Thompson's first 50 Darlington goals

2012-13 October 2: Penrith (a), 4-1

1. Thompson has been a prolific scorer for Darlington, though he had to wait until his fifth appearance for the club to score and he did so in a fashion that’s become his trademark: blasted home from 20 yards. It was the final goal during a 4-1 win on a muddy playing surface at Penrith amid torrential rain.

October 6: Billingham Town (a), 7-1

2. Four days later came the first of eight successful penalties for Thompson during the title-winning Northern League season of 2012-13, his spot-kick making it 3-0 during a 7-1 romp on Teesside.

October 13: Ashington (h), 6-1

3, 4. Another high-scoring win and another Thompson penalty. He netted the second and third goals, the latter being a spot-kick which marked the club’s 50th goal of the season in only their 15th league game. Darlington had now opened a nine-point lead over Spennymoor Town.

October 27: Billingham Synthonia (a), 4-1

5. His fifth goal in six games was tucked home from inside the penalty area, giving Darlington a 3-1 lead as they completed a second-half fightback. Billingham Synthonia led 1-0 at half-time before Quakers’ comeback secured a 12th successive win.

November 10: West Auckland (a), 1-2

6. Thompson continued his trend for scoring away from Heritage Park with a penalty in the controversial match at West Auckland, a match boycotted by many Darlington fans in protest at the host club doubling the cost of admission. Thompson’s penalty gave Quakers the lead after defender Daryll Hall had fouled Leon Scott.

November 17: Celtic Nation (a), 2-1

7. Goal number seven was Thompson’s fourth penalty in only his 12th appearance, this one coming on a dreadful playing surface away to Celtic Nation. The spot-kick proved to be the winner, and Thompson had earlier teed up David Dowson to net the equaliser. The match saw former Quaker Paul Arnison, part of the FA Trophy-winning team, play one of his final matches for the Carlisle club before emigrating to Australia.

November 21: Billingham Synthonia (h), 4-1

8. A month after beating Billingham Synthonia 4-1, Darlington did it again, with only Thompson netting in each match. During this evening fixture, Quakers recorded their 12th straight ‘home’ win, Thompson’s goal punished a lapse in defence to complete the scoring under the floodlights at Heritage Park.

December 26: Norton & Stockton Ancients (a), 4-2

9. Goal nine came amid a dry spell for Thompson, whose goal at Norton on Boxing Day 2012 was his sole strike during an 11-game run. Described by The Northern Echo the following day as “a bundle of energy when the ball is at his feet”, Thompson dribbled into the penalty area and made it 2-2 when firing past Jim Provett, who is now Quakers’ goalkeeping coach.

March 2: Newcastle Benfield (a), 4-0

10. Thompson made it to double figures in a 4-0 win at Newcastle Benfield that took the team’s goal to tally to 100. He grabbed the second goal after good work by Dowson, and then returned the favour to allow his team-mate to make it 3-0. The strike ended a lean spell having not netted in the previous six matches, though in that time was the pivotal 3-1 win at Spennymoor Town when Thompson had a hand in two goals, one of them seeing him charge down the right touchline and crossing for Adam Nicholls to score.

March 30: Sunderland RCA (h), 7-2

11, 12, 13. A fortnight after Chris Emms scored a hat-trick against Shildon, Thompson netted his first treble for the club in a convincing victory which saw Quakers break the 100-points barrier. The first was a penalty, the forward’s first opportunity to net a spot-kick since seeing one saved against Newton Aycliffe three months previously, while the second made it 3-1 after cutting in from the left and finishing across the keeper. With the season approaching the final stages, the pitch was showing signs of wear, though that did not prevent the No. 9 turning sharply in the penalty area to blast home his third goal of the day.

April 3: Sunderland RCA (a), 4-0

14, 15. Four days later Sunderland RCA were again the opponents and there was to be no respite with Darlington adding a further four goals, two of them for an in-form Thompson. The first was another penalty, after being tripped, while the second was an exquisite chip, Thompson lifting the ball from 20 yards over the keeper after exchanging passes with Dowson.

April 6: Whitley Bay (a), 3-0

16, 17. Three days later and Thompson was on the spot again, this time scoring two penalties on a decisive day in the Northern League. A 3-0 win combined with Spennymoor Town’s draw with Bishop Auckland meant the destiny of the title was finally in Darlington's hands. After Bay striker Paul Chow had handled in the box, Thompson scored his seventh penalty of the season, and before the break he had an eighth, this time after Tomi Ameobi tripped Dowson.

