Darlington 0 Plymouth Argyle 1 May 25 1996. "WAYS of Wembley are so cruel on Quakers," said The Northern Echo's match report after the 1996 play-off final.

If Wembley ways were cruel in 1996, then they were barbarous, brutal and sadistic in 2000 with the second 1-0 defeat.

On both occasions, the Quakers had assembled teams of talent and potential; on both occasions they didn't quite play up to that potential; on both occasions the teams that had promised so much were dismantled so callously and quickly.

"It left the born-again Quakers and their new army of fans - over 10,000 of them on Saturday - to reflect on what might have been and to contemplate the sobering prospect of another season in English football's basement division," said Simon Turnbull in the Echo in 1996.

Plymouth's goal that day was scored by Ronnie Mauge, who had served time for assault, and the trophy was lifted by Mick Heathcote, who had been born in Durham and had started his career at Spennymoor United.

Yet with Matty Appleby - who missed Darlington's best chance in the first half - already out of contract, as the players left the Wembley pitch the future didn't look so rosy even though manager Jim Platt promised: "You'll see a better Darlington next season."

In 2000, no-one knew quite what to make of it when David Hodgson's side succumbed to Andy Clarke's 74th minute goal. Hodgson himself was in tears as he said: "I apologise to everybody. We've let them down - we should have been out of this division in April and I'm ashamed we've been beaten tonight."

There were ominous signs of the impending break-up. "Before he left the pitch, Marco Gabbiadini removed his shirt, shook his head wistfully and handed it to a disappointed young fan," said the Echo's front page. "Many will be wondering if Wembley marked out-of-contract Gabbiadini's final appearance for the Quakers."

But despite the tears and the predictions of departures, in the same story there was the chairman George Reynolds promising the earth. "I'm not down about it," he said. "I know we'll bounce back. It's no good grumbling, we just have to get on and take the rough with the smooth.

"We have already achieved a lot since I took over and with work on the new stadium about to get under way, there is no doubt we will make it to the top."

Less than four years on, the Quakers are second bottom and bankrupt.

Yet despite the two painful defeats at Wembley, those May days were wonderful days. They were hugely memorable occasions - the sort of days that live a lifetime. The buzz in the town before the convoy of coaches departed - particularly that early morning departure in 1996 - was really something to be part of. And those days were shared by so many: 13,000 people made the 500-mile round trips from a town of less than 100,000.

"There were hundreds of vaguely recognisable faces that have, imperceptibly, grown familiar over the years of shopping, drinking and playing football in the town," said the Echo's colour writer in 2000.

And it is days like those, and the hope of days like those, that past generations of Darlingtonians have looked forward to for 120 years, that the current generation has enjoyed (and endured) twice at the home of football, but that future generations will never experience if Darlington is allowed to die with its debts in 2004.

MATCHFACTS

Darlington (1996): Newell 7, Brumwell 7, Crosby 8, Appleby 8, Gregan 9, Barnard 7, Gaughan 7 (Carmichael 85), Bannister 6, Carss 6, Painter 6, Blake 6. Substitutes not used: Twynham, Mattison.

Darlington (2000): Collett 9, Heckingbottom 7 (Naylor 68, 6), Aspin 7, Tutill 6, Liddle 7, Heaney 6, Gray 7, Atkinson 7, Oliver 7, Gabbiadini 8, Duffield 7. Substitutes not used: Brumwell, Samways.