It was 20 years ago today. May

The last instalment of my look back at Darlington's 1990/91 season.  Click here for August, September, October, November, December  January  February March and April.  Or for the whole season in one handy post, check out this at the superb The Two Unfortunates.

Last away game, penultimate game of the season, Scunthorpe away.  The symmetry was perfect, two years after the exact same fixture had seen Darlington relegated to the Vauxhall Conference, we returned with the chance for the ultimate redemption of clinching promotion.  The away end was now all seater and it was pretty much packed with Darlo fans.  It didn't work out as they hoped, of course it didn't it was Scunthorpe away.  Darlo went 1-0 down, pulled a goal back with a Frank Gray penalty, but ended up having a goal disallowed and losing 2-1, and with repeated pitch invasions causing problems as well.

It all set up a nervous last game at home to Rochdale, with 5 teams still in with a chance of finishing top, Darlo knew a win would clinch the title, but a loss could see them drop into the playoffs.  There was of course a big crowd and I ended up at the front against the advertising boards rather than my usual spot half way up the tin shed terrace. 

An early goal was what was needed to calm the nerves and it arrived within 10 minutes, David Cork getting his first goal in 7 games, finding space in the box from a Frank Gray free kick and volleying the ball home.  Gray himself got the second with a penalty in front of the tin shed and from then the result was never in doubt.  The message came over the tannoy to stay off the pitch and the team would do a lap of honour with the trophy, but that was laughed at, and towards the end people started going over the boards and creeping further and further on to the pitch. 

The final whistle eventually blew and the inevitable full scale pitch invasion happened.  I was part of that and ended up in front of the main stand, at one point sitting on the shoulders of a friend and picking out my sister and freind in the East stand.  Eventually the players came up to the Director's box, Kevan Smith got to lift another trophy, Dick Corden rubbed his hand at the big novelty cheque.   For the second straight year, fans honoured an injured defender, last year Jimmy Willis, this year David Corner, it was all very emotional.  The next day, for the second straight year, Kevan Smith took the trophy to see Roger Tames on 'the Back Page'.  Hartlepool also won promotion in 3rd place, but it was just sweeter than when they finally did something good, we went two better.

Brian Little went on to Leicester where he took a team that just avoided relegation and got them to the playoffs three straight years, finally winning promotion to the Premier league, Jimmy Willis went with him and won the Man of the Match award in that playoff final.  Little then moved on to Aston Villa and took them to a 4th place finish and a League cup trophy, before for whatever reason it all started to go wrong, eventually being fired form Villa, and then taking other jobs further and further down the league's without ever recapturing the same success.

Frank Gray took over from Little, and most of the team stayed together but the third division was a step too far, it didn't work out and Gray was fired within his first year as Darlo finished last and were relegated back down.  As at every other moment of success in Darlo's history, it proved fleeting and now we're right back where this great team started, in the Conference.