Darlington 2 Middlesbrough 1 - January 8, 1984, FA Cup third round replay

This game has recently been voted the best ever at Feethams, and little wonder because it had absolutely everything - even, being the mid-1980s, an outbreak of crowd violence which forced the teams to take shelter in the dressing rooms for ten minutes.

The first scoreless match between Second Division Boro and Fourth Division Darlo was not much of a game as it was played on a "snow-covered gluepot pitch" at Ayresome Park in front of 19,084 fans - the ground's highest attendance that season by at least 10,000.

For replay tickets (£2 and children for £1.20), fans were queuing at 8am on the Monday; to get the game on, an army of volunteers turned up for snow-clearing duties at 5.45am on the Tuesday.

As kick-off approached that night, Darlington's highest crowd for 25 years - 14,237 - was inside Feethams. After a frantic first-half, Garry MacDonald steered the ball into the Middlesbrough net in the 54th minute. MacDonald had been released by Boro the previous summer after six years.

In the 76th minute Phil Lloyd made it 2-0, crashing home after another scramble. Some Middlesbrough followers broke on to the pitch, trailing a 20yd section of fencing with them. Slabs and spikes were thrown at the police, fighting erupted everywhere, the players retreated.

When they returned, Tony McAndrew pulled Boro back into the game with seven minutes left. With seconds remaining, Dutchman Heine Otto was tumbled on the edge of Darlington's area by Mike Angus. Boro demanded a penalty but, with a flourish of yellow cards, the referee waved their claims away and Darlington had won a famous victory.

Sadly this was somewhat spoiled by the violence after the game. "Cup yobs go on the rampage" screamed The Northern Echo's front page headline telling of 15 arrests and three hospitalisations. The cricket field at Feethams had been the scene of a pitched battle immediately after the final whistle, and it turned into a running battle in Parkgate. Boro fans were so disgruntled by events that they set fire to their railway carriage as it pulled into Middlesbrough station.

The Echo's match report concentrated on the football. Boro manager Willie Maddren was not happy with the ref - "he ran away from the situation" - but his chairman Mike McCullagh said that Maddren's job was not under threat. A month later, Maddren was sacked.

Darlington chairman Archie Heaton enthused about his manager Cyril Knowles, saying: "He's proved to be one of the best managers in the lower divisions. He has done a marvellous job and we are hoping for greater things."

Although lowly Telford knocked Knowles' team out of the Cup in the following round, Knowles did steer the Quakers to third in the Fourth and so promotion to the Third. There they lasted just two seasons and within four years they were in the Conference.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, went bust and were relegated.

Darlington: Fred Barber, Graeme Aldred, Peter Johnson, Mike Angus, Kevan Smith, Phil Lloyd, Mitch Cook, Kevin Todd, Carl Airey, Garry MacDonald, Dave McLean. Sub: Mark Forster.

Middlesbrough: Kelham O'Hanlon, Irving Nattrass, Gary Hamilton (Alan Roberts, 78), Michael Buckley, Mick Saxby, Paul Ward, Tony Mowbray, David Mills, Heine Otto, David Currie, Tony McAndrew.