We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Nick Cassidy as First Team Coach.

The popular former Stan player has more recently been coaching at Northern League side North Shields following his retirement from playing.

On his appointment, Nick said,

“I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to start my next chapter in football”

Heaton Stan manager, Dean Nicholson shared his thoughts on Cassidy’s return:

“I’m over the moon to bring Nick back to the club. He’s a huge, popular figure at the club and his knowledge and professionalism will be a huge addition to the staff here”

Welcome back to the Stan, Cass!

🔙 pic.twitter.com/zKdmh7aoLF

— Heaton Stannington FC (@Heatonstan) September 8, 2025

We’ve been drawn at home to Newton Aycliffe in the Isuzu FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round.

This follows our 2-0 win over Emley in the 1st Qualifying Round in front of a crowd of 372 on Friday 5th September.

The draw took place this afternoon and saw us paired with our Northern Premier League East division rivals who we shared plenty of goals with last season! In our first meeting in 2024-25 we came out on top with a 4-2 win at home, but the reverse fixture marked our first away defeat of 2025; losing 4-0 at Newton Aycliffe.

The game will take place at The Willow Park on Saturday 20th September, at 3pm.

Due to our participation in the 2nd Qualifying Round, our league game at home to Bridlington Town has been rearranged to take place on Wednesday 22nd October, with a 19:45 kick-off.

View the full FA Trophy draw here.

We have an exciting opportunity to join our First Team as a coach.

We play at Step 4 of the non-league pyramid in the Northern Premier League East Division.

We are looking for an experienced coach who is the perfect fit for our Club and to be part of the next era of progression on the pitch.

Key responsibilities include:

• Planning and leading training sessions
• Planning and leading match day warm ups
• Fitness coaching
• Player development
• General support to the Manager and Assistant Manager

We are looking for someone who is confident to lead sessions, is committed and is adaptable.

We train on Wednesday evenings and occasional Mondays. You must be prepared to travel to away games – either on a coach when we are operating one or by car share when we are not.

If you are interested please email manager@heatonstan.co.uk

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.

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!