OUR appeal to support Darlington's crucial game against Rochdale on Saturday has reached £8,050.

Companies, organisations and individuals have pledged to sponsor a minute of the match.

To help see the club through its short-term cash crisis, we are offering local companies, organisations and individuals the chance to sponsor each of the 90 minutes of scheduled play.

For sponsorship of a particular minute, the price is £100 for companies and organisations. There is a separate £50 per-minute sponsorship opportunity for individuals or groups of individuals.

A total of 79 companies and organisations have agreed to sponsor a minute. And 23 individuals or groups of individuals have signed up.

Darlington Building Society, the club's primary sponsor, has set up a special interest earning trust fund account to channel the money raised through this appeal to the administrators to be used to address the club's immediate day-to-day solvency.

The building society is offering a prize of two home game tickets to any sponsor in whose "minute" a goal is scored next Saturday.

Companies, organisations and individuals can sponsor the minute or minutes of their choice. Each minute can be sponsored more than once.