A look back to Saturday’s clash
By Matty Paddock - 08/11/2025
Posted 1 day ago
HARRIERS suffered a 2-1 defeat to Darlington Saturday after conceding in injury time following an otherwise controlled performance.
The Aggborough men looked well on course for at least a point from the game and created untold chances to have taken all three, only for a sucker punch at the other end to leave them empty handed.
Compounding the blow was the loss of Dan Mooney early on through injury. A knee issue is being assessed at present, and no concrete update is available.
Harriers began on the front foot and created a steady stream of early chances, Mooney seeing a low shot gathered by Daryll Ombang inside two minutes before a clever corner routine saw Luke Spokes’ effort blocked on the line when it looked destined for the bottom corner.
The home side maintained their tempo, with Kurt Willoughby’s strike on 23 minutes rolling inches wide before Christian Dibble had to watch an Aidan Rutledge effort flash past the far post at the other end.
Harriers came even closer just past the half-hour mark when Willoughby forced a fine save from Ombang with an instinctive shot. The striker was alive to the rebound but saw that blocked by a covering defender.
Tobi Sho-Silva’s header from Joe Foulkes’ delivery came back off the post and the follow-up was lifted over the bar.
Those missed chances proved costly as Darlington edged ahead in first-half stoppage time, Rutledge rising to meet a cross and head in from close range in a cruel foreshadowing of what was to come.
Harriers took just a short time after the restart to get on level terms. Lively debutant Michael Gyasi drove forward with the ball and send it across the penalty area where Ryley Reynolds finished off the move with an inventive finish.
Darlington almost hit back within a minute when Dibble denied Hedley’s curling strik, before Sho-Silva saw another looping header drop narrowly wide.
On 86 minutes sub Zanda Siziba stretched the visitors and went for goal, the dependable Ombang denying Harriers again as he saved the ball on to the post.
Just as in the first half, the woodwork thwarted the Reds moments before Darlington struck. In the second minute of added time, the visitors snatched victory in cruel fashion when a long Ombang clearance was cleared into the path of Matty Cornish who in turn struck off the boot of a Harriers man to send the ball past Dibble to make it 2-1.
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