Darlington failed to make the step back and reach the Football League in the first attempt but it is still not all doom and gloom for the Quakers as they secured their first piece of silverware in a long time, winning the FA Trophy in the last moments of an otherwise disappointing and frustrating season. Darlo had a lot of rebuilding to do after the miserable relegation from League Two the season before. And turmoil ensued in the close season too when Simon Davey decided to quit the manager's post and take over at Hereford. Mark Cooper was quickly installed as a new manager and had to build a new squad from scratch with just a few weeks before the start of the season. This had an impact in the early weeks when Darlo lacked real style and cohesion and the manager was chopping and changing all the time. The team was pretty solid, losing just one game until October, but there were some highly frustrating moments like drawing away at Eastbourne Borough who played a whole second half with nine men and surrendering a two-goal lead in added time at Bath City. A 1:0 home defeat at the hands of Hayes & Yeading looked like it might spell the end for Cooper who was just unable to motivate the squad but the players pulled together after that and showed strength and desire to go on a good run of form, winning away at AFC Wimbledon and holding Crawley to a draw. However, the play-off challenge stuttered in the early weeks of 2011 before the team finally picked up and showed consistency. The Quakers were relying heavily on the talents of Marc Bridge-Wilkinson who was at the centre of everything the team created and was pulling the strings behind the strikers. He inspired an impressive unbeaten run and the team carried the momentum in the FA Trophy too where a number of lower standing clubs were beaten before setting up a big semi-final against Gateshead. Darlo were losing 2:0 at home in the first leg but stormed back to secure a 3:2 win and then held on for a goalless draw in the return to reach Wembley. Instead of giving the players further confidence, that success took their eyes off the play-offs and their form deteriorated with a few costly defeats putting paid to their hopes. Late season wins over Kidderminster and York moved them close to the top five but in truth the team never really looked like getting promotion and the efforts will need to be multiplied next season. Still, the campaign ended in glory as Darlo won 1:0 against Mansfield in the FA Trophy final after Chris Senior scored in the last minute of extra-time to spark scenes of joy and jubilation for the fans that have been through an awful lot in the last few years. With Cooper committing for next season, finally the future looks brighter for the Quakers.
