The Stan in the Senior Cup
The Senior Cup is the county’s premier competition & was 1st competed for in 1884. This season the Stan are competing in it for the 52nd time although this is the 1st time they have been drawn against Newcastle Utd.
The Stan first competed in the cup during the 1925-26 season when they were defeated 5-0 at home in the preliminary round by Jesmond Villa. They also entered the competition in 1938-39 & 39-40. Their 1st win came in January 1947, when they won 3-2 at Hexham Hearts in the 2nd qualifying round. After winning 2-1 at North Shields in the 1st round, they were beaten at home in the semi-final 2-1 by Newburn. They entered the cup for the next 25 seasons. In 1963-64 they made the final for the 1st time where they were beaten 4-3 by Whitley Bay after extra time.
After competing from 1946-47 to 1971-72, the Stan missed a season before returning to Senior Cup involvement for another 9 seasons. In 1980 they again reached the final when they were beaten 2-1 in a replay by Ashington after a 0-0 draw. After the 1981-82 season, the Stan did not compete again until 2005-06, 06-07 & again in 08-09. Qualification requirements were not met again until the Stan’s 2nd season back in the Northern League in 2014-15 when they lost away 5-3 to Alnwick Town.
In 15-16 they defeated West Allotment Celtic 2-1 at home in the 1st round & this was the Stan’s first win in the tournament since they had beaten Blyth Spartans in the semi-final in 1980. They won again 3-1 in the quarter final at Bedlington Terriers. In the home semi-final they lost 6-0 to Blyth Spartans. In 16-17 they beat Alnwick away 4-2 in the 1st round but lost 3-0 in the quarter final away to North Shields. In 17-18 they lost 2-1 at Team Northumbria. In 18-19, they beat Whitley Bay in the 1st round 4-3 at home but in the quarter final lost at home 3-2 to Morpeth. In 19-20, they were beaten at home 4-0 by Blyth Spartans in the 1st round.
The 20-21 tie against Morpeth Town was cancelled due to covid. In 21-22 the Stan started & finished in the quarter final as they were beaten 6-2 at North Shields. In 22-23, a 3-2 home win over Prudhoe YSC was followed by the Stan beating Ashington 3-1 at home in the quarter final. The semi-final was played at Grounsell in front of a record 1339 crowd, but Blyth Spartans won 1-0. In 23-24, the Stan were beaten 3-2 at Benfield. This season’s road to the semi-final has involved winning at Whitley Bay on penalties after a 1-1 draw & a 3-1 win at Blyth Town.
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