Darlington Under-14s made it to the final of the County Cup when they convincingly beat Durham City at Green Lane.

A bitter wind and snow flurries kept the spectators on their toes but the players didn't appear to notice. Darlington were quickly into their stride and had obviously learned something from their defeats in York and Macclesfield. The backs closed down the Durham attack effectively and the pressure soon took its toll when Mat Lister found himself on the end of a pass from winger Jordan Riley and he made no mistake and dived into the corner. The second try came when City failed to clear their lines and the ball came loose behind their try line, Richard Leigh being the first to react. Recent signing Oliver Mabbott added five more points with a single handed try collecting a loose ball on halfway and having shrugged off a couple of tackles broke clear to run in and score under the posts. Jack Stapleton had a strong wind to contend with but converted this one successfully.

The difference between the sides was probably the tackling Darlington showed some grit and determination. It would appear none of the Durham side could match this when the 6ft. plus Darlington number eight Scott Starling caught the ball from the restart and ran a full 40 metres through the heart of the City defence. The ball was spread left for winger Ali Carr to take advantage and score the first of his two tries. The final try of the half showed how difficult it was to stop the Darlington No.8 when from the back of a scrum just inside the 22 he broke free and through two defenders to score under the posts. Half time Durham 0, Darlington 29.

The wind had been assisting Darlington throughout the first half but it didn't seem to make much difference when Richard Leigh broke the defence and put in a well timed pass to take out two defenders and allow Matthew Hall the chance to run in and score after only two minutes. It was unusual not to see David Mackfall on the scoresheet and he soon put that right with an unstoppable run. Ali Carr then scored his second try thanks to some excellent play up the right wing by Lister, when the run came to an end the ball was quickly moved through the backs for Matthew Hall to set Carr free. Unfortunately the Durham side were becoming frustrated at the defeat and some flying fists and bad language saw the Durham full back sent off. From the penalty Darlington scored with another run from David Mackfall and following a successful conversion the referee made the right decision to cut the game short by 15minutes with Darlington 53 points clear.