DARLINGTON’S class of 1996 reunite on Sunday when their first ever Wembley team get back together to celebrate old times.

They finished fifth in Division Three in 95-96, a year when Sean Gregan, Matty Appleby, Gary Bannister and others were integral to a team known for its attractive football and managed by David Hodgson and Jim Platt.

Hodgson quit midway through the season, leaving Platt in sole charge, and after overcoming Hereford United in the play-off semi-finals he led Darlington out under the Twin Towers. While Plymouth Argyle won 1-0, the season is remembered affectionately.

The reunion is the brainchild of striker Robbie Painter, and he has traced most of his former team-mates for a game on Sunday to be played at Northallerton Town’s ground (2pm kick-off), the 95-96 side against a Quakers select XI.

Simon Shaw, a home-grown right-back and veteran of 199 Quakers appearances in the 1990s, is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces for the first time in two decades.

“I’m in touch with Robbie through Facebook and when he first mentioned this to me I thought great idea, but these things don’t always come off,” said Shaw.

“But Robbie has made the effort and it is happening, which is great, and I’m looking forward to seeing the lads.

“I’ve seen Robbie and Stevie Gaughan and I’ve had contact through social media with Mark Barnard and Matty Appleby, but when it comes to seeing them and having a conversation it’s probably been 20 years.

“It’ll be great seeing everyone, I’m sure a few of the lads will have put a bit of weight on or have a lot less hair like me!”

Shaw made 41 appearances in 95-96, only Appleby and Andy Crosby playing more, and his recollections are mainly positive.

“Hodgy had a lot of charisma which spread throughout the club and he filled us with confidence, we all wanted to play for him,” he said.

“Preston won the title that year but we were the better side in both matches against them. We were the best side in that league in my opinion. I remember Graham Turner, the Hereford boss, saying he didn’t want to play us in the play-offs.”

However, Shaw did not get to feature in the play-offs. During the evening after the final league game of the season at Scunthorpe, when a win would have earned promotion, Shaw’s season ended abruptly – outside the Mardi Gras nightclub in Gladstone Street.

“It’s still so vivid in my memory,” he said. “The night of the Scunthorpe match, when it was 3-3 and Robbie Blake missed a chance for us to win 4-3, we went out in Darlington. There was a girl crying, I asked if she was alright, she advised me to go away, and just as I’m stepping back into the nightclub I got punched from behind by a total stranger.

“I thought I’d taken it quite well, but it was on Crimestoppers on tv and he knocked me over, I was on my back and I couldn’t remember that. I was in hospital, had my jaw wired up and had to drink through a straw. I’ve still got plates in my jaw now and will have for the rest of my life.

“It was a nightmare for my parents and everyone I know who would’ve come down to Wembley. I’d had a good season and played nearly all the games, so it was sickening.

“There were celebrations after the Hereford game in the cricket club, people singing, but I remember being there and thinking I’d like to be at home now.

“At Wembley Matty Appleby lent me a pair of boots so I got to have a run about on the pitch in the warm-up when I still had my jaw wired up.”

Now aged 42 and teaching at Whinney Banks Primary School in Middlesbrough, Shaw is still playing, in an over-35s league on Friday evenings in Teesside, so is ready for Sunday’s match.

He added: “I keep an eye on Darlington, I look out for the results every week. I’m hoping to get to a few more games next season and maybe do the radio again.

“I was on the radio at the Whitby game at the end of the season and saw Sean Gregan. He hasn’t changed a bit, still having a laugh, it was as if no time had passed.”

* Sunday’s game will see the 95-96 side pitted against a former Darlington players XI with all money gong to charity. Admission is £5 adults, £2.50 for children, with profits split 50/50 between the Back To Darlo Fund and The Percy Hedley School for disabled children.

*The story of Darlington’s 95-96 season – see Saturday’s Echo