IT HAD barely been an epic cup run full of thrills, spills and Holsten Pils, but RAC's involvement in the Division Two League Cup came to an end on Sunday at the quarter final stage.

A bye in the first round put us through to the last eight without playing a game but sadly we actually had to play a football match in order to reach the semifinal and two late goals from Fighting Cocks ended our dreams of a showpiece final at Brinkburn Road for yet another season.

The chance to play on a good pitch in front of a lot of fans does not come along very often at Sunday League level and the home of Darlington RA even has proper dugouts for the subs - handy for me, then.

Needless to say, if our conquerors do reach the final I for one will be as green as their shirts with envy.

IDEALLY, it would have been good to have bounced back from that disappointment with a game this weekend, but due to the odd number of sides in our division it is RAC's turn to have a week off this time.

Mind you, even if we did have a fixture there's no guarantee it would go ahead - two of our last three games have been called off due to the referee getting injured.

Two weeks ago our home game with The Northern Echo was postponed when the designated official pulled something during the night and couldn't get out of bed on the morning.

Readers are invited to insert their own double entendre here but it certainly sounds a better way to spend a morning than jogging around with a whistle in your mouth and getting abuse for 90 minutes.

SPEAKING of pleasure and pain, Darlington CC striker Andrew Peacock also suffered a mixed day last weekend.

Nicknamed 'Rooney' by his teammates - alas due to his physical resemblance rather than any playing similarities - the youngster scored from the spot against Hole in the Wall.

But as he struck the kick, he felt a twinge in his hamstring, forcing him to go off almost immediately.

"It just went as I took it, " said the not-particularly proud Peacock, his strut replaced by a heavy limp.

Insult to injury, his side also lost 32.

BROTHERLEY love is alive and well at RAC, with no less than four sets of siblings signed on for the blues this term.

We've got two Wilde things in Greg and player-manager John, brothers in arms Jon and Andy Roote, a Tills twosome in Paul and Marc and the Vayro brothers, Dave and Bob.

Nick Enfield may also have played alongside his brother Ross in midfield had he not been injured in pre-season.

Can any other team boast more of a family affair?

Published: 21/10/05