Floodlit Football Launches 4G Pitch

October 2013

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Teams unite to celebrate the opening of our fantastic new artificial turf facility.

On Monday 21st October, Darlington under-17's played against King James' Martin Gray Football Academy Team. The match was organised to coincide with the official opening of our new state-of-the-art 4G sports pitch, with all donations from spectators going to the charity "Scope'.

Although the match was a friendly, it was still action-packed for spectators. Darlington started off well, taking the lead with a goal very early in the first half and adding a second to their tally very quickly. Throughout the first half they controlled possession and looked quite dominant however, on the stroke of half time, the Academy got a goal back, making the score 2-1 at the interval.

At the beginning of the second half, the Academy team came out flying, scoring a cracking goal, which resulted in a nail-biting tie and victory a possibility for anyone. With spells of excellent attacking football, they managed to take the lead after a Darlington goalkeeper mistake left their striker with an open net. Although they tried valiantly to hold onto the lead, Darlington equalized near the end and the match ended in a respectable 3-3, leaving spectators in attendance agreeing that they had been highly entertained.

Despite the poor weather, the event attracted a substantial crowd, especially as the Darlington senior team were there to train on the brand new artificial turf pitch before the match. Martin Gray, Darlington Manager and Director of the Football Academy, was also in attendance to observe the two youth teams under his guidance: "I am extremely impressed with the way both teams have conducted themselves tonight," he said. "Not only have players demonstrated their skills as athletes, but they have also shown great sportsmanship."

Match report by Craig R, Year 12 Creative Media student.