April 15: Celtic Nation (h), 1-0

18. Thompson netted the only goal of the game as, for once, Quakers had to grind out a narrow win. Dowson's shot rebounded off the post and Thompson's follow-up hit the bar before he volleyed home the rebound to secure a 17th successive win.

April 20: 1 Shildon (a), 2-0

19. His 19th strike of 2012-13 proved to be his last, scoring the first goal away to Shildon. Thompson played a one-two with Dowson and kept his cool to roll the ball past former Quakers keeper Keith Finch.

“They’ve got such a good understanding,” said manager Martin Gray. “I started with Thompson up front because I wanted to get him on the ball a bit more in central areas and it was a typical Dowson-Thompson one-two combination and a good finish.”

Thompson actually ended the season on 23 goals having netted four for Durham before joining Darlington just after the beginning of the campaign.

2013-14

August 20: 1 Bamber Bridge (a), 3-0

20. Thompson kick-started a season of spectacular goals by scoring from long-range in the second match of the season away to Bamber Bridge. Ten minutes into the second half, the playmaker picked up possession 30 yards from goal, took advantage of the space afforded to him and blasted into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. He has since said the goal is in his top three.

August 24: 1 Farsley (a), 2-4

21. Another away game and another goal, though this was less spectacular and came on a day when Quakers suffered a chastening 4-2 defeat against Farsley, for whom Aiden Savory bagged a hat-trick.

Thompson’s goal was a low drive after receiving Andy Johnson's pull-back from the byline to make it 4-2 with 17 minutes to go, but he later put a penalty wide.

It was the first time Quakers had lost since the previous December, ending a 25-match unbeaten run.

September 14: 1 Mossley (h), 4-0

22. A simple win at Heritage Park came after Thompson made the breakthrough on 39 minutes with a cool effort, passed into the net after a Johnson pass.

September 28: Salford City (a), 2-0

23. Four days after the team’s miserable performance in a 3-0 defeat at Ramsbottom, Gray promised an improved display away to Salford and Darlington delivered with his team winning 2-0 and Thompson scoring a trademark goal: a thumping effort from outside the penalty area.

October 2: Ossett Albion (h), 7-0

24. Twenty-four hours after announcing plans to move to Blackwell Meadows, Darlington trounced Ossett Albion 7-0 to go top of the table and Thompson played a key role. During a blistering start, he set up Purewal to score after only 17 seconds, and then netted himself in the second minute after a pass from Chris Moore.

October 12: Prescot Cables (h), 2-2

25. Thompson smashed home to make it 2-2, punishing the Prescot keeper who had conceded an indirect free-kick after for time-wasting. The result, however, began a run of five successive winless games in league and FA Trophy.

October 19: Buxton (a), 1-1

26. A rare left-footed strike from outside the penalty area, again, saw Thompson get on the scoresheet in the Trophy, though it was his injury-time penalty, saved by Andy Warrington, that became the talking point.

October 23: Buxton (h), 3-3

27, 28. Eager to make amends in the replay four days later, Thompson added two more to his tally, but it was a deeply disappointing night for Darlington. They went 3-0 up inside the first half an hour, Thompson’s first of the night going in off the underside of the crossbar after driving home from 22 yards and the second a close-range header. But they allowed Buxton to wipe out the deficit and after extra-time Quakers lost a penalty shoot-out.

November 16: New Mills (a), 3-0

29, 30. A dry spell of five appearances without a goal came to a spectacular end in Derbyshire with two more long-range efforts.

His first goal was hit powerfully, though keeper Peter Collinge should’ve done better, and the second saw him pull the trigger on an explosive effort that whistled into the net from 25 yards.

Thompson later set up Nathan Fisher to add the third and “unplayable,” is how Gray described his performance. Sadly, the game was not recorded on camera, meaning the goal has become an ‘I was there’ moment.

November 23: Ossett Town (h), 4-1

31. After putting six past Ossett Town in the Trophy earlier in the campaign, Darlington added a further four in this league match that saw the team reach a landmark, with Thompson responsible.

His stunning free-kick from distance opened the scoring after ten minutes and was the 200th goal Quakers had scored since the beginning of the previous season.

November 30: Mossley (a), 2-1

32. Twelve months before scoring his 50th goal away to Mossley, Thompson hit his 32nd at Seel Park to give Quakers an eighth-minute lead, a low shot from 20 yards.

December 21: Burscough (a), 7-0

33, 34, 35. Darlington went on the rampage at Burscough and Thompson’s second hat-trick for the club merited a ten out of ten rating in the following Monday’s The Northern Echo. All three came before the break, the first a 25-yard free-kick, the second was a spectacular long-range volley and the third came, for once, inside the penalty area after Dowson pulled the ball back.

