DAFTS on tour: Darlo on the attack against Waterford
Pics: Ted Blair

Friday 27th July - Waterford

After spending a couple of days in Dublin acclimatising to the Irish pace of life, the Tame Rotherham Fan (TRF) and I made our way to Waterford by train - a very pleasant journey through the Irish countryside, past the famous Curragh, a quick dog-leg into Kilkenny and then onto a beautifully sunny Waterford.

After a quick visit to dump our gear at the B&B, we met up for a few beers with those DAFTS who had arrived earlier - Brian Furness and Gavin Ellis, both veterans of the early Irish tours, and their mate Geoff. However, still no sign of Mr DAFTSness himself, Neil Johnson, who was flying into Ireland that day.

The game was not to be played at Waterford United's home ground - in an attempt to widen their fan base they had decided to move the game 30 miles up the road to Dungarvan where hurling and Gaelic football are very popular. Kilrush Park is normally home to Dungarvan Town FC and so it was we all trooped to get the No.40 bus for a 50-minute bus journey through some more beautiful countryside.

There were posters in Dungarvan advertising the game but no directions to the ground. We headed to the Tourist Information office for our first lesson in Irish directions - take the last left but one at the brick roundabout - and headed off into wide blue yonder not having the greatest faith in the directions we'd been given.
Fortunately we came across one of the Waterford United players on his way to the ground and he confirmed directions, allowing us to take a short diversion to the nearest pub.

After this liquid interlude, we finally arrived at the ground - entrance £4 - and saw the team warming up onto what could be described as a very agricultural pitch complete with some of the most scenic backdrops I've ever watched football at.

The clubhouse was open and it was in here that we met Paul Hodgson and his two helpers who had based themselves in Waterford. One other Darlo fan, Neil from Dinsdale, had friends in the area and so had jetted over for the weekend.

Neil finally turned up a little before kick-off and had been indulging in a few ciders in an effort to catch up with the rest of us - quite easy for him, really.

Waterford United 1-2 Darlington
Att: 200 plus the odd dog. Darlo fans: 11

Waterford City had beaten Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in a previous friendly. The crowd included President of the FAI (Irish Football League), Milo Corcoran. There was a minute's silence before kick-off for the mother of Paul Scully, one of the Waterford players, who had died a day or so earlier.

The pitch undulated alarmingly in places and it certainly did not suit the 'finer' skills of the Darlo side. The team included Blyth trialist, striker Glen Robson, as well as an Irish trialist, Alan Martin, of whom we know little. Waterford United were a young side but were clearly 'up for it' as they had a storming first-half - lots of pressure on the Darlo side who looked ill at ease with the pitch and, at times, with themselves. Moves broke down far too easily, especially thanks to Clint Marcelle who frequently miscontrolled or produced poor passes ("Shite" to quote Benno after one such incident).

So it was quite a surprise when the Trinidad & Tobagan international put us 1-0 up after 35 mins. The diminutive striker, playing against a huge central defender, made his only decent run at goal, crossed to Robson who headed goalwards. The ball looked to be going in but Marcelle was following up and made sure from a yard or so out. Waterford almost levelled immediately - not the last time Darlo relax after going a goal up - and then Convery came on for Paul Heckingbottom who suffered a recurrence of the groin strain that kept him out for most of last season. Waterford went close a few times before half time but Darlo held out but only just.

Our vantage point meant we were treated to the sight of Collett receiving a half-time massage on his strained back from the physio (pictured left). "You want to see the extras he does!" quips Collett.

From the restart, Waterford continued to press strongly for an equaliser and it finally came after 58 minutes - a good header from just inside the box, which beat Keith Finch at the post - well deserved on the balance of play.

