Match Report

Darwen hosted North West Counties newcomers MSB Woolton where they picked up all three points in a 2-1 win, through goals from Ryan Talbot and Connor Hughes.

The Salmoners hosted again on match day two, hoping to get their first win of the season after a goalless draw against Thornton Cleveleys stunted their start to the campaign the week before.

The opening period saw a lot of stop-and-start action, with three Darwen attacks ended by offside calls in the first eight minutes.

Connor Hughes looked to be through on goal 15 minutes in, before being pulled back by Jon Liddle, the defender escaping with just a yellow card for his cynical foul.

Pawel Zuk featured down the right hand side constantly on the day, his first cross after combining with Charlie Lloyd found Hughes for a header that just missed over the crossbar.

Joshua Abbott saw a lot of his involvement go amiss early in the game, however, it was the midfielder who supplied Darwen’s opener after 25 minutes.

Nathan Bond brought the ball under control on the left wing, before Abbott delivered an excellent left-footed cross to Ryan Talbot from a difficult angle, whose header found the back of the net for his first competitive goal for the club.

The striker added to his three goals in pre-season to continue his remarkable start in red and white.

Darwen pushed for a second straight away, turning the ball from back to front in rapid fashion only two minutes after taking the lead, before the counter-attack broke down for a corner.

Bruno Severino’s first major involvement came in his own box on the half hour mark, backtracking to make a brilliantly timed slide tackle to prevent Joe Tummino from turning a chance into an equaliser.

MSB Woolton’s best opportunities of the half came on the counter as they tried to dig themselves out of the constant pressure on their NWCFL debut.

Reece Clarke and Tummino combined late in the half with a cross into the box finding the number six, but Louis Hood collected the tame header to end the half ahead.

Despite dominating the run of play for the first 45 minutes, Darwen struggled to build on their lead after the break.

Joshua Abbott went down off the ball after just 10 more minutes of action, forcing him to be replaced by Jack Foster.

Daniel Ventre missed a chance to draw the visitors level, with Lucas Wilson’s through ball narrowly avoiding the forward’s outstretched leg.

Jack Wright and Ryan Talbot both had great chances fall short as the hosts chased a second goal, adding to the frustrations at 1-0.

Severino and Zuk were at the heart of Darwen’s play, with passes and crosses repeatedly placed into dangerous areas with no one able to convert.

Joe Harvey saw his header quite incredibly kept out by Louis Hood to maintain Darwen’s lead after 67 minutes, not long before his side were eventually punished for their missed chances.

Matthew Robinson intercepted Nario Baptista’s misplaced pass before continuing his run into the Darwen half and eventually being found in behind by Wilson.

The substitute calmly found the net for the equaliser and took full advantage of the mistake with 20 minutes to go.

Baptista looked to avenge his own error as his side continued to chase a second goal, this time to retake the lead, the full-back failing to score from two chances from inside the 18-yard box.

Akim Samms missed a golden opportunity from close range after his touch let him down in front of goal, with Hughes’ header back across goal to set up the striker ending in the goalkeeper’s arms.

With only three minutes left on the clock Darwen got their goal through their captain in dramatic fashion.

Mohamed Wassa played a fantastic pass over to Connor Hughes, narrowly beating the offside trap, before the forward composed himself in the one-on-one to slide the ball into the bottom right corner and win the game.

Manager Leighton Mills and his players wheeled away in celebration as MSB Woolton’s players protested the goal, with Hughes eventually limping back to the halfway line.

Seven additional minutes saw even more action unfold, with Hood and Wright both making goal-saving stops late on.

Samms missed another big opportunity to grab a goal in the last minute of the game, before joining Hughes and Abbott to be the third Darwen player to go down with an injury.

The Salmoners’ dramatics gave them their first win of the season and made it four points out of six to start the 2025/26 campaign.

Speaking after the game, Leighton Mills gave his thoughts on the performance.

“I’m just happy we’ve got the first three points on the board I’ll be honest.” Mills said.

“We were going to kill the game, then a mistake, a sloppy pass, and they’ve gone through and finished well.

“But then I’m really pleased because we showed big character, togetherness, in the last 15.

“The last one has fell to your best goal scorer in the league and you know its 2-1 as he goes through.”

Mills also spoke about the difficulty his side will face this season.

“Teams are coming here and their sitting in and making it hard work.” he said.

“We’re dealing with it, there’s nothing untoward on our side.”

The gaffer also dismissed any major worries surrounding injuries to Abbott, Hughes and Samms in the second half.