Darlington gained a huge boost to their confidence by winning the Minster Carpets Cup yesterday.

Quakers played some excellent football in their two games over the weekend and visibly improved in both confidence and their general play as the games progressed.

They scored 19 goals at the McCain Stadium and kept two clean sheets. The opposition wasn't up to Football League standard but at least Quakers are bouncing back from the events of the summer.

Scarborough offered much stronger opposition than Dutch amateurs Siol from their country's fourth division on Saturday, and Darlington caretaker/manager Gary Bennett will have learned more from the 7-0 rout against the Seasiders.

Bennett used several formations over the weekend and the most impressive of the newcomers was Stuart Elliott, who appeared in a central midfield role in the two games.

After Gary Williamson scored twice against Siol - whose results must have been an extreme embarrassment for the organisers - the teenager was given the opportunity to show his capabilities from the start against Scarborough.

After both sides missed chances Williamson gave Quakers the lead after 37 minutes when he turned on a pass from Glenn Naylor and beat Scarborough keeper Andy Woods with a well-placed right foot shot from just inside the area.

Quakers went two up six minutes later when Brian Atkinson floated a free kick over from the left for Neil Aspin to send a looping header over Woods.

Quakers stayed on top in the second half and their 3-5-3 formation gave nothing away. That allowed them to go further ahead after 66 minutes with a delightful four-man move.

Substitute Lee Nogan, who scored a hat-trick against Siol, instantly controlled a 40-yard pass from Elliott and laid the ball back for Paul Campbell to set up Richard Hodgson to score.

Scaborough nearly pulled one back with a Gareth Stoker header which Craig Liddle cleared off the line, but Quakers wrapped the game up after 70 minutes when Hodgson crossed from the left and Adam Reed volleyed home.

Campbell was denied a fifth by a flying save from Woods, who also pulled off two stops from Tom Kaak.

However, Quakers scored three times in the last three minutes. Gary Himsworth latched on to a Kaak pass to blast in a fifth, Hodgson poked the ball in for another, then Campbell dribbled through for a deserved seventh.

On Saturday Quakers ran rampant against Siol, who lost their regular keeper at half-time because of injury.

Once Nogan opened the scoring when he waltzed through after 37 seconds it was clear Siol were out of their depth.

But Quakers didn't show any compassion and by half-time they were 8-0 up, with Nogan completing his hat-trick, Himsworth and Naylor scoring two and Tom Kaak the other.

Darlington keeper Andy Collett agreed to help the Dutchmen and swapped sides at half-time with Keith Finch taking his place between the sticks. Thanks to Collett's efforts Siol kept the score down to 12.

Williamson (2), Mark Angel and Hodgson scored in the second half but Collett got the biggest cheer of the afternoon when he denied Himsworth his hat-trick with a penalty save