 He scored a late consolation goal in a 5–1 loss in the reverse fixture, but was left out in favour of George Stevens for the next match, a 7–0 defeat of Chesterfield, and dropped into the reserves.A scoring spree in the North-Eastern League after Christmas earned him a recall to the first team.He duly scored three times as Darlington beat Tranmere Rovers 4–1 at home, and played in the next five matches, scoring twice (against Stalybridge Celtic and Wigan Borough) before returning to the reserves.