Darwen is a club that needs little introduction. The original club was formed all the way back in 1870 and spent eight seasons as a Football League club before the turn of the century and also boast an FA Cup semi-final appearance to their name in 1881. The early successes of Darwen and other northern 'mill towns' in football's early days was dramatised by Netflix in their 'The English Game' series.
The club never again reached those heights following relegation in 1899 as they spent over 70 years in the Lancashire Combination, before becoming founder members of the NWCFL in 1982. They remained within our league system from that date until they were wound up in the High Court in 2009. That didn't see the end of football in the town though as a phoenix club, AFC Darwen, were formed that summer and joined the West Lancashire League, still playing at the Anchor Ground that the original Darwen FC called home for well over a century.
After just one season at Step 7, they were promoted into our Division One. Promotion was again achieved via the playoffs in 2015 after a thrilling 5-3 victory over Hanley Town. Three seasons in the Premier Division were enjoyed before relegation back into what was (and still is) our First Division North, where they remain to this day. A small but important change has occurred in the meantime though as AFC Darwen have now returned to the original Darwen FC name.
My visit was for the Macron Cup fixture against Nelson and what a cup tie it was, in the 'El Hotpot' derby no less. Nelson took an early lead through Max Cane before Darwen no7 Rio Wilson-Heyes equalised from the spot. Connor Hughes put the Salmoners in front on 35 minutes and the hosts took a lead into the break. It was the Admirals who came out of the blocks firing though as Max Cane made it 2-2 just eight minutes after the restart before making it three for both him and Nelson with 15 minutes to go. Former Darwen man Jack Doherty extended Nelson's lead shortly before time and the game finished 4-2 to the visitors.
The facilities at the ground have seen rapid change recently too, with a new plastic pitch allowing a huge increase in the amount of use that the ground gets outside of first team matchdays. A new bar and function room has also been built adjacent to the turnstile to complement the existing clubhouse and is expected to open on matchdays later in the season. The main stand runs nearly the full length of the pitch and provides cover for both seated and standing spectators.
I caught up with new Club Secretary Neil Sears after the game to get his thoughts... "Kenny Langford (club owner and chairman) had an aim to build the club and the facilities up off the pitch in order to attract players and then start to improve on the pitch also. We brought a new management team in earlier in the season and have already started to see an improvement in the performances, even in games where we haven't got a result.
It's a season of transition for us after a rough start on and off the pitch. We've got a few new faces on the committee, and I myself only took on the role of secretary in September. We're looking at trying to bring more fans in through the turnstiles and tonight [against Nelson] was the first match with reduced admission prices."
