FOOTBALL legend Paul Gascoigne wowed North-East fans today by scoring on his return to the pitch for the first time in five years.

The former ace refuted earlier rumours he had pulled out of the crunch charity match to raise funds for the beleaguered Darlington FC, even scoring a penalty in front of the 3,400-strong crowd.

The ex-Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Tottenham player, who has had a well-publicised battle with alcohol, looked well and spent about 70 minutes on the pitch, leading a team of North-East football greats, which included Boro's Bernie Slaven and Colin Cooper, against Darlington's 1999/2000 play-off team.

Also given a warm reception by fans was Dave Penney, who quit as Quakers' manager last week after two-and-a-half years.

Penney turned out for the Play-off team alongside assistant manager Martin Gray, who scored two goals, one from a penalty.

Grey looks set to join Penney at Oldham Athletic, where the former Quakers' manager has been appointed as the team's new boss.

The duo organised the match to raise money for the Quakers, who were placed in administration in February. The deadline for bids for the club is Tuesday.

The final score was 5-3 to the All-Stars team, with Bernie Slaven scoring for the winning side and Gray scoring two.