December 28: Salford (h), 2-2

36. Thompson played a pivotal role as Darlington staged a dramatic comeback inside the final six minutes to rescue a point against the Mancunian visitors, who had taken a two-goal lead.

On 84 minutes he cut inside from the left and rifled a low effort between keeper and post, and with Quakers piling on the pressure it was after Thompson’s shot had been deflected that Dowson tapped home in the 90th minute.

January 4: Clitheroe (h), 6-0

37, 38. Thompson got the first and fourth goals on a deteriorating pitch at Heritage Park. The first goal came after cutting inside from the left and receiving a Dowson pass before tucking under the keeper from 18 yards, the second after Purewal chased Alan White’s long pass into the corner and pulled the ball back.

January 11: Harrogate RA (a) 2-0

39. A game remembered for Joe Tait scoring eight minutes into his return to the club on loan from Gateshead, Thompson volleyed home from ten yards to reach 20 goals in all competitions for the season.

February 1: Kendal Town (a), 5-1

40. Played in dreadful conditions in Cumbria, the pitch having passed an inspection, it was a struggle for Quakers and remained 1-1 until midway through the second half when Thompson scored another goal from distance. It came after Mark Bell’s clearance was chested down by Purewal, and Thompson did the rest.

March 12: Cammell Laird (h), 3-1

41. It had been slow start against one the division’s strugglers, until Thompson blasted home another long-range beauty. It was his first goal in five games and gave Darlington the momentum to complete a 14th win in 16 matches.

March 15: Northwich Victoria (a), 1-1

42. A move in which Purewal was crucial, he twice brought team-mates into play before Thompson cracked home from 18 yards to reach 20 league goals. The result, though, meant Darlington allow leaders Curzon to open a nine-point lead with a game in hand.

March 26: Wakefield (h), 5-1

43, 44, 45. Darlington reclaimed second spot on a night at Heritage Park when Thompson scored his second hat-trick of the season, all three goals being from at least 18 yards. The first two came from his favourite spot, the edge of the penalty area, and the third was a little further out, hit low across the ground, to edge closer to his half century.

April 12: Padiham (h), 3-0

46. Thompson went on to be named Evo-Stik League player of the year, but did not score in the final four fixtures of the 2013-14 season. His last goal of the campaign came at home to Padiham and within the next week he signed a new contract.

2014-15

October 1: Harrogate RA (h), 7-1

47. On the night when team-mate Amar Purewal netted his 50th goal for the club, Thompson took his tally to 47 with his first goal of the 2014-15 season. He added the fifth in a 7-1 win under the floodlights at Heritage Park.

October 25: Burscough (h), 3-0

48. With usual penalty taker Terry Galbraith on the bench, Thompson scored from the spot to complete the scoring at Heritage Park. It came almost a year to the day since his last penalty attempt, saved by the Buxton goalkeeper in the FA Trophy.

November 1: Scarborough Athletic (a), 4-0

49. This goal was symbolic of Thompson’s encouraging form. After a slow start to the season, he’d began to show signs of the form he displayed during his first two seasons at the club and in the FA Trophy at Scarborough he smashed home a cleanly-hit strike from the edge of the box. It was a crucial goal, coming inside the first 60 seconds of the second half to make it 2-0.

November 8: Mossley (a), 3-0

50. The landmark goal was timed to perfection, coming in his 100th game got the club, and he marked the occasion with a fine goal: lobbed adroitly over a defender and goalkeeper from the corner of the penalty area.

“I didn’t realise how good a goal it was until I watched it back on the highlights,” he said. “It’s up there with one of the best I’ve scored. It was instinct. I probably shouldn’t have had a shot. It’s one of them where it’s a worldy if it goes in, and if it hadn’t I’d have had people screaming at me for shooting.”

 

2012-13: 19 goals, 37 appearances

2013-14: 27 goals, 45 appearances

2014-15: 4 goals, 18 appearances

 

BREAKDOWN OF THE MONTHS THOMPSON HAS SCORED IN

August 2; September 2; October 12; November 9; December 5; January 3; February 1; March 9; April 7; May 0.

 

HAT-TRICKS (3)

March 30, 2013: Sunderland RCA (h), 7-2

December 21, 2013: Burscough (a), 7-0

March 26, 2014: Wakefield (h), 5-1

 

DOUBLES (6)

October 13, 2012: Ashington (h), 6-1

April 3, 2013: Sunderland RCA (a), 4-0

April 6, 2013: Whitley Bay (a), 3-0

October 23, 2013: Buxton (h), 3-3

November 17, 2013: New Mills (a), 3-0

January 4, 2014: Clitheroe (h), 6-0