I've been supporting Darlington for about 40 years.

I can't recall my first match for certain – my dad took me to the occasional game in the 1970s. I do remember him taking me to a game at Feethams against Hartlepool, during which a member of our group had his head split open by a flying brick. It turned out that the brick came from a Darlo fan with a rubbish throw.

There have been a few memorable matches in all that time, but probably the standout game for me was the cup tie against Boro in the 1984/5 season. That was the season when I started going regularly and became hooked. In my formative years I had been a Boro fan but by that point there was only one team I wanted to win. And they did. Darlo won 2-1 to with goals from Phil Lloyd and Garry MacDonald.

There were over 14,000 in the ground, and snow was piled up around the pitch. Sadly, we became a victim of a giant killing in the next round at Telford, which is symptomatic of our fortunes – glorious victories followed by desperate, abject misery.

My most memorable away match was memorable for all the wrong reasons - a 7-0 drubbing at York in 1986, which was yet another glimpse of the crushing disappointment that would afflict my relationship with Darlo.

Like most Darlo fans of a certain vintage, there remains a Feethams-sized hole in my life. I bought my first house in Quaker Lane and could see the floodlights from my bedroom. There were some days I had to force myself off my sofa at 2.50pm but, even in the dark days of managers like Paul Futcher and Tommy Taylor, I still made it into the Tin Shed for kick off.

PLAYLIST

- The Stone Roses: Waterfall

- Leftfield: Release The Pressure

- Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence

- David Holmes: I Heard Wonders

- Public Service Broadcasting: People, Let's Dance

- Chemical Brothers: Swoon

- Chumbawamba: Tubthumping

- Faithless: Mass Destruction

- Cocteau Twins: Bluebeard

- Soccer 96: I Was Gonna' Fight Fascism

- Panjabi MC: Mundian To Bach Ke

- Reverend And The Makers: Hard Time For Dreamers