Match Report

Darwen travelled to Droylsden on the third and final day of the NWCFL Groundhop 2025, where they suffered a frustrating 3-2 loss.

The Salmoners came into the weekend sixth in the league, after Connor Hughes’ late penalty earned them all three points last time out at Thornton Cleveleys, with hosts Droylsden in third and in the hunt for automatic promotion.

Darwen came out swinging in Manchester, opening the scoring inside four minutes through captain and February’s player of the month Christopher Bailey.

Charlie Lloyd got his head to Connor Hughes’ inswinging corner, before the ball sprung off Bailey into the back of the net for an early lead.

Leighton Mills’ side looked to make the home side’s lives a living hell in the opening 10 minutes.

Droylsden couldn’t keep hold of the ball anywhere on the pitch with Darwen’s high intensity pressing on both wings, Bruno De Almeida Severino and Nario Baptista forcing the ball off their opposing full-backs a number of times.

Hughes nearly doubled the lead after just six minutes, forcing a save above the keeper’s head after Severino tapped the ball off to him from a free-kick.

Despite this the lead didn’t last long.

After a good period of passing from the hosts, Fuad Kasali found himself with room to shoot inside the box, firing a powerful effort under the gloves of Louis Hood.

With the equaliser not stopping Darwen in their tracks, the visitors continued to control the game, with new signing Joshua Abbott showcasing his on-the-ball ability for first time in his new colours.

27 minutes in Droylsden took the lead for the first time.

In their only venture forward since just after they equalised, George Kattah found himself bursting past Charlie Lloyd, following a hopeful long ball.

His initial shot was parried by Hood, unfortunately straight back into the path of Kattah, the striker rolling the ball into an empty net for 2-1.

Going behind looked to have shaken Darwen for the first time on the day, with two loose balls rewarding Kasali and Nellson Van with chances to stretch the hosts’ advantage in the three minutes following the goal.

The two players were involved again on the 40th minute, Van finding Kasali in behind who found the net with plenty of space to shoot, but the flag went up on the far side quickly following the finish.

Droylsden took their narrow lead into half-time, but again it was Mills’ players who emerged the strongest.

Bruno Severino gambled on a 50-50 with the Droylsden keeper, with the ball mid-air, somehow hooking the ball over Jordan Latham’s head and into an empty net in an incredible acrobatic effort.

However, similar to the first half Darwen’s joy was short-lived.

Five minutes on Harry Forshaw broke through the middle of the pitch following an alleged handball, finding Nellson Van alone in the Salmoners’ box, before the number 10 let fly with a brilliant effort into the roof of the net, restoring Droylsden’s lead.

Appeals to the referee for the use of an arm were waved away immediately, before the game turned into an end-to-end affair.

Mohamed Wassa and Connor Hughes linked up straight from the kick-off, but Hughes’ cross couldn’t quite find Jack Foster in the box.

Kattah missed a golden opportunity one-on-one with Louis Hood 63 minutes in, choosing not to square it to his teammate open to his left, slotting the ball wide of the left post.

Darwen were in argument with the referee again just a minute after being let of the hook, with Jack Foster’s goal direct from a corner being ruled out for a foul on the keeper.

We were told after the game that the referee saw a hand on the neck of the keeper, with footage of the goal suggesting otherwise.

Similar to the reverse fixture, Darwen struggled for clear-cut chances in the final 25 minutes, with Nathan Emery’s audacious halfway line attempt hitting the crossbar being the closest they came to a third goal.

Akim Samms inspired a burst of energy in his side’s attacking play, after coming on with other new signing Abdullah Zaffar with 20 minutes remaining, but he couldn’t help force anything infront of Latham’s goal.

Louis Hood kept the deficit to one with 10 minutes to go in the game, pulling off an incredible double save from close range.

The loss was only Darwen’s third in their last 14 games, but leaves the Salmoners now seven points off the last promotion spot, with fewer games left to play this season.