DARLINGTON were always going to triumph on their homecoming, no matter what the result of their encounter with FC Halifax Town.

The culmination of four and half years of hard work by supporters and volunteers who refused to let their club die, Quakers’ first game back in town was as much a celebration of what has been achieved as it was a National League North fixture.

Chiefly funded by fans, Blackwell Meadows has been transformed into a venue fit for football, the consequence of years of planning, persistence and fundraising.

Precisely 3,000 supporters crammed into the venue as Darlington celebrated their homecoming with a 3-2 victory that had been a long time coming.

It came four years, seven months and 28 days since last playing a competitive match in the town.

That was at The Northern Echo Arena, a venue Darlington began life in with a 2-0 defeat to Kidderminster Harriers in August 2003.

“I’ve had a text from David Hodgson saying ‘You’ve broken the jinx’,” revealed Quakers boss Martin Gray, after overseeing his team’s first win in eight matches.

“It was really important to win because there’s been many occasions over the years when we’ve gone into a new stadium or had a big game and not been on the winning side.

“We got the players in a bit earlier this morning to get a feel for the place, but apart from that it was business as normal.

“The players knew that the supporters were turning up in numbers, so they were motivated by that today, but today was all about getting back to winning ways.”

His side did that okay, largely nullifying a Halifax team that had also been in poor form.

They played dutiful guests at Quakers’ housewarming party, one with a soundtrack including I Am The Resurrection (Stone Roses), Our House (Madness) and Run For Home (Lindisfarne).

All were on the PA system before a kick-off, long anticipated, that was preceeded by the teams entering the field to the sound of Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back In Town. Nothing else would have sufficed.

Inside the first 60 seconds the first Darlington player to touch the ball at Blackwell was Phil Turnbull, clearing a free-kick, and the midfielder was involved in the team’s history-making maiden goal too.

With a delivery using the outside of his right foot from the byline, a cross not dealt with by Halifax, the ball fell to Beck to earn his name in the history books by becoming the first scorer at Quakers’ new home.

The seventh minute goal made for a double as Beck also scored Darlington’s last goal at Heritage Park at the beginning of the month against Salford City in a 2-2 draw.

“It wasn’t a great goal but that didn’t matter, we just needed a goal to settle us down,” said Gray.

Already buoyed by the occasion, the early goal cheered the fans who were soon jeering Richard Peniket, the Halifax midfielder.

He earned the jeers of the Tin Shed for attempting to win a free-kick close to the byline when throwing himself the floor.

Such theatrics made him the day’s boo-boy, greeted like a pantomime villain whenever he moaned to the referee, Paul Brown, about various perceived injustices.

The Shaymen also moaned when Nathan Cartman was booked for a challenge on left-back Josh Wilde, the visitors believing that Quakers’ striker was worthy of greater punishment.

Terry Galbraith became the first player to put the ball over the perimeter fence with a clearance, scaring away a lone magpie. One for sorrow? Almost.

Matty Kosylo almost caught out Quakers with a quickly-taken free-kick, Peter Jameson alert enough to collect when diving to his right.

There was little between the teams at this point, though Halifax had a decent spell that saw Jameson tip wide a Wilde long-range effort that was off-target anyway.

However, Halifax levelled from the short corner that followed, Quakers slow to react and failing to stop Adam Morgan’s shot which Jameson fumbled over the line to hand the debutant striker a belated Christmas gift.

It was a poor mistake by the goalkeeper, who will be thankful to retain the support of Gray having only recently returned to the starting XI after serving a three-game ban for a senseless sending-off.

The goal got Morgan’s Halifax career off to the ideal start having scored 11 goals in nine games for previous club Curzon Ashton.

The game’s outcome, however, was resolved with two Quakers goals inside five minutes early in the second half, Beck on target again after a Galbraith pass on 51 minutes.

He managed to escape the clutches of Danny Hone, who shadowed the lanky striker throughout, for long enough to smash home Darlington’s first goal directly in front of the Tin Shed, the terrace that lives on 13 years after Quakers lasted played at their spiritual home of Feethams.

It has since been kept in storage by TM Ward, and the Darlington company are proud to have had a role in the club’s return to town.

The roof they have restored almost came off when Josh Gillies made it 3-1.

He hammered home beautifully, catching the ball just right and triggering a huge roar.

Gray said: “Gillies has got that in his locker. He hit it really cleanly and as soon as he had the shot you could see it was going in to the far corner.”

Josh McDonald came on as a sub for Halifax, son of Gary McDonald, a Darlington striker in the club’s days at Feethams.

Sitting on a 3-1 lead, Quakers looked comfortable, although Jameson was called on to push over Peniket’s drive.

It was the Halifax man’s final contribution, the villain of the piece exiting stage left to cheers from the Tin Shed.

Cartman was replaced too, no doubt disappointed not to score against his hometown club, but he had made a significant contribution before the game.

On Christmas Eve the penalty box predator turned postman, fetching Halifax’s unsold tickets from his hometown up to Darlington and dropping them off before training so they could be sold to fans desperate to be at Blackwell for the big day.

Halifax had the final say, however, Jameson gift-wrapping another goal for Morgan whose chip was dropped over the line.

“He pulled off two or three big saves, but then the easy ones, the ones you’d expect him to deal with, he doesn’t stop,” said Gray. “It should have been 3-0.

“The kid is very down in the dressing room which is understandable because he gifted them two goals.”

There were issues off the pitch too. The price of refreshments caused concern, as did the lack of toilets, and some supporters had trouble seeing the action – the grass bank at Heritage Park will be sorely missed.

But such factors will, hopefully, be dealt with in time and they could not take the gloss off what was Darlington’s first Boxing Day win in the town since 1997.

Gray said: “It was important to win and it should have been more comfortable than 3-2 looks on paper.

“The conditions worked well for us. We had the wind against us in the first half and I always felt we would dominate going down the slope with the wind in the second half.

“The fans have gone home with a victory at the end of the year in their hometown and that’s what it’s all about.”