Report

After their fantastic 10-man 2nd half performance at Morpeth on Tuesday night, a makeshift injury hit Stan team hosted Liversidge. The visitors had been top of the league until the night before when Bradford Park Avenue took over the top spot. It was the Stan though who looked like the higher placed team as for most of the match they out played them & thoroughly deserved the win. There were 4 changes from Tuesday’s draw at Morpeth with Chrisp, Gell, Milburn & Errington replacing Evans, Hornsby, Shepherd & Pearson. There was a debut for Adam Gell who has signed on loan from Whitby Town. 

Liversidge started more dangerously & their 2nd attack in the 5th minute was only stopped by a great block by Lister. 2 minutes & a Stan free kick into the Liversidge box was cleared followed by Giraud sending the ball curving across the visitors’ goal but Hopper headed it just wide. In the 10th minute, Giraud broke into the Liversidge box but scuffed his shot & their keeper Porter easily caught the ball. Both teams were trying to attack but it was Giraud who again looked dangerous in the 15th minute, when he twisted & turned into the Liversidge box & passed to the advancing Fil on the right who shot into the net for 1-0. It was a great goal & Alex Fil’s 1st for the Stan. Soon after, a Giraud ball into Hopper in the Liversidge box saw him head just wide.. In 23 minutes, Giraud broke again but his shot from the edge of the box went just wide. Walker then advanced into the Liversidge box & passed to Gascoigne who was blocked. The ball went back to Giraud who advanced into the Liversidge box & was pulled back, just like Shepherd’s sending off on Tuesday, but nothing was given. In 26 minutes, a Milburn overhead kick went just wide. Errington broke in the 31st minute but the ball was put out for a corner. In 33 minutes, Giraud then advanced again & passed to Gascoigne whose shot from outside the box went just wide. After being relatively quiet for the last half hour, Liversidge had a sustained attack which saw the Stan having to block, clear, block twice, head clear twice before Lister collected the ball. In 41 minutes though the Stan extended their lead when a longball to Hopper from Lister saw him & not the defender get to the ball after it had bounced & this allowed him to move forward & confidently slot the ball past the keeper & into the Liversidge net for 2-0. In 45 minutes, an Errington long range effort was caught by Porter at the 2nd attempt. In the 3rd & last minute of added time, Errington had 2 shots blocked.

There was a quieter start to the 2nd half until the 53rd minute when a Giraud ball into the Liversidge box was put over the bar by Porter. In 56 minutes, Liversidge headed wide & 2 minutes later a Giraud shot forced a great save from Porter. In 63 minutes, Lister got down to save. In 72 minutes, Gascoigne broke & passed to Giraud on the bye line who laid on Hopper who was blocked in the 6-yard box & his effort went up & over the bar. In 78 minutes, a shot by Gascoigne was caught by Porter. In 80 minutes, Liversidge reduced the gap when Lister got down to save a shot but they put away the rebound effort. In 82 minutes, Gascoigne sent the ball across the front of the Liversedge goal, but Hopper’s glancing header went wide. In 83 minutes, sub Storey forced a corner from which the ball was cleared in the 6-yard box. 2 minutes later & Gell cleared at the other end for a corner. From it, the Stan countered but it came to nothing. Liversidge were now putting pressure on the Stan as they sought an equaliser. In 88 minutes though, Storey shot just wide. Into 4 minutes of added time, & Porter saved a shot from Chrisp. The match ended with a Stan attack but sub Boothroyd couldn’t get his shot in. 

Despite Liversidge getting a goal back with 10 minutes to goal, the Stan outplayed them for most of the match & after scoring first they always looked like they were going to win. So, the Stan deservedly took all 3 points & now sit 4th in the league. They are at home again in the league on Tuesday when they host local rivals & fellow play-off contenders Dunston.

Stan Team: Lister; Fil; Chrisp (Hornsby 71); Gell; Milburn (Y); Kanda; Walker; Gascoigne; Hopper; Giroud (Boothroyd 88); Errington (Storey 62). Sub unused: Morris. Attendance: 364. Man of the Match: Alex Fil.

Kevin Mochrie

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