Darlington RA were on cloud nine at the weekend after recording what manager David Woodcock described as their 'finest win' since he took over as manager four years ago.

There is no doubt that RA have caused eyebrows to be raised since entering the league at the start of the season and their latest victory against North Shields propelled them into joint third position.

"If anyone had said in August that we would be just a couple of points off the top by October, I would probably have laughed at them but now our sights are set much higher," enthused Woodcock.

"It was touch and go whether we applied to join the Wearside League or look elsewhere but everybody is confident we made the right decision.

"The standard is much higher than it was in the Auckland and District League. We won the championship, the League Cup and also the Sacriston Aged Miners Cup and the Darlington Charity Cup but even so, it has been a sea change for us playing in the Wearside League."

After losing to Windscale and Redcar Town, RA have not looked back and have won seven and drawn two of their other nine games.

"I played a couple of seasons for North Shields and I knew they started favourites to beat us. They missed one or two good chances but in the end we just clinched a 2-1 result and although nobody is getting carried away, we are all on a high.

"The lads just cannot wait for the next game and an example of their dedication was the fact that every one of them turned up for last Saturday's fixture even though England were playing Greece.

"I tried for an earlier kick-off but North Shields couldn't make it. The players, although disappointed, were there in force well before the kick-off.

There is a tremendous team-spirit and we feel we can only get better," enthused Woodcock.

The club will hopefully improve facilities in the near future. "We have a lovely pitch but if we are to progress then we need to upgrade our accommodation.

Everything is going great but obviously we have got to also pay attention to matters off the field," Woodcock added.

His sentiments were echoed by secretary Martin Jackson, who before the start of the season enthused about the future of the club. The pair just about run RA single-handed and so far this season their efforts have not gone unrewarded.