TOWN 2 - AFC DARWEN 3, FIRST DIV CUP, THURS 10 MARCH

It was another tough week for Town with two narrow defeats in the space of three days, that see them exit the League Challenge Cup and in need of valuable points at the bottom of the league.

Thursday night saw the arrival of AFC Darwen to Ruskin Drive, and a slow start form the home side, coupled with a top class strike saw them 0-1 down after only six minutes. Ten minutes later and the visitors had doubled their advantage, but Town dug in and managed to hold their own until the break. The second half started the complete opposite to the first, with Town levelling the score within 12 minutes of the restart. Firstly through top scorer Elliott Hughes, who netted after some nice play between the forwards, quickly followed by Dale Korie-Butler who found himself in space and finished well.
Town were flying, but their poor game management, which has cost them so dearly this season, was evident again. Almost immediately, a lack of concentration in defence gifted Darwen another goal and knocked the wind out of Town’s sails.
The home side dug in and pushed for an equaliser and would probably have had it, if a very strong shout for a penalty wasn’t ignored by the referee. The game ended 2-3 and Town had to quickly turn their attention to Saturday’s league clash versus in-form Nelson.