Defender Alfie Marriott has joined Northern League Division One side Shildon AFC on a 28 day loan.
Having joined The Stan in 2023 on an initial loan, before making the move permanent, Alfie signed a new contract with us ahead of the 2025-26 season.
We wish him well during his upcoming spell with Shildon.
Our Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division game away to Ossett United has been rearranged due to our involvement in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.
Originally scheduled for Saturday 30th August, we’ll now travel to Ingfield Stadium on the evening of Tuesday 23rd September 2025, for a 19:45 kick-off. We ran out 1-3 winners when we last made the trip to West Yorkshire and will be looking to repeat that kind of form this time around.
Taking its place as our final match in August will be our Emirates FA Cup First Qualifying Round match, where we go to Newcastle Blue Star hoping to continue on our road to Wembley. Tickets for that game can be purchased from the Newcastle Blue Star website. Booking online is essential as we’re expecting demand to be high.
Keep up to date with all updates to our schedule by visiting our First Team Fixture List page.
The draw for the Emirates FA Cup First Qualifying Round was announced at 1pm this afternoon, with Heaton Stannington drawn against Newcastle Blue Star away, to be played at the KD Stadium over the weekend of Saturday 30th August.
Our progression to the First Qualifying Round means that our previously scheduled Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division match away to Ossett United will be rearranged, and details of that new date will be revealed in due course.
Giving his reaction to the draw, manager Dean Nicholson said:
“It’s a great draw for everyone involved. Two fantastically well supported sides. It’s a great ground to visit and I’m sure it will be a great game too.”
Our road to Wembley started in the Extra Preliminary Round on Sat 2nd August with a 0-1 win away at Whitley Bay; an early goal by new striker Dale Pearson confirming our safe passage.
The Preliminary Round saw as host Marske United at The Willow Park on Sat 16th August, where we ran out 3-0 winners with the 419 in attendance treated to goals from Bailey Adamson, Dan Stephenson and Dan Capewell – the pick of the bunch was an effort which even caught the eye of the Emirates FA Cup social media team:
There’s just no stopping Dan Stephenson’s wand of a left foot for @Heatonstan 🪄#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/Z3PFhdjgiw
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) August 17, 2025
The Stan have already gone one step further than last year, having been knocked out of the 2024-25 FA Cup in the Preliminary Round at the hands of Garforth Town, and will be looking to make sure our name is in the hat for the Second Qualifying Round draw come September.
With the conclusion of our pre-season friendlies, and attention quickly turning towards the 2025-26 season starting, we thought it was worth reflecting on a summer well spent.
On the non-playing side of things, we saw the departure of Tony Dunn, and the arrival of Jordan Dean to replace him as club physio.
Changes to the first team playing squad started with the retirement of Mark Turnbull, and departures for the likes of Louis Anderson, Liam Doyle, Oscar Taylor and Matthew Cassap, as well as former club captain Ryan Bailey and Jay Hornsby.
New deals were signed by a whole host of Stan regulars, with goalkeeper Lewis Brass kicking things off by committing to the club for a further 2 years. That was followed by announcements of contracts for defenders Kane Evans, Dan Capewell, Joe Shepherd, Dan Groves, Kailem Beattie and Alfie Marriot. Also committing their future to the club were midfielders Andy Burn and Alex Payne, and forward Leighton Hopper.
As well as securing current players, we’ve also made exciting additions to the first team, with new signings in key positions across the park. Bolstering the backline is defender Ben Milburn, while Luke Carr adds strength to our midfield. And up top we’ve added forwards Alfie Livermore, Max Storey and Dale Pearson, as well as welcoming back Bailey Adamson.
It’s been a busy close season for the commercial side of the club too, with sponsorships agreed to further strengthen community ties and provide vital revenues for the ongoing running and progression of Heaton Stan. The Willow continue as Home shirt sponsors and take on ground naming rights, seeing Grounsell Park renamed to The Willow Park. LDL Properties were confirmed as Away shirt sponsor, with The Back Page sponsoring shirt sleeves for both home and away tops. Jewson South Gosforth continue as sponsors of our matchday programme, and we welcomed Holbrook & Co Estate Agents as our new media sponsor. Further partnerships were struck with Ironhaven as teamwear sponsor, Coast Road Pharmacy as both stand sponsor and Stan A shirt sponsor, Spanish City as hospitality sponsor, and As Smart as Plastic as season ticket sponsor.
If you’re still looking to get involved we are looking for a raffle sponsor and have plenty of match day sponsorship opportunities available.
In terms of pre-season fixtures, we got proceedings off to a flyer, with a 2-1 win over Newcastle Benfield to retain the Jimmy Rowe Cup, with both goals scored by new forward Dale Pearson.
Next up was a Thursday night trip to Boldon CA, where we hit them for six, emerging on the right side of a 0-6 result thanks to goals from Dan Stephenson, two more for Dale Pearson and substitutes Max Storey joining in with one, and Jay Errington netting twice.
We made it three wins from three with our visit to Whickham barely a week later, with a 1-2 win for the Stan thanks to early goals from Dan Stephenson and Jay Errington.
Our final away trip of pre-season was a visit to the seaside to take on Seaham Red Star where we notched up four wins in a row with a 1-3 win. Dan Stephenson added to his tally with another goal, and there was two for Joe Robson, including a peach of a strike from the edge of the box.
The last friendly before competitive football returns was a home match against Northern Premier League Premier Division side Workington AFC. 255 people came along to The Willow Park to watch a tough test against higher-league opposition, where the Stan ran out on the wrong end of a 1-2 scoreline.
That made it 4 wins from 5, with 14 goals scored, and 5 conceded across the pre-season. Topping the goal-scoring charts was new forward Dale Pearson, with 4 goals, followed by 3 each for Dan Stephenson and Jay Errington. Joe Robson notched up 2 goals, with Max Storey and Leighton Hopper contributing 1 each.
In amongst all of that action, the fixtures were released and cup draws were made, with Heaton Stannington to host Emley in the FA Trophy on Fri 5th Sept, and the curtain-raiser for the season will see us make the journey along the coast road to Hillheads Park where we’ll take on Whitley Bay on Sat 2nd August in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.
Our league campaign begins with three newly-promoted teams in opposition, beginning with a home game against United Counties League Premier Division North champions Lincoln United on Saturday 9th August, followed by a midweek away trip to Northern League winners Redcar Athletic on Wednesday 13th August, then the visit of Northern League play-off winners Blyth Town on Wednesday 20th August.
And if that’s whetted your appetite for all things Heaton Stan, then you’ve still got time to buy a season ticket for the 2025-26 campaign!
Stan Fan Monthly Draw
Drawn: 30th July 2025
Participants: 64
Prize Fund: £320
1st Prize £235: Number 19 Marilyn Birkett
2nd Prize £50: Number 6 Nicola Wall
3rd Prize £25: Number 7 George Clark
4th Prize £10: Number 20 Helen Barsanti
Balls were verified by Davie Lyons and drawn by Davie Clarke.
Thanks to all participants, if you want to join for future draws contact George Clark on Treasurerheatonstan@gmail.com
Entry is £10 per month, the more participants the higher the prize fund and the higher the prizes.
July draw will take place on Wednesday 29th August in the Clubhouse.
