The Darwen side in 1931, about to begin their on their greatest of the twentieth century. The highlight was a 3rd round cup tie at Highbury against the then might Arsenal. Romance was lost however on the Gunners, who sent the Lancastrians packing with an 11-1 defeat. © Cottontown

The next season they faced Rovers in the FA Cup for the second time (Rovers won the first tie 3-1 in 1880) and were thrashed 5-1 as Rovers marched on to the cup final. Darwen gained their revenge by knocking Rovers out in the second round the next year by the only goal. It was to be their last time they could ever really compete with Rovers, as the blue-and-whites went on to record their hat-trick of cup wins. A fourth and final meeting in the FA Cup in 1888 resulted in a 3-0 Rovers victory at Barley Bank in front of over 10,000 fans.

Despite being initially left behind in the scramble for a Football League place, Darwen were elected to the league in time for the 1891/92 season, in which they promptly finished bottom and failed to be re-elected, falling into the newly formed Second Division. Their most memorable result in that season would probably have to be their woeful 12-0 pummelling by West Bromwich Albion, which remains the heaviest defeat ever suffered in the top league. They lost both their games against Rovers.

Despite this setback, they won promotion back to the top division after beating Notts County 3-2 in a test match (a precursor to the playoffs of today). This second season in the top flight was to be their last as they finished second from bottom and were relegated. Again they got no favours from Rovers, losing both games. Darwen remained a Second Division league club until 1899, when they did not seek to be re-elected. They did break some records along the way however. In 1896/97 they went the entire season without a draw, the only club to ever do so in a league season. In 1898/99 they were rubbish and lost 18 games in a row- still a Football League record, although Sunderland came close in 2004. They also conceded 141 goals in 34 games. Again, a record they probably didn’t want at the time but at least know it keeps them in the memory. With those types of performance it was unsurprising to hear they decided not to reapply to the league, especially as their financial performance matched that displayed on the pitch in levels of awfulness.

Darwen were never the same again and became a part-time non-league club. They did have a mini-revival in the thirties when they reached the third round of the FA Cup by beating Chester 2-1 in front of more than a 10,000 crowd at the Anchor Ground in Darwen. They had lost the use of the Barley Bank ground in 1899 when they fell out the league and moved to the Anchor Ground site where they remain to this day, near the Anchor Service Station and the Anchor Hotel off the main road in Darwen (there is only one main road in Darwen). Drawn away to the greatest team of the day in the third round, Arsenal, they lost 11-1. Despite the defeat, their share of the gate receipts paid for a new stand. It was to be seen as a golden era, as they were allowed to enter the FA Cup at the first round stage for the next four years but kind of messed it up by losing every time. Darwen have not reached the first round of the FA Cup since the Second World War.