Source: Northern_Echo
Hatch jumped at chance to rejoin Quakers
Darlington'S on-loan striker Liam Hatch has revealed he jumped at the chance to rejoin the Blue Square Bet Premier side after manager Mark Cooper came calling. Hatch impressed in his first spell at the Quakers in the 2008-9 season, scoring nine goals in 23 appearances, but endured a difficult spell at Luton last year after suffering a bad ankle injury. After making a full recovery, the 28-year-old rejoined Quakers on a six-month loan from Peterborough and admitted he didn't have to think twice when making his decision. Hatch said: The fans seem to be happy and I'm happy to be back here. I had a good loan spell here last time and I enjoyed my time up north. Also, I know of Mark as a manager. He has done well in non-league, the players he has signed for Darlington are strong so it was a no-brainer for me. It is a club that I know, a club that I enjoyed my time at previously and enjoyed my football when I was here, so my mind was made up quickly.'' After spending several seasons at Barnet and last year at Luton, Hatch is no stranger to non-league football and could prove to be useful experience in Darlington's bid to get back into the Football League. It's a very tough level. We won the league when I was at Barnet and I saw what it was like a Luton last season,'' he reflected. As a standard it's very high you could put the top ten teams into League Two and they wouldn't struggle. It's a very strong league. Despite dislocating his arm just over two weeks ago in a friendly against Workington, Hatch has made a speedy recovery and admits the squad are targeting promotion back to League Two at their first attempt. That's what I've come back here for; promotion. Obviously that's the club's aim and that's what all the players in the dressing room want to do as well. We all want to be as successful as we can, he said. Looking at the performance against Sunderland, we were fantastic. We played against a Premier League side and were unlucky to lose 1-0. It's obviously a very strong squad we've got. We're getting organised and getting the team spirit up as well. Darlington are advising supporters that season tickets are ready for collection from The Northern Echo Arena during the normal ticket office hours. They will also be available up to kick-off (3pm) on Saturday before the Quakers opening game. They are still available to buy, priced £280 adults, £175 concessions and £69 under- 16s and under-tens.