DARLINGTON play their maiden match on home soil this evening, giving supporters and players a first glimpse of the new playing surface at Blackwell Meadows.

Close to £80,000 has been spent on upgrading it this summer, money raised through a combination of donations from fans, who contributed £42,000, and a grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund.

It will see its first action with two games in four days, the first being against Gainsborough Trinity before Alfreton visit on Saturday.

The playing surface was a source of concern during Darlington’s first few months at the venue after moving from Heritage Park midway through last season.

Manager Martin Gray cited players such as Phil Turnbull and Josh Gillies as having their form affected by what was an uneven pitch, where landlords Darlington Rugby Club also play.

Another alteration supporters will notice is that the dug-outs have been moved to offer supporters on the clubhouse a better view of the action, and the fans will hope for a continuation of Saturday’s satisfying season-opener at Salford City.

Two goals by David Ferguson earned a 2-0 victory, putting Darlington in good heart for the campaign’s maiden match at Blackwell, when a crowd approaching 2,000 is expected.

Given the strength of Saturday’s display, it is unlikely Gray will make changes as long as all of his team came through the weekend’s contest unscathed.

Both forwards, Mark Beck and James Caton, played having carried injuries during pre-season, and Gray said: “I was happy that we got everyone fit for the start of the season. Beck and Caton were a real handful on Saturday.

“They hadn’t played for the last two weeks of pre-season, we patched them up for the game.”

New signings Scott Fenwick and Jordan Richards did not play on Saturday, while Nathan Cartman was not on the bench, though has now been made available for loan.

“We’ve got a good strong squad and it’s nice to have that problem,” said the manager. “We’ll look at it again on Wednesday and asses it again then.

“It’s about what the squad does over the season. On Saturday it was the right formation, the right personnel, and now we’ll look at Wednesday and pick what we think is the right team.”

On Saturday Gainsborough lost 2-1 at home to Leamington, a result that angered manager Dave Frecklington who warned his team would be “annihilated” by Darlington if they do not improve their defending.

He said: “It was poor, poor defending and I am already looking at the market with a view to bringing in players who can do the job.

“You can’t defend like that in any game, but this was our opening game of the season at home. These players get paid to defend and Leamington haven’t even had to work hard to win the game. I can’t afford to wait for the players to turn up, if they can’t do it they will not be at the club.

“If we go to Darlington on Wednesday evening and defend like that we will be annihilated, so I am looking for defenders. This is a man’s game. Players have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask did they do enough to stop Leamington?