A tie against Marske United and a handful of former Quakers awaits if Darlington can overcome Chester tonight in an FA Cup replay.
The teams drew 0-0 on Saturday at Blackwell, so go again tonight at the Deva with the prize being £3,375 and a trip to Marske the weekend of Saturday, October 2.
Kevin Burgess, Dale Hopson and Craig Gott are all at Marske, who are in the Northern Premier League East – two divisions below Darlington and Chester - and have started the season in fine form: winning nine of their ten games, keeping nine clean sheets.
Chester and Darlington are 16th and 17th respectively, and there was little between them during Saturday’s scrappy contest, though Quakers took some solace in keeping their first clean sheet.
Defender Jake Cooper has made a solid impression in his first three games since signing from Rotherham United for a loan spell that runs until January.
“We’re slowly coming together and the big thing is we got a clean sheet, that will give the lads a massive boost,” said manager Alun Armstrong after Saturday’s draw.
“Jake Cooper was outstanding again. He’s getting better every game and hopefully Darlington fans can see what he brings to the table.
“He does the basics well and that’s all we ask of him. We’re not asking him to be a top drawer football player, just do the basics.
“It was George Smith’s best game. We’ve got to get him forward more, having two sitting midfielders allows to do that. He got into some lovely positions but we didn’t fill the box enough.”
Darlington do not have a good record in FA Cup replays – their supporters have seen them win only one of their last ten, the success being against West Auckland in 2014-15.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here