Darlington Football Club officials had more than just a team victory to cheer yesterday as fans gave facilities at the stadium a guarded thumbs-up.

Following last week's problems over ticketing, parking and lengthy queues for refreshments at the new Reynolds Arena, supporters said they were much happier with the club's organisation.

However, staff at the ground had less than half the number of fans for the team's late win against Leyton Orient.

Among the 4,666 fans attending the second game at the stadium, the mood was generally much more upbeat.

Lifelong fan Ian Boddy said he was delighted with the ground.

Mr Boddy, 53, said: "I think it's absolutely fantastic. Of course there are teething problems, but this is still very early days."

Father and daughter Chris and Lauren Hetherington also declared themselves cautiously impressed.

Chris, a season ticket-holder at the ground, said: "It worked a lot better this time around."

Daughter Lauren, 18, said: "I think it worked well but there's still not enough staff in the snack bars."

Last week, fans complained of long delays arriving and leaving the multi-million pound stadium, on the outskirts of the town.

They also bemoaned facilities inside the ground, which many complained were inadequate - with snack bars understaffed and stewards not able to direct fans to seats.

Soldier Jonathan Brown, 22, said he had mixed feelings about the stadium.

Mr Brown, who was home in Darlington on leave, said it looked great but added: "It's still pretty disorganised.

"You'd think if you put that much money into a new stadium you'd make sure all the facilities were in place before it opened."

But Darlington Football Club spokesman Luke Raine defended the record at the Reynolds Arena.

He said: "We are really happy with the way things went today and everyone at the club is working their socks off to iron out the problems we've had."