scored his only other senior goal whilst on loan with his hometown club against Darlington in 1997.

Mike and I both thought we had played well enough to earn at least a draw and when we met up later with Ian and Graeme in the car park they were of the same opinion. We then headed straight back home, arriving some time after midnight.

Following the last home league game with Scarborough when we dispensed with tradition, Mike and I decided to return to the Dalesman before the game against Scunthorpe. After a few pints, rather than going to the Centre Spot, we decided to go upstairs in the East Stand to the Ambassador Suite.

 As we were about to enter the bar, we noticed general manager Ken Lavery chatting to a Darlo fan and still blathering on about the Cricket Club. There is normally a dress code for the Ambassador Suite, but we flouted it with impunity. I think we both could have entered stark naked and Ken still wouldn’t have been any the wiser, so engrossed was he in his conversation!

Shortly before the kick-off, we made our way to the disabled viewing platform, as mentioned previously in my account of the Cardiff game. However, reminders of the last home fixture could still be seen all around us with litter and discarded tickets strewn all over the press section, which is next to the disabled area. Mike even pointed out a label stuck to the floor on the viewing gantry for Ron Gubba, a journalist from the Daily Telegraph.

The match was an entertaining affair, probably best remembered for the fact that the floodlights failed some twenty minutes into the second half as Marco Gabbiadini was bearing down on goal and about to score. During the blackout, someone with a sense of humour decided to play the Bee Gees’ song “Tragedy” over the tannoy!

 We had to endure almost fifteen minutes intermission before an electrician managed to restore the power supply. During this break in the proceedings, we pondered on what would have happened if Marco had scored just before the lights went out – would the referee have given a goal? Also, we wondered if there was a set time limit before the referee would have to abandon the game. Fortunately, we didn’t need to find out about the second point.

 The Scunthorpe fans in the West Stand went wild with excitement at the thought of the match being abandoned because at the time they were 2-0 down. Their mood soon darkened when they saw the floodlights gradually brightening and the home fans in the Tin Shed then cheered ecstatically when they saw the lights starting to power up.

We eventually won 3-1 with goals from Gary Bennett, Johnny Leah and Glenn Naylor. This match was Leah’s first full home game after his transfer from Welsh side Newtown. From what we saw, he looked to be a pretty good signing.

For the away game against Halifax, I went with Ian and Graeme by car. We left Darlington at twelve o’clock and arrived at a quarter to two, driving directly through without a break.

The three of us went straight to the Shay pub near the ground where we were forced to drink from plastic beakers. Maybe they were expecting trouble. Graeme bought two rounds at a time to prevent him from queuing. We had to sit outside as the pub was heaving and we subsequently got wet because it was pouring with rain.

 Whilst outside the pub, we bumped into John Gray and Richard Jones. John said that he had been in Halifax since opening time and he was certainly looking the worse for wear. True to form, John insisted on staying for another pint, even though kick-off time was fast approaching. The three of us therefore decided to leave them to finish their drinks.

We got into the stadium at ten minutes to three and bought some programmes. The ground is covered on two sides with two open ends. Behind the goals there is open terracing. It’s a nice location in a natural hollow with trees growing around it.

 At the time, Halifax were promoting a campaign aimed at kicking racism out of football. As the Darlo fans entered, they were issued with white plastic capes by the ground-staff to protect them from the rain as it was absolutely chucking it down by then. Unfortunately, Ian pointed out the fact that it made us all look like a Ku Klux Khan convention! 

John didn’t appear in the ground until a quarter past three, by which time all the capes had been issued. He was none too pleased when he saw that we had been given one. “That’s what happens when you miss the kick-off Mr Gray!” I said.

Ian sat with me for the first half in the disabled enclosure then made his way to be with Graeme in the away end. David Hunt, a youth team player, made his first and only appearance for the Quakers that day as a substitute in what turned out to be a drab 0-0 draw.

 Overall, the disabled facilities at Halifax were pretty good with a decent accessible toilet. However, it was a poor disabled area if it happened to be raining. Luckily, I had a cape that day, unlike Mr Gray, who was by now soaking wet in the away end!

Our final home game of the year was the Boxing Day clash against Leyton Orient. By the time that I arrived in the Dalesman Mike, Ian, Brian Elsey, Trevor Rutter and Stephen Lowson were already there, the latter having travelled up from Cambridge. My nephew Adam was also dropped off at the pub by my sister Alison so that he could attend the match. After a few pints, we all went for another drink in the Centre Spot bar.

Whilst we were talking, Stephen expressed an interest in experiencing first hand what it was like to watch a game from the disabled area in the East Stand. So, after leaving Mike, Ian, Brian and Trevor to go to their seats, Stephen, Adam and I took the lift and grabbed a vacant spot.

At half time the three of us went for a drink in the Ambassador Suite, before returning to our space for the second half. On this occasion, however, there was no sign of Mr Lavery!

After the game, which finished a 1-1 draw, with Marco Gabbiadini netting our goal, we all met up again in the Tap and Spile, with the exception of Ian and my nephew. Whilst in the pub, Stephen said that he had enjoyed watching the game from a different vantage point. It was at this time that Mike produced a copy of the Flipper’s Side manuscript for him to read.

From there we went over the road to the Turk’s Head. Mike had to make a quick mobile phone call to change my lift bus to the new venue and it arrived promptly at half past ten.

 That night I was looking for a newspaper to check what time Match of the Day would be on. The paper was lying on the floor, so I had to bend down to retrieve it. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the brakes on and tumbled headlong out of my wheelchair.

 My upstairs neighbour, Mojy, heard the bang and came downstairs to investigate. Since he didn’t have a key, he had to ring the police who arrived within minutes and broke the pane of glass in my front door in order to gain entry.

They picked me up off the floor and sat me on my bed, still somewhat dazed and confused. Then one of them phoned a glazier who came and boarded up the door and promised to return the following day to install a new pane of glass – which he did for a fee of £100!

Luckily, all I had the next day was mild concussion and a large hole in my wallet! Nevertheless, it certainly wasn’t an ideal way to end the old year.