Bishop Auckland FC kindly provided their facilities at Heritage Park for the Year 8 Bishop Auckland District Schools team to play their Darlington counterparts on Friday night.

It was a great experience for the players to show off their skills in the stadium under the lights. Bishop settled immediately and scored in the first minute through Joseph Hepworth of Sedgefield school. Darlington though got back in to the game and created their own chances. It was the hosts who doubled the lead before the break when Zack Blythe from Woodham Academy finished well.

In the second half Darlington started well and their striker Geronimo Beltrame of Hurworth school calmly lobbed the keeper to make the score 2-1. The game was then well contested and could have gone either way but a deflected shot found its way in for Bishop to win the game 3-1.

The game will be great preparation for both teams as they look ahead to AF Hardy Trophy quarter final games next weekend. All involved were grateful for the use of the great facilities at Heritage Park so a huge thank you to Bishop Auckland FC for their support.