Match Report

Darwen hosted NWCFL Premier Division side Cheadle Town for their first pre-season fixture this summer where they held the visitors to a 1-1 draw, thanks to a second half goal from new signing Ryan Talbot.

The Salmoners lined up with a similar outfit to what was seen last season, with the addition of the former Atherton LR striker on the bench.

Defender Pawel Zuk’s retention was confirmed not long before kick-off on Wednesday evening, the right-back’s contract news adding to the other 17 player retentions for Darwen’s 2025/26 campaign.

Despite spirits running high within the club after the form showed so far under Leighton Mills, it was a sloppy start to the friendly.

The controlled style of play that brought Darwen their dominance in games last season was missing early on, making it a nervy start for the hosts through a number of mistakes at the back.

Louis Hood produced two fantastic saves to keep Cheadle Town out in the opening 15 minutes, stopping a close range effort from Saul Henderson and a one-on-one from Izac Khan.

The rust was soon shaken off at the Anchor Ground, with the home side showing confidence with the ball against a higher division opponent.

Connor Hughes came closest to an opener on the half-hour mark after teammates Jack Foster and Yacin Amarzou worked an opening for the forward, but Hughes saw his shot blocked inside the box.

Manager Leighton Mills saw a big improvement in his side over the course of the half, despite minimal goalscoring opportunities.

Last year’s ‘Players’ Player of the Season’ Bruno De Almeida Severino managed the first shot on target late in the first half, with Pawel Zuk and Amarzou again involved in the build-up, but the finish proved little trouble for the Cheadle Town keeper, ending the half at 0-0.

Nathan Bond’s struggles at centre-half on the night were intensified early on in the second period, as he was forced off due to injury just four minutes after the restart.

Bradley Sixsmith came into the defence to replace him, before a four-man substitution was made on the 54th minute.

New striker Ryan Talbot came into the action and nearly got his Darwen career off to a flyer.

Severino and fellow substitute Akim Samms combined to work the ball into Talbot, but the frontman scuffed his shot wide of the left post.

Cheadle’s new winger Sheriff N’Jie caused trouble for Darwen once again, as he did for Droylsden last season, eventually getting the assist for his team’s opener 66 minutes in.

N’Jie took the ball over Sixsmith before finding Vlad Shtyhlian, who slotted the ball past James Aspinall.

It was far from an ideal start for Aspinall, conceding less than two minutes into his return between the sticks, after a long-term injury last season kept him out of selection.

However, less than 10 minutes later Darwen pulled level through their new signing.

Akim Samms dummied Zuk’s ball down the right wing, allowing Jefferson Goncalves De Abreu to run free and find Ryan Talbot with a first time cross.

The debutant took the chance well for his first goal at the club and earned The Salmoners a hard-fought draw, to mark the start of a tough set of pre-season fixtures.

Abduallah Zaffar, De Abreu and Samms continued to impress late on as Darwen made life difficult for the visitors to see out the draw, ending the game in a confident mood to take into game two against Irlam on July 5.

The whole squad, apart from an absent Nathan Emery, registered minutes in the first game of pre-season, as Leighton Mills looked to push on with last season’s momentum within the squad.

Darwen face four more friendly matches before the Division One North season begins on Saturday July 26, with fixtures yet to be announced.