WELCOME FROM JON SADDINGTON

Happy Easter and welcome to our penultimate game of the season. 

I'm writing these notes moments after our 2-1 defeat at Chester and feeling somewhat deflated. It'll take a miracle to resurrect our play-off hopes from here…pardon the pun. 

We took a deserved lead and there was a sense we'd repeat the Kidderminster away win. A disciplined performance against bankrolled opposition. Sadly, the referee's highly questionable decision to award a penalty for handball turned the momentum towards Chester and we couldn't quite break them down in the closing stages.   

On the plus side, we've made significant progress under Steve and Terry, and I'm sure we'd all rather be sitting 11th than fighting relegation. Last season was far too stressful for a repeat performance!  We've made decent progress, and we've got a Club to be proud of. 

Planning has already started for next season with signings being identified, pre-season friendlies being organised and financial planning ahead of another Boost the Budget campaign. 

Before then, we’ve got two "local" derbies and we're four points off Spenny, so it would be good to finish top of that particular pile. There's always something to fight for.  

South Shields have arguably been this season's surprise disappointment. A big budget and some very good players, but it hasn't quite clicked. Paul Blackett has scored plenty of goals again (22), second only to Kidderminster’s Ashley Hemmings (26), but 66 goals conceded tells its own story. 

Darlo ran out 1-0 winners at Shields back in January, thanks to a goal from Cedric Main, and I'm sure we'd take a repeat of that result today.

Finally, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the supporters, players, and officials of South Shields FC.

1,300 DFC OWNERS HIT!

In early March we gave Darlo fans the target of taking our already-record high number of DFC Owners (1,270) to 1,300 before the end of the season. We thought that that number was achievable inside six weeks.

As we all know, Darlo fans love a target, as evidenced by Boost The Budget each May, so it shouldn't surprise anyone in the world of football to find out that the 1,300 DFC Owner number target was hit in less than a week! Which means that, for the first time since fan ownership commenced in mid-2012, we have reached 1,300 DFC Owners/DFCSG members. Another big milestone.

So, if you're already one of the 1,312 (at time of writing) DFC Owners/DFCSG members, we thank you for your support and dedication to the club. It means everything. If you're not one of those 1,312, then head over to YOURCLUB to sign up today - what are you waiting for?! Help us get to 1,500 at some point soon...

YOURCLUB MEN'S PLAYER OF MARCH

Jack Maskell is your YOURCLUB DFC Men's Player of March!

From eight shortlisted players, Jack received 45% of your votes, beating Matty Cornish (33%) into second place and Scott Barrow (7%) into third place. Well done Jack on his first Men's POTM award this season!

Thank you to everyone who voted and look out on YOURCLUB at the beginning of May for your chance to vote on the final Men’s POTM of the 2025/26 season!

LATEST YOURCLUB CONTENT Q&As

Head over to YOURCLUB Content this Bank Holiday weekend to enjoy the latest Andrew Scullion DFC Hospitality Q&As with Gary Brown, Nathan Cartman, Kevin Burgess and Tom Portas. Remember, these videos are only available to DFC Owners/DFCSG members!

DFCSG AWAY TRAVEL – NEXT GAME

Our last away trip of this season is on Easter Monday, when we travel to Scarborough Athletic. The coach will depart from Park Place at 10am. The price for adult DFCSG members is £25 (£13 juniors) and adult non-members is £28 (£14 juniors).

Don’t forget, for anyone that hasn’t previously travelled on one of our away coaches, we're still offering 'Ten Pound Taster Trips' (£13 for non-members). For details on how to book, including our 'Conditions of Travel' section and new online booking system for all away travel, please click here.