When the draw was made before the start of the pre-season assistant manager Mark Proctor described this tie as 'mouth watering'. Being the first derby for some time this fixture takes on a bit of extra significance. Since Hartlepool's promotion in 2003 there have been no encounters between the two sides and this offers a chance for Quakers to get an early bench mark against a side who currently occupy a position that Darlington are aiming for come the end of the season. This is certainly the view that manager Dave Hodgson is taking ahead of the game.

"They are the benchmark for us," he said after the win over Grimsby Town. "They've gone up a division and stayed there and I take my cap off to them for that. That's where our club should have been had it not been tampered with back in 99/00. We've got to catch them up. I'm going to see how far we've come and see if we are up on the same level as Hartlepool because they are ahead of us. We'll come out of the game and we'll have an idea if we are going in the right direction."

Since the start of that promotion winning season Pools have moved onto their third manager. Martin Scott stepped into the breech towards the end of last season after Neale Cooper quit the club. The former Sunderland player and, until fairly recently, Pools assistant manager has led his side to just the one win so far this season whilst Quakers can already boast double that number with the victories over Stockport County and Grimsby Town.

So far the only win for Hartlepool United has come on their travels at Doncaster Rovers and things don't really appear to have got into gear yet. With Victoria Park becoming a fortress in recent seasons an opening day defeat against Bradford City and a draw against Walsall could be classed as a shock to the system. Pools problems do appear to be their starts to games and it is something Martin Scott is obviously keen to solve.

"We have to set the momentum in the game," he insisted. "Walsall and Bradford both did it to us and we can't allow it to happen again. We have players at this club who can run all day, who are as fit as any team, but the slow momentum of the game with Walsall suited them and not us. As a group and as a team we have to counteract that by getting the ball down, passing the ball quicker and closing the opposition down a lot better. You can't wait until half-time to change the game from the dressing room, you set it out from the off."

Darlington fans travelling to the game will be relieved to know that Quakers are taking this very seriously indeed. With the Carling Cup loosing some of its prestige over the years teams often use the first round as a chance to experiment and rest players after the hectic opening. Not so here. This is a derby and everyone is taking this seriously revealed manager Dave Hodgson in the Evening Gazette.

"We're playing Hartlepool and that means one thing only: we'll be going all out to win the game," said Hodgy. "The fans are incredible. I know there's maybe only 5,500 there but for me it's real, proper rivalry. I'm not going to use this game to play four or five different players and leave myself open to using it as an excuse if we lose. Perhaps if we were playing somebody else I could say it was a cup game and we'll try something different. This is Hartlepool and I ain't adopting that attitude."

Full match report and reaction to follow the game on Darlington's official website. To all those travelling down have a very safe trip.

Last ten meetings

2002/03
Division 3	Darlington	2-2	Hartlepool United	01-03-03
Division 3	Hartlepool United	4-1	Darlington	14-09-02
2001/02
Division 3	Darlington	1-1	Hartlepool United	19-02-02
Division 3	Hartlepool United	1-2	Darlington	25-08-01
2000/01
Division 3	Darlington	1-1	Hartlepool United	10-03-01
Division 3	Hartlepool United	2-1	Darlington	07-10-00
1999/00
Div 3 Play-offs	Darlington	1-0	Hartlepool United	17-05-00
Div 3 Play-offs	Hartlepool United	0-2	Darlington	13-05-00
Division 3	Darlington	1-1	Hartlepool United	24-04-00
Division 3	Hartlepool United	2-0	Darlington	02-10-99

Hartlepool United's last five games