FOR over four years Heritage Park has been our safe haven. In fact, it’s been more than that. It’s been a stronghold; a place where opposing teams have travelled to in hope rather than expectation. While the ground isn’t ours, we’ve owned the pitch and the spoils that came with it.

The last four years have brought about almost unprecedented success, in terms of trophies, promotions and the sheer number of goals scored. It’s the sort of success that most Darlo fans would come not to expect. More importantly, it is success that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Heritage Park and its owner, Bishop Auckland FC.

With this Saturday’s game with Fylde likely to be our last league game at the home of the Two Blues, it’s probably a good time to reflect on what the place means to me.

Having been accustomed to sitting at a height, in comfort watching Darlo, standing at ground level, almost touching distance from the pitch was a novel concept. We acquired our position for the first game against Bishop Auckland and didn’t move from that spot for the next 18 months. It was on the grass bank side towards the petrol station end and became known as ‘the normal spot’. If there was a threat of rain, a portable stand would be required, aka an umbrella.

Midway through the first year in the NPL division one north, after a string of home defeats and poor weather, the normal spot was abandoned for our current position in the Tin Shed, at the end closest to the turnstiles. Given it’s the same folks stood around us for every game, I guess everyone else religiously sticks to their position like we do. I’m going to miss our spot.

On the pitch, we’ve seen it all. We’ve seen more reds - mostly for the opposition - than a gathering of the Chinese Communist Party, more goals than just about anywhere else in the same time and a game abandoned because the opposing manager was too cowardly to see his side take the pasting that was coming their way. We’ve seen playoff heartbreak – nothing new there – and, more importantly, playoff success. Who will forget the Spennymoor Town and Bamber Bridge games? Not me. We’ve seen puddles, snow, frost and we’ve all been chilled by those bitterly cold breezes, some of which would be named if they were in the Atlantic. I won’t miss the Bishop microclimate.

And so after all the drama, the setbacks, the heartbreak and unbridled joy, the curtain is poised to come down on our residency at Heritage Park. It’s probably fitting that the final game will arguably be our biggest challenge under the neon orange glow of the Sainsbury’s sign. While we have played against full-time outfits already this season, none are funded quite as well as Fylde. Indeed, if rumours are true, many teams in the league above will be looking enviously at the resources available to The Coasters manager Dave Challinor.

If we play like we did at Harrogate Town, it should be a belting game. If we play like we did last week at Tamworth, it could be a long afternoon. While defeat in Staffordshire was not a disgrace – Tamworth are a good side – defend like we did at The Lamb and surely Fylde, the only side in the league to score more goals than Darlo, will add to their total more rapidly than we will. Tamworth broke through our defensive line with the same ease as Darlo fans had walking through the line of segregation in search of burgers and Bovril. It wasn’t good.

As footballers say – well, Tweet – we go again. It may be a tall order to overcome Fylde, but hopefully the players will be able to feed off all of the positivity that has built at Heritage Park over the last four years; the last minute winners in crucial games, the many crushing victories, the fans on the pitch celebrating promotion. Whatever happens during the rest of this season and for the many more to come playing back in Darlington, let’s go again, one more time, and sign off at Heritage Park in the manner we have become accustomed to. Come on Darlo!