This stirred Darlington into some action but it wasn't until the 73rd minute that we made the pressure tell after Danny Mellanby scored his second goal in two games - I was talking to Campbell when Mellanby scored so can't say what it was like but what the hell, we were in front again. Adam Marsh could have extended our lead a few minutes from time after he beat two defenders then narrowly shot wide. Mark Ford ballooned a shot over in the final seconds. A far from convincing win over a hard working Waterford side but I suppose the team were still getting their land legs after the journey over. A shame about Hecky though - we're unlikely to see him play in any further games on this tour. Gary Bennett was very animated in this game, constantly shouting at his players - "Squeeze them up" being the phrase of the day. Let's hope things improve...

Darlington: Finch, Heckingbottom (Convery, 40), Liddle (Martin), Brightwell, Jeannin, Pearson (Maddison, 60), Ford, Campbell (Atkinson, 60) Marcelle (Mellanby, 58), Hodgson, Harper, Robson (Marsh, 58), Betts. Subs listed where known.

Once the game was finished we took a few commemorative photos and made our farewells to the local fans before getting a mini-bus back to the bus stop, fortuitously next to a pub. Here we reflected on a rare away win whilst a report of our triumph was phoned in to the Echo.

Catching the last bus to Waterford, Neil was now starting to show the after affects of drinking too much in too short a space of time. Ever the pro, Neil managed to persuade the Gang of Three (Brian, Gavin and Geoff) for a final pint in Waterford (TRF and I having declined their offer) before divesting himself of his day's drinking in the time-honoured fashion. Just a typical away day...

Saturday 28th July - the morning after

Flushed after the previous night's victory, the DAFTS contingent spent our rest day in Waterford in various ways - TRF and I adopted tourist mode, going round the town before a pleasant cruise up the river Sire (where we met some Bray Wanderers' fans), Neil slept off his hangover before going in pursuit of some local 'craic' (the locals never knew what hit them) and the GoT tootled off to Tramore and a play on the dodgems.

DAFTS line-up: All together for the group photo (right)
Pics: Ted Blair

We reconvened for evening drinks at Egans - in varying stages of soberness give that the GoT seemed to have spent the whole day drinking except for some time spent on fairground rides- and returned to our usual topic of conversations - were the side any better than last year, how long would Gary Bennett last the season and when would Uncle George spend some money on some players instead of the stadium?

Sunday 29th July - Dublin

An early rise at the B&B - we forgo the large cooked breakfast after having consumed a wonderful meal at the Wine Vaults the previous evening. TRF and I prefer to let the train take the strain back to Dublin whilst the rest take the No.4 bus in the same general direction.

After arriving at Heuston station, we waited for a taxi and were amazed to see hordes of cars go past with green and white banners draped from every window and aerial. It turns out that two hurling quarterfinals were being played that day and this was the Limerick contingent arriving from the west.

Just as well our match there had been postponed since the town would surely have been empty. Having dumped our bags at our original B&B, just south of St Stephens Green, we all met up in Messrs Maguire - another of Dublin's brewpubs, close to O'Connell Bridge (and round the corner from the MUFC shop) and was filled with a mixture of hurling fans, Wycombe fans (playing Bohemians later that day, and who greeted TRF with a cry of "Rotherham! You smashed our toilets up!") and lunchtime drinkers enjoying the sight of Michael Schumacher having to drop out of the German Grand Prix, not once but twice!

After a restorative roast lunch and a few homebrews, we walked over O'Connell Bridge and picked up a taxi offering rather vague instructions to take us to Oscar Traynor Road. Once again our opponents, Dublin City this time, had decided not to use their usual Home Farm stadium but use a training pitch elsewhere. This was a late change to the tour - the game at Limerick being cancelled apparently because they were having trouble getting a referee.

Dublin City 1-1 Darlington
Att: 100. Darlo fans: 9. Stray Wycombe fans: 1.

This match was played at the Amateur Football League complex (their usual Home Farm ground being out of action) which took quite a bit of tracking down and included a pitch and putt course.

