Internet Football Ground Guide - Fans Review Darlington

1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

As an exiled Swansea City season ticket holder at Leeds University I felt that it was my duty to make the journey up to Darlington on a Tuesday night and I was looking forward to checking out the new stadium there, as we will be moving to a similar venue next year at the White Rock.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:

The game took place on a Tuesday night in February, which coincided with the worst spell of weather that the UK had seen all year so there was a pitch inspection before the game but after we got the green light, the journey was fine. It only took an hour to get from Leeds to Darlington on the train and that was on time, though we (I managed to drag along a Derby fan and a Charlton fan from university for a real football experience) only just made it into the ground before kick off due to the long walk from the station to the ground (I would recommend allowing at least 30 minutes for this to avoid rushing especially in sub-zero temperatures with an ice-coated pavement). The ground itself was very easy to find by foot though I didn’t notice many road signs to it in the town centre.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

As we were a little pressed for time we had to walk straight into the ground and didn’t even have time to buy a programme or a pennant, as is my personal custom.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground.

The ground was very impressive especially in amongst the non-descript semi-detached suburbs of South Darlington, though it would have graced any setting. It resembled St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton and it is easily the best in the division after Hull and Huddersfield both went up last year. The ground itself is an all-seater single tiered venue with each side of the ground being identical to the opposite side so the away end predictably had great facilities. It was however on the wrong side of the ground from the station.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..

The game itself was extremely surreal as it was played with thick blizzards of snow falling in an almost deserted stadium with 2,700 people in it (10% full) as the lure of Champions League football in the warm in front of the telly proved too overpowering for most fickle fans. An impressive and eccentric 149 Swansea fans had made the 15-hour round trip and missed two days of work in the process so we had a fair sing-song to help us keep warm – “Nice ground, no fans” being popular, as did Darlington in fairness with the drum beating away behind the goal at their end but it was hard work in a stadium that size.

The game itself was a let down as both sides didn’t look as if they wanted to get stuck in and the pitch was icy so it was a bit of a lottery. Darlington scored first before we equalised soon after through Adrian Forbes but Darlo snuck it with an 86^th minute goal, which was heartbreaking for us as a draw was probably fair overall. The stewards seemed to be friendly enough though they were looking at us as if we were mad (don’t blame them!) and the food there was good – amazing vending machines too.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

There was no trouble getting away from the ground, as most Darlington fans were keen to get back home in the warm. We just strolled through their fans with the odd muppet making a comment then walked back to the station with 10 minutes in hand before the last train and got home at 12.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

I didn’t get to see much of Darlington myself though no doubt I didn’t miss that much, it was bleeding freezing but a nice ground and facilities, the Swans lost again on their travels (need the atmosphere at the Vetch) and I guess I would go back to Darlington again.

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