Match Report

Darwen interim manager Ben Langford says “we’re not worried about any team” after an emphatic 6-2 win away at Armthorpe Welfare.

A Kit Lloyd hat-trick as well as goals from Pawel Zuk, Gary Basterfield and captain Charlie Lloyd made for fantastic viewing as The Salmoners progressed through the qualifying stage to the first round of the FA Vase.

The visitors’ energetic start to the afternoon was rewarded after only six minutes, as Bruno Severino snook a pass to Zuk in behind before the right-back rocketed an effort into the roof of the net, making it two spectacular goals in two games for the Pole.

A barrage of pressure kept Armthorpe out of the game for the majority of the opening 20 minutes, despite Cole Patrick finding the back of the net from an offside position.

Against the run of play the hosts found an equaliser 26 minutes in, after Mitch Pattinson got on the end of a deep free-kick to volley home.

The game had settled into a more even pace with both sides having half-chances turned away, but it was the North East Counties side that took the lead twelve minutes on from their first goal.

Louis Hood rushed out to stop a long ball from being capitalised on, but at full stetch caught the Armthorpe attacker to concede a penalty.

Midfielder Thomas Joynt converted from the spot to give his side the lead for the first time in the game, before the chaos was cranked up even further.

Within 30 seconds of the restart Kit Lloyd found himself running free in the 18-yard box, nodding the ball through to himself before delivering a delicate chip on the half-volley to draw Darwen level again.

Only two minutes later The Salmoners had the lead again, through a second Kit Lloyd stunner.

Mohamed Wassa played the midfielder into space behind the Armthorpe defence, with Lloyd slowing the ball down before dispatching a strike into the top right corner.

Nathan Bond and Bradley Sixsmith came close to extending the lead before the break, with the away side rounding off a dramatic half with an excellent period of football on a difficult playing surface.

The second half marked Gary Basterfield’s return to red and white, as he replaced Bond during the break after signing in midweek.

Wassa forced Ralphy Smethurst into a good save, keeping the home team in reach of another comeback, but it wasn’t long before the floodgates opened.

Just a minute after coming on Abdullah Zaffar broke down the left wing and past the keeper, managing to pick out Basterfield with a cross from a tight angle before the returning star found the back of an empty net with a scorpion kick to double the lead.

Darwen showed no signs of letting up as the game entered the last 20 minutes, with Kit Lloyd winning a penalty off a late tackle at the back post, his ruthless strike from 12 yards to the keeper’s right sealing a hat-trick and a remarkable performance in South Yorkshire.

The Lloyd’s weren’t done yet however, as ten minutes later Charlie Lloyd met Zuk’s looping corner with a fantastic header, glancing the ball into the bottom right corner and rounding off a landslide of high quality goals.

A stellar performance in dismal conditions made it back-to-back wins as The Salmoners picked up a win in their first cup tie of the season.

Co-interim manager Ben Langford reaffirmed his confidence in his Darwen side post-match, saying: “The boys just went out and did their thing.

“Like I said before, we’re not worried about any team, the only team we need to worry about is us.

“We’ve got the Darwen DNA back in the squad and we’re hungry for it so they’re ready. Bring it on, anybody.”

Nathan Bond shut down any doubts over his team’s form on grass pitches, saying: “It’s probably the toughest pitch that we’ve played on all year.

“For anyone that says we can’t play on a grass pitch, you want to come down here today, because we can play on a grass pitch.” he added.

“There was fight in every first and second ball, we were there in numbers, twos and threes tackling. We’ve got every player hungry and they want to win, and that’s exactly what we want to do.”