Match Report

Darwen booked their place in the Second Round of the FA Vase on Saturday afternoon with an impressive 3-2 win against Premier Division side Charnock Richard.

First half goals from Ryan Steele and Ryan McKenna put The Salmoners in a commanding position at the interval before Sandro Da Costa got his name on the scoresheet to give The Salmoners a 3-0 lead.
The visitors attempted to mount a comeback late on, with two goals in the last 15 minutes setting up a nail-biting spell of injury time.

But Darwen held firm to get themselves over the line and into the next round.

The game got underway on what was a very mild October afternoon at The Anchor.

Alfie Carmichael headed over an early opportunity from a Gary Basterfield corner.

The game got off to a pretty even start, with neither side able to assert some authority over proceedings.

With just under 10 minutes gone, hopeful appeals for a Darwen penalty were ignored by referee when Nathan Bond went to ground in the area.

Moments later, another penalty appeal was turned down – this time for a handball by a Charnock defender just inside the box.

A fantastic cross from the left-hand side was met by Chris Smalley at the back post but the centre back couldn’t quite get the connection to divert the ball home.

The Reds had showed great promise in the opening 15 minutes but were yet to create anything clear-cut.

A Charnock counter-attack after a sustained period of Darwen pressure led to Oliver Oxley volleying wide of goal from the edge of the area.

With 25 minutes on the clock, The Salmoners deservedly took the lead.

A textbook Gary Basterfield cross was met by an unmarked Ryan Steele at the back post, who found the bottom left-hand corner with a really cool headed finish.

On the half-hour mark, a superb save from Stefan Holden denied the visitors an equaliser from a deflected free-kick.

At the other end, Darwen thought they had doubled their advantage but the referee adjudged a Darwen man to have fouled Charnock keeper Callum Jakovlevs on the goal line.

Five minutes before the interval, Darwen added a second. A corner fell kindly for Ryan McKenna and Darwen’s number 5 smashed the ball high into the roof of the net with conviction.

Kenny Langford’s men looked to be brimming with confidence as halftime approached and Ryan Steele almost scored what would have been a fantastic third goal just before the break.

Somehow, his free-kick from the left was tipped over the bar by Jakovlevs.

HALF TIME: DARWEN 2-0 CHARNOCK RICHARD
Darwen were comfortably the better team in the first half, with the away side knew they would need to improve after the break.

The first chance of the half came for Nathan Strong, Darwen’s new right back could only volley over the bar after latching on to a Steele diagonal.

The Salmoners made a strong start to the second period, substitute Da Costa forced Jakovlevs to make a really good save low down to his left.

Just before the hour mark, Da Costa was played in down the right before cutting inside past a Charnock defender and slotting the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

After Darwen’s third, the game felt as though it was fizzling out as contest. Even though Darwen to let their opponents enjoy the best of the ball, it always felt as though they were in control.

But The Salmoners were suddenly issued a warning, as a looping cross totally deceived Stefan Holden and nestled in the bottom left-hand corner.

As the encounter entered the final 10, there was a break in play as Holden received some treatment.

Darwen were starting to look nervy, and matters were made worse when Charnock Richard pulled another back from a corner right on the 90.

There was a further break in play when Steele also went down to receive treatment.

After a period of injury time that seemed to go on for an age for Darwen’s players and supporters, the referee put his whistle to his lips for the final time, booking Darwen’s place in the Second Round of the FA Vase.

FULL TIME: DARWEN 3-2 CHARNOCK RICHARD

Kenny Langford’s men will welcome Northern League Division One side Thornaby to The Anchor in the next round.

All Second Round fixtures are due to be played on the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 November.