Darlington begin life in their new home today, returning to the town at Blackwell Meadows to take on FC Halifax Town. In the last of a series of articles building up to the day, Deputy Sports Editor Craig Stoddart looks at how Quakers began life as exiles at Heritage Park in season 2012-13

“WELCOME to the Northern League,” bellowed a Bishop Auckland supporter in the direction of Darlington players heading down the tunnel.

It was half-time in Quakers’ opening match in the Ebac Northern League, they were 1-0 down and it had not been a smooth first 45 minutes on the back of a hugely important summer.

They finished the previous administration-affected season relegated from the Conference, only for the Football Association to drop them down four divisions in one of the most draconian punishments they have dished out.

Despite the protestations of a Darlington delegation when they met FA officials at Wembley, a dim view was taken of Quakers’ inability to agree a Creditors’ Voluntary Agreement (CVA) with its creditors, including former chairman Raj Singh.

In January of that year, however, he had said: “I will walk away (from the club). I am not expecting a penny back.”

Furthermore, Darlington were not able to transfer their footballing share, the ratification that enables them to compete in FA-affiliated competitions.

So they began the 2012-13 season at the bottom, looking up, effectively starting again.

The consolation for fans, who fought so hard for the club was that they still had a team in black and white hoops to support and they now owned the club. Almost everything else was new, including the club’s board, the players and the management team.

Martin Gray was appointed boss with fellow former Quakers player Brian Atkinson No. 2.

“I’ve always wanted to become a manger,” said Gray “I worked under Denis Smith, David Hodgson and then Dave Penney, plus one or two other managers, and learnt a lot from them all and now it’s time to put all those years of experience into practice.”

The club had a new base too, having left The Northern Echo Arena due to the terms of lease offered by stadium owners Graham Scott and Philip Sizer deemed as being too high. They became tenants 12 miles out of town at Bishop Auckland, but only after a brief dalliance with Shildon.

A cancelled agreement with the Dean Street club cost Quakers an unspecified amount, though few would suggest relocating to the relatively new Heritage Park was not for the best, given its superior facilities at a venue supporters would become very familiar with over the next four and a half seasons, starting with the season-opening match against their hosts.

It was not actually a ‘home’ fixture, Quakers classified as the visitors for the occasion, though there were more Darlington fans among the capacity crowd of 2,004. They saw Bishops go 1-0 up thanks to Andy Johnson, but the hosts had Chris Renshaw sent off.

Gray undertook his first half-time team talk, later saying: “A few harsh words were said, I got my point across and what is really encouraging is that the players responded and took them on board.”

Quakers recovered to score three unanswered goals, Arjun Purewal, Shaun Reay and David Dowson on target.

Quakers’ players were brought in directly from Northern League clubs or had previously played in the ninth tier of the game.

Gray would change the starting XI significantly as the campaign progressed – only five from the Bishop match were also involved by the season’s end.

“The nature of this level is that your squad will change during the season,” he said before the first game.

“It doesn’t if you put everyone under contract, but there’s no way I was going to put the first 18 players here under contract. That would be too much of a gamble.”

Darlington were up and running and never looked back, winning 40 of their 46 matches, the pivotal game coming in the February at Spennymoor Town, the then title holders hosting the most well-attended Northern League match since the 1950s.

Quakers were 15 points clear but the second-placed side had a mammoth seven games in hand and went 1-0 up after starting on top.

Terry Galbraith’s equaliser was crucial. A long-range beauty, it instigated a comeback that led to a 3-1 win, and Gray said: “We didn’t have a team six months ago and now we’re 18 points clear of the champions. Nobody wins the league in February but we’re in a position to really challenge Spennymoor for the title.”

Fifteen games later, 14 of them wins, Darlington had won the title at the first attempt by a 13-point margin from Spennymoor.

“Winning any championship is tough, but to do it in the style that we have is magnificent,” said Gray. “Moments like that you cannot buy, they’re moments you have to cherish.”

Silverware was awarded and champagne sprayed after the season finale against Guisborough – Darlington-born Quakers fan Steve Johnson among the scorers – their 21st win in 23 unbeaten matches at HP.

Bishops’ ground has also been the venue for numerous other unforgettable matches since 2012: beating Bamber Bridge in a play-off final, overcoming Spennymoor 3-2 in the semi after being 2-1 down late on and doing likewise to Salford City all have a place in the roll call of special occasions for the fan-owned club.

Darlington will create more memories at Blackwell Meadows, but their time at Heritage Park will be remembered as a special period when they won most matches, enjoyed three promotions and, with thanks to Bishop Auckland, got back on their feet.