Whilst the Gang Of Three had gone ahead to reccy the venue, the TRF and I accompanied Neil to find his B&B then onto the ground. Not so simple once you've hired Dublin's worst taxi-driver. He took us to the wrong street for Neil's B&B then proceeded to take us where he thought the ground was. Seventeen punts later, and after Neil had taken over map-reading duties (the taxi driver not having his reading glasses!), we finally joined the GoT at the Amateur League Ground, next to a pitch and putt course.

We found most of the Dublin City team lounging on the pitch - more or less surrounded by a housing estate - and soon started chatting to their latest signing, the affable Graham Doyle, who had spent the previous season playing for Bohemians, including their brief foray into Europe.

Paul Hodgson and his trusty helpers arrived followed shortly after by the team in the GRUK Darlo coach (pictured left) which had brought them over (amphibious?). The players trooped out and wandered over the pitch, inspecting it as keenly as FA Cup finalists at Wembley. Clint Marcelle showed total respect for the ground and had a quick jimmy against the pitch wall - classy eh?

After paying £4 for entry, the club opened their bar for us and so we settled onto the 'verandah' to get a directors' view of the pitch whilst the two teams warmed up - not really necessary for most of us on what was another hot and sunny day. Shortly before kick-off, the TRF and I took our places near the dugouts, ready to check the teams for the reports we'd later phone into the Echo and Journal.

Dublin City had lost 2-0 to Coventry in a previous friendly and lost 6-1 to Leeds after we'd played them. Local boy Barry Conlon made his first appearance of the tour and failed to impress - Darlo were very unimaginative and insisted on lofting balls to Conlon who spent most of the first-half offside against a well organised defence (including our new chum Graham Doyle who would be a good replacement for Brightwell should we ever see sense and look for one).

When Big Bazza finally found himself on-side, he proceeded to shot wide. Harper chipped the keeper nicely but the attempt went narrowly wide. At the other end, Collett also made his first appearance of the tour and was kept busy by a bright Dublin City attack that went close on a number of occasions, aided by some comedy defending from Darlo.

The pressure paid off for the local side when they took the lead after just 21 minutes - a shot hit the Darlo cross-bar and as Collett scrambled to collect the ball, ex-Millwall player Brendan Markey volleyed in the rebound. Darlo continue to hoof balls towards Conlon despite the pleas of Gary Bennett for them to "Keep it down". Benno again was animated on the sidelines - mainly showing signs of frustration as his team fail to get the basics right. Neil Maddison replaces Atko at half-time and after a further ten minutes goalless play there is another flurry of substitutions.

Darlo now start to play the ball on the floor and we manage to keep possession a lot more cleanly than we had in the first half. We make some progress down the wings and make a few decent attempts on goal but the Dublin defence manages to keep us out - both Marsh and Robson going close and an obvious hand-ball by a Dublin City defender ignored by the referee.

The Darlo pressure finally pays off in the 70th minute - Convery takes a freekick on the edge of the box after another foul on Hodgson and Adam Marsh heads in over the keeper (pictured left). A few minutes later Darlo almost take the lead but the ball is headed off the Dublin City line and Simon Betts only just fails to push the ball over the line. Play ebbs and flows as the game peters out for a draw though Darlo have the best of the final chances as the amateur side visibly tire but still hold tight.

Darlington: Collett, Ford, Harper (Jeannin, 54), Liddle, Brightwell (Robson, 54) Campbell (Hodgson, 51), Convery, Atkinson (Maddison, 45), Conlon (Betts, 54), Mellanby (Marsh, 54), Pearson.

We also had a brief chat with a Leeds scout who was at the game. Not looking at our players though - Leeds were due to play Dublin City the following week which, given the number of Leeds shirts we had seen in Ireland, would be a very well attended game. After the game was over, we chatted with the locals and thanked them for their hospitality - including a pan of mussel juice for Mr Johnson (pictured above). We noticed that as the players trooped back onto the coach, Barry Conlon had met up with some relatives and was leaving with them instead - and who can blame him? To celebrate the unbeaten run, we all taxi-ed into Dublin for yet another visit to the Porterhouse - tour HQ for TRF and myself.

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