South Shields 0 Darlington 3

DARLINGTON eased to a comfortable 3-0 win at South Shields as the hosts celebrated their return to Mariners Park with Adam Mitchell again on the scoresheet.

Quakers were visiting a club they faced during their successful Northern League campaign of 2012-13.

Darlington won 3-0 when they visited Mariners Park that season and while today’s game served as a useful run-out for both teams, Quakers manager Martin Gray again using a handful of trialists to supplement his team, of more significance to their hosts was their homecoming after two years in Peterlee and a large crowd turned up for the occasion.

With a new chairman at the helm, Geoff Thompson, South Shields have refurbished and renamed their home – formerly known as Filtrona Park - after returning from exile in Peterlee and are looking forward to the season starting.

Darlington are similarly buoyant following their promotion last season and since making a some impressive signings.

Only two were in the starting line-up today, Adam Nowakowski and Rob Youhill, while trialist Lewis Gibbons, a former Sunderland youngster, started in midfield as he also did seven days ago against Durham City.

Two days after netting in a 4-2 defeat to Sunderland, Mitchell put Darlington 1-0 in the 14th minute although a team-mate may have got the final touch.

South Shields’ Ben Riding saw a header cleared off the line and later Quakers goalkeeper Peter Jameson clawed away a Riding effort, but despite those moments a strong Darlington team were rarely stretched.

A series of changes were made to the teams at the break and throughout a second half, as is the nature of pre-season friendlies, in which Mitchell slotted home the second after a through-ball on 76 minutes and this time there was no doubting the identity of the scorer.

Striker Nathan Cartman, who completed the 90 minutes, added the third from close-range late on.

Darlington: Jameson; Lovegreen, Nowakowski, Brown, Watson; Youhill, Portas, Gibbons, A Mitchell; Dowson, Cartman